Join our game changer speaker sessions for stories from those leading by example. Hear their innovative thinking and visions for better communities.

Monday Session

Brenda Clark Hamilton

“This Is Not My First Rodeo!”

Strategies for Resilience During Stressful Times

Monday, September 23 | 2:45 – 3:45 pm

Upbeat, funny, entertaining, and inspiring! Brenda offers fresh perspectives in leadership, communication, team-building, change management, and offering one’s personal best to life, relationships, and career.

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Brenda Clark Hamilton launched her speaking business in 2005, by offering training to businesses in her northern Iowa community. Since that time, she has become a nationally recognized conference speaker and audience favorite, speaking at approximately 100 events each year, in every industry imaginable. 

Audiences are quick to note Brenda’s sense of humor, in-depth knowledge, high energy, and skill at keeping them engaged. Her recent speaking venues have included several trips to Colorado Springs to provide professional development for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Her first international speaking event—to attendees from London, Dublin, and New York City—was virtual and mid-pandemic, in spring of 2021. 

Brenda’s career experience includes coordinating professional development for 1200 Iowa teachers. She holds a Master’s degree in Education.  

Nick Kittle

Level Up: Unlocking Life 2.0

Monday, September 23 | 4:00 – 5:00 pm

In today’s fast-paced world, the ability to navigate uncertainty and embrace change is more crucial than ever. Based on Nick Kittle’s unusual journey through life, “Level Up: Unlocking Life 2.0” is a game-changing presentation designed to help you redefine your relationship with risk and unlock a new version of your life—one that is resilient, adaptive, and fully in tune with the dynamic nature of the modern world.

In this session, we’ll delve into the paradoxical nature of time, the importance of letting go of the past, and the strategies for increasing the quality and quantity of your life. You’ll learn how to break free from the confines of binary thinking, embrace the unknown with confidence, and leverage resilience to turn challenges into opportunities.

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Nick Kittle is a gifted speaker, thought leader, coach, facilitator, and best-selling author of “Sustainovation: Building Sustainable Innovation in Government, One Wildly Creative Idea at a Time.” He spent the last 15 years in government, most recently serving as a chief innovation officer.

During his government career, Nick directed 17 different divisions and founded one of the first government innovation offices in the country. A three-time national innovation award winner, Kittle has developed over 65 unique or first-of-their-kind pilot projects while directly generating $7.8 M in savings and pioneering the concept of Innovation Value.

Today, Nick is an inspirational keynote speaker, facilitator, and consultant. He trains across the country on adapting to change, building Sustainovation™, and developing High-Performance Government. From organizational training and strategic facilitation to leadership retreats and process improvement workshops, Nick has partnered with hundreds of organizations to bake innovation into their DNA and unlock their potential.

Sponsored by:

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Tami Pyfer

The Dignity Index: An Innovative Strategy for Easing Divisions and Solving Problems

Tuesday, September 23 | 4:00 – 5:00 pm

The phrase “all politics is local” used to speak to local influence in national politics. Increasingly, the opposite is true. Not only are national politics becoming more divisive and toxic, but they are having an outsized influence on local politics. The problem-solving role of local government professionals is stymied by the contempt in our public discourse, which can increase division among elected and appointment officials and the general public. The Dignity Index is a tool which can help ease division, prevent violence, and solve problems. In this session Tami Pyfer, a co-creator of the Dignity Index, will teach the background and application of this tool.

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Tami Pyfer is the Chief of Staff and VP External for UNITE – a national organization seeking to ease division across political and cultural differences. Tami is also the co-creator of the Dignity Index, an eight-point scale for measuring the dignity or contempt in the language we use with each other when we disagree.

Before her work with UNITE Tami served for 7 years as the Education Policy Advisor to former Utah Governor Gary Herbert, where she was involved in state level policy development, coalition building, and stakeholder engagement. She held local and state elected offices for 12 years: 8 years on the Logan City Council and 4 years on the Utah State Board of Education. Tami’s professional training is in Special Education and before her appointment to serve on the Governor’s executive team she taught at Utah State University, preparing teachers to work with students with disabilities.

Tami and her husband Aaron are the parents of 5 children, grandparents of 15. They live in South Jordan, Utah.