Featured keynote speakers are meant to inspire you, help you lead, and show you how thinking outside of the box can help you manage your local government in today’s complex environment.

Keynoters Coming to the Main Stage at #ICMA2024
David L. Lawrence Convention Center (Exhibit Hall A)

Opening General Session Sponsored By:

Logo for MissionSquare Retirement
Sunday, September 22
1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Shawn Kanungo

Disruption Strategist, Best Selling Author, Former Innovation Expert for Deloitte

The Age of Infinity – Generative AI & Our Future

Coming to the main stage to open the ICMA Annual Conference, globally recognized innovation strategist, Shawn Kanungo! Shawn works at the intersection of creativity, business, and technology—including generative AI like ChatGPT—to help companies and individuals move boldly into the future.

In this provocative and counter-intuitive keynote, Kanungo dives deep into the age of artificial intelligence and infinite leverage. He explores why this will shape the future, and how it will impact culture, business, technology, and individuals.

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As a globally recognized innovation strategist and bestselling author, Shawn Kanungo works at the intersection of creativity, business, and technology. He spent 12 years at Deloitte working closely with leaders to help them better plan for the opportunities associated with disruptive innovation. In his high energy keynotes, Kanungo draws on his extensive experience to provide audiences with an optimistic roadmap for the future; one that embraces unexpected approaches to innovation to remain competitive and relevant.

Since leaving Deloitte, Kanungo has worked with hundreds of organizations on their journey to digital transformation. He’s led complex projects incorporating artificial intelligence, cloud technologies, behavioral economics, Web3, and more. Today, Kanungo is a Partner with Queen & Rook, where he advises leading organizations and executives on disruptive trends and invests in early-stage ventures.

Kanungo is the first innovation expert to have a streaming special, released on Apple TV and Prime Video in August 2023. It complements and shares the name of his bestselling debut book, The Bold Ones, a playbook for individuals to become bolder and push their careers and organizations forward. It has been touted as one of McKinsey’s top decision-making books for leaders. Kanungo’s work has also been featured in the Globe and Mail, The Guardian, CBC, and CTV.

A prolific content creator, Kanungo’s content on innovation has garnered millions of views across LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. He’s been recognized by Edify magazine as one of their “Top 40 Under 40” and was called the “best virtual keynote speaker I’ve ever seen” by Forbes in 2021.

Sunday, September 22
1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Jaime Wascalus

GovAI Coalition: Shaping the Future of AI in the Public Sector

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Jaime Wascalus began her career as an application developer and IT Project Manager at SRA, International (now General Dynamics) where she managed a $2.5 million annual budget to support IT services for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program.

Prior to her appointment to serve as OTC Director and CIO, Jaime served as a Chief Information Officer at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities since 2018. There, she led the information technology strategy and operations supporting the Academic Support Resources’ mission to make a positive difference in the lives

of students. In that role she led IT teams that supported over 50,000 students across five campuses throughout their university experience, including cloud-first student technology tool transformation, student data and analytics initiatives, student enterprise resource planning, and application development. Jaime holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and German from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
In her role as Director and CIO of OTC, Jaime will be responsible for planning and administrative work in the direction, development, coordination, and implementation of enterprise-wide information services, business and resident outreach efforts, and City communications technology. She will start on November 9, 2022.

Opening General Session Sponsored By:

Logo for MissionSquare Retirement
Monday, September 23
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

Jason Dorsey

Generations and behavioral researcher; award-winning author of Zconomy: How Gen Z Will Change the Future of Business―and What to Do About It 

ICMA 2024 Speech Summary Video, Strategies, and Thank You!

Hi ICMA Friends! Thank YOU for making my ICMA 2024 experience absolutely incredible. It was an honor to speak for you and share my latest generational and behavioral research discoveries! I especially loved visiting with so many of you during(!) my keynote as well as right after. Thank you for making this an unforgettable experience for me, especially the standing ovation and Instagram comments 🙂 Below is my contact info if you’d like to invite me to speak in your community or to host a regional event. I’d love to collaborate with you!

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As promised, I filmed a custom speech summary video just for you! This is a great recap of my presentation and includes a few great actions you can use right away in your organization. Please feel free to share this with your team!

I also promised to provide additional resources that you can use right away. Below are links to instantly download each of the resources I promised:

Would you like your organization or community to hear my presentation? I’d love to deliver a longer presentation on-site for you and to get into even more strategies, discoveries, and stories. Please reach out for information. My team would be happy to collaborate with you on a local, regional, or statewide event or an in-depth leadership-only session.

Please contact my colleague, Emily Boyd, for all the details and to check availability. I would very much enjoy working with you! You can reach Emily directly at Emily@GenHQ.com or (512) 944-5456

To all my new ICMA friends, thank YOU for the incredible difference you make in communities, families, and individuals. We are grateful for you!

With gratitude,

Jason

JasonDorsey.com
GenHQ.com

(c) 2024 The Center for Generational Kinetics, LLC. All rights reserved.

Jason Dorsey is the #1 speaker and researcher on crossing the generational divide in business. He’s received over 1,000 standing ovations for his unexpected research-based discoveries and trademark high-energy speaking style. 

“One of the most compelling and engaging speakers I’ve come across in my career…equal parts researcher, social anthropologist, and entertainer.” – CEO, Mercedes-Benz USA 

Jason has led more than 120 research studies to solve the generational divide for the biggest brands and global leaders. He’s helped major brands go from last to first in employee retention, inspired the rebuilding of trust and communication in challenging cultures, and ignited sales growth for both legacy and upstart brands in massively crowded markets. Jason’s research has uncovered that most business problems are actually generational problems. 

The go-to expert on generational insights, Jason has appeared on 60 Minutes, The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, HLN, BBC, and over 200 more TV shows, as well as a front-page story in The New York Times. Adweek calls Jason a “research guru.” 

Jason’s unique approach to exploring generations and uncovering practical business solutions is why he’s received standing ovations at executive events from Paris to Singapore and Mexico City to New York City. Leaders value Jason’s insights because he has been shoulder-to-shoulder with them. Jason founded two Inc. 5000 companies, served on the board of directors of a public software company acquired for $11 billion, and actively serves on company boards backed by private equity and venture capital. 

A bestselling author at age 18, Jason’s latest bestselling book for leaders is Zconomy: How Gen Z Will Change the Future of Business—and What to Do About It. Jason gains his actionable insights as President of The Center for Generational Kinetics, the leading generational research firm with clients representing every major industry. This enables him to bring the latest data to executive offsites, must-deliver management meetings, and high-profile industry events. 

“Jason’s work with our team has had a profound impact on how we communicate with our consumers and manage our multi-generational workforce.” – CEO, PepsiCo Foods North America 

Jason is also a Millennial, married to a Gen X’er, and they have a Gen Z daughter. Really. 

Monday General Session Sponsored By:

Profit.co

Tuesday, September 24
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

Brigid Schulte

Award-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author, Founding Director of The Good Life Initiative

How To Be a Great Leader and Also Have a Life

Whether you are working from home or working onsite, leadership can sometimes leave you feeling burnt out.  You want to give the job and your team all you’ve got, but do you really have to give it ALL you’ve got?  Can you also have an enriching personal life and find joy outside of work while also being a great leader?  Can you encourage and give permission to your team to do the same?  Join Brigid Schulte, author of How to Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time, as she shares how you can make it all work and enjoy a better life.

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Brigid Schulte is Founding Director of The Good Life Initiative at the nonpartisan think tank, New America, and serves as Director of the Better Life Lab, working to transform policy, practice, and culture so that people and families have the opportunity to live their best lives at work and at home. She speaks worldwide on redesigning work cultures, reimagining gender roles for a fairer division of labor and opportunity and recapturing the value of leisure.

Schulte is the author of The New York Times bestseller Overwhelmed: How to Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time, named a Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year by The Washington Post and NPR, and a 2014 Good Reads Finalist for Best Business Book. Her most recent book is Over Work: Transforming the Daily Grind in the Quest for a Better Life (2024).

A member of The Washington Post team that won a 2008 Pulitzer Prize, she writes widely for publications including Slate, TIME, Forbes, The Guardian, and others, and is a frequent television and radio guest. Schulte holds an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Tuesday General Session Sponsored By:

Comcast

Wednesday, September 25
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

Lindsay Shookus

Producer, Saturday Night Live

Late Night Lessons in Leadership

During the Closing General Session we will look back on Pittsburgh and look ahead to Tampa, home of the 2025 ICMA Annual Conference. Final keynote, Lindsay Shookus, will inspire us with her tales of producing on Saturday Night Live!

A legendary presence behind one of America’s most beloved television shows, Lindsay Shookus is a seven-time Emmy award-winning producer who, for 20 years, worked as a veteran producer for Saturday Night Live. During her tenure, as both producer and head of the talent department, Shookus helped engineer the show’s success from booking and managing celebrity hosts and musical guests, to scouting rising stars to join the show’s ranks. She played a pivotal role in launching the careers of household names, including Kristin Wiig and Kate McKinnon — cementing her reputation for having a sharp eye for talent within the entertainment industry. Shookus speaks to her own experiences to lead an on-stage masterclass on personal transformation, building connections, and embracing life’s obstacles on the road to overcoming them.

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Shookus takes audiences behind the scenes of Saturday Night Live as she shares thoroughly entertaining and never-before-heard stories from two decades as one of the show’s key figures. She masterfully weaves in thought-provoking lessons and actionable takeaways for becoming the best version of yourself, building lasting relationships, and becoming a great problem solver, while keeping the audience hooked as she reflects on unforgettable moments from her career featuring star-studded, up close and personal interactions with the likes of Kanye West, Jason Sudeikis, Betty White, and more. She’s unafraid of being vulnerable and opening up about her own experiences overcoming failure and adversity in her career as a means of demonstrating to groups how they can focus on solving tough challenges and navigating through the obstacles of their own professional and personal endeavors. Shookus brings a unique blend of inspirational insight and authenticity to share relatable stories with messages that will spark action and remain with audience members for the long term.

Shookus also executive produced Miley Cyrus’ New Year’s Eve Party, was an associate producer on the critically acclaimed show 30 Rock, and produced NBC’s Adele: Live in New York City special. Her remarkable work has been recognized with seven Emmy awards and two Peabody awards. Previously, she was named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s “Rising Executives 35 and Under” and has appeared on Billboard’s “Women in Music” list three times. Beyond her work, Shookus is passionate about supporting the causes close to her heart. She is the co-founder of Women Work F#cking Hard, a women’s community focused on empowering female founders and helping businesswomen develop their careers and

advocate for one another. She is also a member of the 2022 Class of Henry Crown Fellows with Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute.

A master at winning audiences over and connecting with them from the jump, Shookus has been described as a speaker who can “light up a room” and whose talks are “powerful, electric, and memorable.”