Panelists include:

The lunch keynote address will be delivered by Kirby Falkenberg, CEO and Executive Director, YMCA of Michiana (serving Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan).  Kirby will explore aspects of youth development work, including what you bring to the profession, how you grow and what you can get out of it.

Breakout session leaders will report back to the group on their ideas, and we’ll have a rigorous large group discussion on the strategies presented.

Participants will divide into two groups and participate in two in-depth sessions:

About the Speakers and Facilitators:

Stephen Bauer is the Director of the Initiative for Nonprofit Sector Careers at American Humanics.  The goal of this project is to cultivate the talented next generation of nonprofit sector leadership and facilitate the entry of those professionals into the nonprofit sector workforce.  This will be accomplished by the formation of a broad-based coalition of national organizations (currently at 60 members) that will (1) work collectively to educate and promote nonprofit sector careers to talented young professionals; and (2) help nonprofit organizations recruit, retain and cultivate the leadership they will need in the decades ahead.  Bauer’s role includes coordinating/staffing the Nonprofit Workforce Coalition, overseeing research partnerships and promoting national dialogues on workforce development in the nonprofit sector.  Stephen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Graphics from Southeast Missouri State University and a Master of Science degree in College Student Personnel from Western Illinois University. 

Kathy Cloninger is the Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), the premier leadership development organization for girls. She is a recognized expert on, and advocate for girls' and women's issues, leading the organization to fulfill a more comprehensive mission: Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Now in its 95th year, GSUSA serves 2.8 million girl members and nearly a million adult volunteers by providing girl-centric programs in science, technology, business and financial literacy, health and safety, and outdoor and environmental awareness. The activities are designed to provide fun and friendship opportunities, and to foster the development of self-esteem in girls of every race, faith, economic status, geographic origin and physical stature. GSUSA is the largest member organization of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, which reaches 10 million girls in 144 member countries.

Kirby Falkenberg is the President/Chief Executive Officer/KB of the YMCA of Michiana in South Bend, Indiana.  He oversees 3 branches of the YMCA, a family health & wellness center, a resident camp and an urban youth outreach program.  He has worked for the YMCA for 37 years in progressive positions, starting out as a Youth & Family Director in Green Bay, Wisconsin and including Executive roles in St. Louis, Missouri and Fort Wayne, Indiana.  He is known as a turnaround specialist in the YMCA.  His pre-YMCA youth experience also included working at a Boy Scout camp and as Director of the Interfaith Youth Council/Sometime Home Coffee House.  His undergraduate and graduate work was completed at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, and he holds a Certificate in Executive Management from the University of Notre Dame.

Ieva Grundy is the Chief Program Officer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana (BBBSCI) where she provides leadership to the recruitment team, enrollment and matching of mentors and youth participants, community and site-based programs, faith-based initiatives, other specialized educational and recreational programs that support the over 900 one-to-one mentoring relationships that BBBSCI serves. Prior to joining the staff at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana, Ieva served as manager of Adolescent Programs at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis for over 10 years.  Her responsibilities include creating new and innovative programs with youth and adults that address the needs of adolescents’ ages 10-18 years old. Ieva manages the David M. Cassady Youth Partnership Program with over 200 youth members that volunteer and participated in various programs at the museum. She along with a team of staff recruited, trained and mentored these volunteers. Ieva also served as the adult advisor to the museum’s Youth Advisory Council, created to give youth a voice in the development of programs, exhibits and activities at the museum. Prior to joining the staff at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Ieva was on the national staff of Girls Incorporated as a regional director. Ieva has an extensive background in youth development and holds a Bachelors degree in Social Work and a Masters degree in Child Care and Youth Administration.   Ieva is a national certified trainer in Cultural Diversity, Conflict Resolution & Mediation, Needs Assessment & Evaluation, Trustee Leadership Development, and Program Planning for Adolescents. Ieva has served on the United Way of Central Indiana's Children and Youth Impact Council, Planned Parenthood of Central Indiana, National Black Child Development Institute-Indianapolis Chapter president and currently is the board president of the Asante Children's Theater. Ieva is the recipient of the 1995 Indianapolis YWCA Phyllis Wheatley Award, Salute to Women of Achievement; in 1995 Ieva was a delegate for the Kellogg Foundation to the International Women’s Conference in Beijing, China, and a delegate representing Indianapolis at the 1997 President’s Summit on America’s Promise. Ieva is a commissioned officer of the State of Indiana for the Millennium Task Force. Ieva was inducted into the International Who’s Who of Professional management in 1997 and she is a life long member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church.  

Marc Hardy is the Director of Nonprofit Executive Education for the Master of Nonprofit Administration program at the University of Notre Dame. The Master of Nonprofit Administration is part of the Mendoza College of Business and offers both an Executive Masters program for people working fulltime, as well as seminars and workshops in nonprofit administration. He has developed and taught courses on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector at both Butler University and IUPUI where he is completing his Ph.D. in Philanthropic Studies at the Center on Philanthropy. In 2007 he was voted “Associate Instructor of the Year” by graduate students in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) at IUPUI. He is also Associate Director at Butler University’s Institute for Research and Scholarship. Marc’s company, “The Business of Doing Good” (www.businessofdoinggood.org), works with corporations, organizations and individuals who are interested in helping others create a better future. He has led several nonprofit organizations and was once the Executive Director of a private operating foundation that is now the foremost think-tank in the country on the subject of peace through international trade and economic sanctions. He has given over 100 radio and television interviews, hosted his own morning radio show, and co-hosted a live public television interview show. He is an award-winning speaker who has spoken to more than 400 hundred groups in the U.S., Canada, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Tom Plake, MSOD, is the Chief Experience Officer for Leadership & Renewal Outfitters, a not-for-profit development organization focused on equipping people of all ages to lead with their hearts.  There he currently serves as an architect and guide for The Journey, a 12-month fellowship program funded by the Lilly Endowment, which enables non-profit executives in the state of Indiana to experience renewal, develop as leaders and connect to significance in their work.
Also, as the Director of Strategic Enthusiasm for Creative Edge, Inc., Tom coaches leaders and their teams to higher levels of performance while developing creative edge strategies for professional and personal renewal.  He has worked extensively as a speaker, coach and facilitator with corporations, foundations, churches, universities, not-for-profits, state, local and federal governments, associations, community organizations and schools.

Adrian Sargeant, PhD, is the Robert F Hartsook Professor of Fundraising at the Center on Philanthropy, Indiana University.  He is also Professor of Nonprofit Marketing and Fundraising at Bristol Business School in the U.K. and an Adjunct Professor of Philanthropy at the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies at Queensland University of Technology.  He is the editor of the International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing and the author of Marketing Management for Nonprofit Organizations (Oxford University Press) and Fundraising Management (Routledge).

Janet R. Wakefield, M.A., is the Chief Exploration Officer of Leadership & Renewal Outfitters, an organization dedicated to equipping people to lead with their hearts.  Janet also directs The Journey renewal fellowship, an exciting program for current and prospective youth workers in Indiana exploring meaning and renewal in the field of youth work.  Janet is an experienced facilitator, trainer and consultant, working with community groups, schools, parent groups, faith-based groups and human service organizations.  She has served organizations such as the Coalition of Community Foundations for Youth, Academy for Educational Development and the National Crime Prevention Council.  She is a co-author of widely used curricula such as Youth As Trustees, Youth in Governance, and Youth As Philanthropists.  She is also the author of the children’s book, What If Everybody Gave?  She received her M.A. in Executive Development and Adult Education from Ball State University and a B.A. in Social Work from Indiana University.