Women in Public Service 2019 Conference Agenda

Theme: Harnessing Power and Influence: Advocating for Yourself and Others 

7:45–8:20 a.m.
Check-in 
Drew Fine Arts lobby

8:30–8:35 a.m.
Welcome
Sundin Music Hall
Kris Norman-Major, Center for Public Administration & Leadership, Hamline School of Business 

8:35–9:15 a.m.
Keynote
Sundin Music Hall
Strategies for Women to Lead Change
Dr. Artika Tyner, founding director, Center on Race, Leadership, and Social Justice 

9:15–9:45 a.m.
Women in Public Service Awards Ceremony and Panel 
Sundin Music Hall
Kris Norman-Major, emcee  

10:15–11:15 a.m.
Morning Concurrent Sessions I

Mentoring Matters (How to Get One and How to Be One)
Anderson Center, rooms 304/305
Dawn Baker, Director, Learning and Development Solutions, city of Minneapolis 
Connie Caron, agency-wide employee engagement coordinator, MN Department of Human Services 
Mentoring is a powerful knowledge transfer and leadership development strategy to help propel your career. If you don’t have a formal mentorship program in place, how can you find a mentor? Attend this program to learn about the typical goals of a mentoring relationship, and how the roles of mentor and mentee differ. You'll get practical tips for obtaining a mentor, learning when to choose a professional coach instead of a mentor, and structuring and driving the mentoring relationship. We’ll also describe various types of mentoring, such as reverse, situational, distance, and peer mentoring.

Bridging Divides: What to Do When People Disagree 
Anderson Center, room 112
Mariah Levison, manager, Office for Collaboration and Dispute Resolution 
Learning to work effectively across differences may be the most important challenge facing our country today. In this session we will begin by developing a mindset that will enable you to stay focused on problem solving in the face of seemingly divergent, deeply held beliefs. Next, we will share several skills essential to bridging divides including: establishing shared values, identifying what people actually need to move forward even they aren’t saying it, reframing toxic arguing into productive dialogue, and moving beyond compromise to integrative solutions⁠—solutions that integrate the most important needs of everyone involved.

Lead From Where You Are  
Anderson Center, room 111
Moderator: Amanda Chavez
Karuna Mahajan, director of operations CPED, city of Minneapolis 
Christine McDonald, American Indian community specialist, city of Minneapolis
Sebastiana Cervantes, environmental inspector
Gretchen Pederson, Public Works, city of Minneapolis
Marcia Westbrook, Finance, city of Minneapolis
This session aims to challenge conventional ideas about leadership relating to how women lead in their positions, and change what we often think leadership looks like. A panel of city of Minneapolis employees at various stages in their careers share advice, insight, and compelling examples of their everyday leadership and how changing perspectives can impact your organization. Attendees should expect to leave this session with a stronger understanding of how they can utilize their own power in any position, empower others around them, and help move their organization forward by recognizing leaders in a different way.

Networking Circles
Anderson Forum

11:30–12:30 a.m.
Morning Concurrent Sessions II

60 Minutes to Clarity
Anderson Center, room 112
Meredith Fox, CEO and founder, Portage Partners Consulting
Designed for women in the high-stress, high-burnout environment of the public, nonprofit and education sectors, this session will use proven strategic planning techniques to guide attendees through the stages of creating a holistic, person-centered strategic plan for their life, led by Meredith Fox, CEO. Meredith uses her years of experience building strategic plans for civic sector organizations and her training and experience as a certified coach to apply professional strategic planning best practices to a life plan. Most importantly, Meredith has an implementation focus, so attendees will leave with the knowledge and motivation they need to take action.

Working with Incompetence
Anderson Center, rooms 304/305
Peggy Andrews, senior lecturer, Hamline University School of Business
“How did she get that job?” “How is he still employed here?” “Why do I have to work with them?” We’ve all asked⁠—or heard our friends ask⁠—these questions about co-workers and bosses, and we’ve all felt the frustration of trying to collaborate with people who seem to be incompetent. In this session we will look at various ways incompetence manifests itself in our workplaces and what we can do when faced with it. We’ll explore how cultures and systems create incompetence⁠—perceived or real; examine the personal lenses and biases we use when assessing incompetence; and discuss options for responding to incompetence and navigating a constructive pathway forward.

Harnessing Your Power to Change Public Policy
Anderson Center, room 111
Stephanie Radtke, deputy director, Community Services, Dakota County
Rena Moran, House Representative 65A, MN House of Representatives
Ellena Schoop, Minnesota IT Services, Minnesota Association Professional Employees (MAPE) board member
Stacie Christensen, director, Data Practices Office, Department of Administration
Public policy is the set of laws, rules, and regulations enacted and enforced by government. Policy is made in response to a societal issue or problem that requires attention and is made on behalf of the public. While many policy changes happen via citizens and/or advocate groups, women inside agencies are at the helm in making changes because they see first-hand policies that don’t work.

This panel will consider questions such as: How do transformative changes in public policy take place? Why do some public policy reforms succeed while others fail? Does democracy work as described in textbooks, or do pundits, lobbyists, politicians, and bureaucrats really make the decisions? What does it take to make change happen through public policy?

Networking Circles
Anderson Atrium

12:30-1:40
Lunch
Anderson Atrium

1:45-2:45 
Afternoon Concurrent Sessions I 

Pay Equity: How to Advocate for Yourself 
Anderson Center, room 111
Rea Bastion, Lisa Crum, Mani Vang-Polacek
Pay equity between men and women remains a concern in today's competitive work environment. This session will discuss strategies for negotiating pay either within your current organization or for a new position. The panelists will provide advice on how to put your best foot forward in pay negotiations and receive the pay you deserve.

Multi Generational Workforce: Successful Succession Planning
Anderson Center, rooms 304/305
Gia Wilson-Mackey, United States Air Force
Emily Paoli Johnson, director of workforce planning, Department of Human Services
The modern workforce is changing rapidly. Experts with long-time knowledge are moving out of the workforce, and younger generations entering the workforce are not staying long enough to create the same expert knowledge. In this session, we will discuss several knowledge capture and transfer strategies to help leaders capture, preserve, and transfer knowledge in the workplace. Discussion will include development of succession plans and knowledge transfer opportunities while still recognizing opportunities for change and improvement within the workplace.

Grit, Growth, and Leadership
Anderson Center, room 112
Kristin Haugen, owner, KC Haugen Law, LLC, Rock Solid Consultants LLC 
How gritty are you and how does grit affect leadership? This session will help you assess your grittiness within the context of leadership development for women. Topics covered will include leadership challenges, imposter syndrome, growth mindsets, and grit. Leave this session with a self-assessment and inspiration for positive next steps in your leadership journey!  

Networking Circles
Anderson Center Atrium

3:00-4:00
Afternoon Concurrent Sessions II

Navigating the Workplace in the #MeToo Movement
Anderson Center, room 112
Moderators: Zoe DiCicco, Jill Hillebregt
Julie Burton, founder and CEO, ModernWell
Katie Eichele, director, The Aurora Center for Advocacy & Education
Andrea Turner, director of human resources, city of St. Paul
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, cultural norms and workplace policies are evolving. New questions and realities are starting to surface. How do we endure work after experiencing harassment? How are our human resources departments adjusting their policies? How can we create safe and empowering spaces for women? This session will provide a 360 perspective on how to navigate the workplace amid the #MeToo movement.

Filling the Gap: Partnerships to Engage Underserved Communities
Anderson Center, room 111
Ellena Schoop, Minnesota IT Services, Minnesota Association Professional Employees board member
Speakers: Representatives from a 2020 census partner and the council for Minnesotans of African Heritage
The State of Minnesota wants to be sure that its citizens are not only counted, but also engaged. This session looks at how Minnesota builds partnerships that help engage and provide access to underserved or underrepresented communities. This includes employment for people with disabilities and people of color, efforts to promote census participation in underrepresented communities, engagement in the abuse prevention campaign.

Advocacy and Influence: Building Your Leadership Presence
Anderson Center, room 112
Kristine Schaefer, executive communications coach and principal, Loma Communications 
How do you become a powerful advocate and inspire others to support you? Our success depends on how well we interact, collaborate, communicate, and care for one another. It depends on how well we work together to solve problems. Learn how to show up fully and act with clarity and integrity. Leave this session with a deeper understanding of the practices that help us individually and collectively to reach our goals.

Networking Circles
Anderson Center Atrium 
Circles can discuss topics from a wide range of subjects. Specific table topics are listed below, but could also include starting a Lean-In or employee resource group at your organization, cultivating connections across your organization, advancement and growth opportunities in the public sector, things you wish you had known, success in non-traditional careers, and conferences or associations that have been beneficial.
The circles will run during each session and hold one to three tables with volunteers from the Women of Minneapolis Employee Network group. The WOMEN group is an employee resource group dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of city of Minneapolis women employees. Members will facilitate small networking roundtables.
List of topics for table discussions: 

• Women of the sandwich generation: pressures of caring for both children and aging parents. 
  
• Women lead from where they are: turning challenges into opportunities to lead from any level. 
  
• What women need to succeed: how organizations should support women’s professional development. 
  
• Making space and welcoming diversity: how allies and workplaces can retain diversity in the workforce.

4:00-4:30
Closing Reception
Anderson Center Atrium
Join your colleagues for light refreshments, networking, and a chance to share your experiences from the day.