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 Center Atrium
12:30-1:40
Lunch
Anderson Center 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, rooms 304/305
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.