CIBC 2025 Breakout Sessions & Speakers
“Dare to Lead: Embracing the Power of Vulnerability and Courage in Leadership”
Lisa Brouwer
Speaker, Courage Coach, and Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator | Presented by the Greater Des Moines Partnership
In the world of leadership, vulnerability is often misunderstood as a sign of weakness. However, according to Brené Brown (the woman who wrote the book on it), our ability to lead from courage will never be greater than our capacity for vulnerability. It seems then, that we have a few things to unlearn about vulnerability if we want to be courageous leaders. In this interactive session, you’ll debunk the 6 myths of vulnerability and uncover the real truths of what it means to rumble with vulnerability as a leader. Lisa Brouwer, a Certified Dare to Lead Facilitator, will invite you to develop a new mindset around vulnerability and how embracing it can be a catalyst for trust, growth, connection, and authenticity.
Lisa Brouwer is a speaker, Courage Coach, and Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator under the teaching of Brené Brown. Through public workshops, corporate development programs, women’s retreats, and one-on-one coaching, she guides people to live at the intersection of daring leadership and courageous living.
From leaving a corporate position after twenty years, to launching her own company, to riding a motorcycle from New York City to San Francisco, to refusing to hustle for her worth, Lisa is living proof of what happens when you say ‘Heck, yes!’ to being brave with your life.
It’s her life’s work to challenge you to believe and pursue what’s possible when you live and lead with courage.
“Removing Revenue Roadblocks”
Jennifer Simpson
Chief Sales Strategist
Are there hurdles hindering your sales and marketing success? Whether it’s departmental divides, over-processing, hidden skill gaps, or the challenge of managing underperformers, navigating these complexities can be daunting.
Don’t let these obstacles hold you back any longer. Join Jennifer Simpson, a seasoned expert in sales and marketing, for an interactive conversation designed to identify and bulldoze common revenue roadblocks. Through engaging discussions and activities, we’ll tackle each roadblock, brick by brick, to pave the way towards success.
Gain actionable insights that you can apply right away and benefit from shared experiences with peers encountering similar challenges.
About Jennifer Simpson
Jennifer Simpson is a wife, mother, 20-year quota crushing sales leader and EmpowerMentor with decades of been-there-done-that experience and let’s-not-do-that-again life lessons to share.
In the Midwest media and marketing industry, Jennifer has earned two consecutive Salesperson of the Year and frequent president clubs honors, as well as an Urbandale Chamber Volunteer of the Year accolade and an American Advertising Federation President of the Year distinction.
Her EmpowerMentor mission helps overwhelmed entrepreneurs, exhausted executives, and stressed sales producers uncover and unleash their natural sales superpowers. The cornerstone of Jennifer’s consulting approach is to understand profit pitfalls and remove revenue roadblocks in order to successfully systematize, strategize, and monetize an organization’s outbound sales efforts.
Jennifer grew up on a rural Iowa family farm and “went off to college in the big-bad city” earning a degree in graphic design and subsequently studying marketing at Grand View University while simultaneously driving student-led and corporate fundraising efforts for the college.
Life as an entrepreneur is rewarding, but wouldn’t be complete without her foundation of Faith, husband Brandon and two young children, Selah (Say-la) and Khyler in her corner. In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys family camping, sun and pool fun, singing on a praise team, teaching workout classes, adventurous vacations, (out-of-state) karaoke, and binging audible books before breakfast.
“The AI Opportunity”
Wade Britt
MIBS, Partner & Managing Director – Bâton Global
We will explore the rise of AI-related technology through three distinct lenses: understanding how AI has emerged, the lessons we can learn from past technological disruptions, and exploring nine concrete things leaders should be doing now that the Information Age is over.
Through a discussion that covers a holistic view of AI technology’s role and impact, we will surface an approach to managing this disruption in a way that positively impacts our business, our community, and ourselves.
About Wade Britt
Wade has worked as a technologist, consultant, and business unit leader across twelve countries, which has equipped him with a unique global perspective. For global logistics leader DHL, Wade ran business units like India and South Asia Indochina in addition to global process improvement and application development leadership roles. Pivoting to education technology, Wade led the operations of Kaplan University (now Purdue Global), operations, sales & teaching for Open English in South America, and the credentialing organization Prometric in India.
A captive of Iowa, Wade has taught Globalization and Strategy at Drake and has worked with clients through Bâton Global since 2016. His passions are positively impacting culture, change management, and leveraging technology in a human-first way.
Wade earned a Master of International Business Studies and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Carolina.
About Ryan Moon
Ryan Moon serves as the Director of Government Relations and Public Policy for the Greater Des Moines Partnership. In this role, he leads engagement with local, state and federal officials and leads the Government Policy Council to develop and advocate for public policy that generates economic growth, business prosperity and talent development in Greater Des Moines. Ryan resides in West Des Moines with his wife Haley and their kids, Holden and Reggie.
“Legislation Matters — Learn About State & Federal Legislation Impacting Your Business”
Moderated By:
Ryan Moon | Director of Government Relations & Public Policy | Greater Des Moines Partnership
Join us for an engaging panel discussion aimed at breaking down the complex landscape of state and federal legislation affecting businesses of all sizes. From regulatory changes to proposed bills, our expert panelists will shed light on the latest legislative developments and offer valuable insights into how these laws impact your business operations.
Key Takeaways:
- Gain an understanding of current state and federal legislative trends relevant to various industries.
- Learn about key legislative initiatives that may directly affect business practices, compliance requirements and market dynamics.
- Have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion with our panel of experiences professionals.
Panelists:
About Dustin Miller
Working at a refugee center in Athens, Greece, Iowa native Dustin Miller had an epiphany. “Over a meal and a game of backgammon with a Sudanese refugee, it hit me that I’d rather use my mind to affect public policy that impacts people than to simply serve people meals,” he says. “That’s when I decided to go to law school instead of into international development.”
World travels and noteworthy personal experiences have shaped Dustin’s approach to life and law. From community service projects at home and abroad to working in microfinance in Kenya, traveling during upheavals in Beirut, and sailing the English Channel, Dustin gained cultural insights and an appreciation for diversity.
As legislative counsel, Dustin primarily represents Iowa-based associations as a lobbyist at the Iowa Legislature and with the agencies of the State of Iowa. His work involves a wide range of public policy issues, such as environmental issues, economic development, taxation, and utilities. This includes serving as executive director for both the Iowa Chamber Alliance and the Iowa Business Energy Coalition.
“The trust and relationships Nyemaster has built in more than 90 years in lobby work is paramount,” he says. “We guard that reputation carefully and conduct ourselves with utmost integrity. We are lawyers first and lobbyists second.”
He is innovative, thoughtful, and gregarious about his work and is recognized for finding solutions not just identifying problems. “The main reason people come to me is my creativity,” he says. “I’m able to think well outside the bounds of the normal state of things and am solutions-oriented.” Dustin has applied his passion for community service and public policy since he was a teenager working at church camps and international internships.
Before joining the firm, Dustin worked for the Iowa League of Cities and in positions across federal, state, tribal, and international governments. He was director of development and marketing for a nonprofit organization serving the Crow Creek Sioux Indian Reservation and a parliamentary assistant in the House of Commons in London.
About John Hollinrake
John Hollinrake serves as the Deputy State Director for United States Senator Joni Ernst. His area of responsibility includes 13 counties in central Iowa, covering an area from Highway 30 to the Missouri border, encompassing 1 million Iowans. He works with constituents, community stakeholders, and elected officials to connect them with Senator Ernst’s legislative work in Washington. In addition, in connection with her role as Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, John coordinates Senator Ernst’s in-state engagement with small businesses.
John also travels with Senator Ernst across Iowa on her River to River Tour. He began working for Senator Ernst in the spring of 2019. Previously, he worked in the Iowa Senate.
John is a native of Ankeny, Iowa and attended George Mason University, graduating magna cum laude, with a degree in Government & International Politics.
About Brad Hartkopf
Brad is the Senior Director of Public Policy for the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI). ABI is comprised of more than 1,500 Iowa businesses employing over 330,000 Iowans. ABI was established in 1903 and serves as the state’s oldest and largest business organization.
Brad has been with ABI since 2017. His primary role is to lobby on behalf of ABI members before the Legislative and Executive Branches. Prior to working for ABI, he was a Deputy Finance Director on the successful re-election campaign of Senator Charles Grassley in 2016.
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