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This year’s Conference Keynote & Breakout Sessions invite us to reimagine leadership and explore new approaches to transform our organizations from uncertain to resilient.
Keynote and Breakout Session slides and handouts are available to download following the conference for your continued learning.
Conference Keynote will be announced soon – check back!
All breakout sessions | Breakout session by track
Session Tracks: Enjoy 22 breakout sessions, with content covering five learning tracks. View sessions by track.
People, Culture & Communication: Examine how leaders build trust, navigate conflict, communicate effectively, and cultivate healthy culture.
Resilience & Sustainability: Build sustaining leaders and organizations through self-awareness, healing centered practices, and skills development.
Strategy & Organizational Change: Focus on direction-setting and organizational effectiveness, exploring leadership transitions, governance, change management, and strategic decision-making.
Data & Technology: Understand how data, evaluation, and technology can support leaning, equity, and ethical decision-making.
Advocacy & Community Engagement: Lean into engaging communities, advancing civic participation, and sharing power for collective impact.
All breakout sessions
Bridging Divides: Leadership Skills for Polarized Times
Track: People, Culture & Communication
In a time of deep polarization, effective leadership requires the courage and skill to engage across differences. Learn how to navigate difficult conversations in ways that can strengthen relationships, deepen trust, and advance equity and belonging in your team and organization. You will explore the role of power, identity, and empathy in dialogue; practice techniques for active listening, perspective-taking, managing defensiveness, and navigating disagreement without disengagement; and learn how to model accountability and curiosity when tensions arise. You will leave better prepared to bridge divides, foster psychological safety, and create a culture where every voice can be heard and valued.
Presented by Rebecca Slaby, executive director, AmazeWorks
Advocacy Isn’t Optional: The Risk of Playing It Safe
Track: Advocacy & Community Engagement
Nonprofit leaders are navigating a perfect storm — rising needs, shrinking budgets, and increasing political hostility. In this environment, “staying neutral” isn’t safe; it’s a risk. This interactive session challenges us to redefine leadership as both strategic and courageous. We will unpack the “courage gap” in our sector, explore research on public trust in nonprofits, and learn how advocacy can increase credibility, funding, and impact. Using examples from real nonprofits and Snyder Strategies’ proven “Advocacy Superpowers” framework, you will leave with the confidence to lead boldly, engage boards and staff, and respond to crisis moments with strength instead of fear.
Presented by Bethany Snyder, nonprofit advocacy expert, Synder Strategies, LLC
Follow the Leader: Leading After Founders
Track: Strategy & Organizational Change
A confluence of factors has led to increased leadership turnover in our sector, as we see many long-time leaders and founders retire and new leaders enter the space. While all executive transitions are critical moments in an organization’s lifecycle, the transition from founder leadership to a new leader can be especially challenging. Participants will leave understanding: the environmental factors contributing to executive leadership turnover in this current moment; the unique challenges posed by following a long-tenured or founding executive; and strategies for turning this transition into an opportunity for transformational change by engaging board, staff, and incoming and outgoing leaders.
Presented by Jehra Patrick, executive director, Highpoint Center for Printmaking; Julie Bluhm, CEO, Bluhm Forward; Shateka Flowers, executive director, Family Values for Life
Civic Engagement 101: Leading from Where You Sit
Track: Advocacy & Community Engagement
In a time of declining trust—in institutions and in each other—meaningful civic engagement has never been more important. But what is civic engagement, really? Why does it matter? And as a nonprofit leader, how can you use it as an organizational strategy? Learn how nonprofits can intentionally create diverse, accessible pathways for community members to engage civically. From skills-based volunteering and advocacy to new, innovative models of relationship-building, we’ll share practical tools and fresh thinking on how to meet people where they are and invite them to the table.
Presented by Jake Loesch, executive director, Citizens League; Martin Ludden, managing director – Twin Cities, and Remy Reya, director of AI & thought leadership, Compass Pro Bono
AI for Professional Growth: Equitable, Future-Ready Career Paths
Track: Data & Technology
How can nonprofits invest in their people while staying true to their mission and values? Let’s explore how AI can enhance professional development, making it more accessible, equitable, and effective for individuals and organizations. We’ll practice using AI chatbots to identify growth areas, assess competencies, and design personalized learning plans that align with organizational strategy. Try exercises that connect your individual goals with organizational values and strategic priorities, ensuring staff development not only provides individuals with the skills needed for future growth but also drives mission impact and supports retention. We’ll share practical techniques for blending free AI tools with human coaching and peer support, making development inclusive for all staff—not just those with access to formal programs.
Presented by Karen Graham, consultant and coach; TaKeisha Walker, consultant
Leadership Transitions for the Rest of Us
Track: Strategy & Organizational Change
Minnesota nonprofits are in the midst of a leadership revolution. With half of the state’s civic leaders new to their roles, how do we prepare ourselves and our organizations to help a new generation of executives thrive? Jenna Ray, interim-then-appointed executive director and incoming board chair of GiveMN, will share her experience navigating transitions as an interim and incoming executive director and board chair supporting two executive transitions simultaneously. With emphasis on how her lived experience as a Native, rural leader in historically white-led Metro-based nonprofits, Jenna will help attendees to ask the right questions, challenge their preconceptions, and build confidence for executive transitions as board and staff leaders. You will leave equipped to undertake an executive transition of your own and to understand the nuanced challenges of leading from a marginalized worldview.
Presented by Jenna Ray, executive director / CEO, GiveMN
Transforming Land, Water and Systems through Dakota Values
Track: Advocacy & Community Engagement
Owámniyomni Okhódayapi is on a mission to not only physically reclaim and transform sacred Dakota land in Minneapolis, but to also transform systems of power and partnership. Hear from Owámniyomni Okhódayapi President Shelley Buck on how the organization’s firm commitment to Dakota leadership and values has impacted its approach to contracting, design / engineering, engagement, and collaboration with Dakota Tribal Nations. Connect with fellow participants in conversation over how to authentically engage Tribal Nations and overcome bureaucratic processes and practices.
Presented by Shelley Buck, president, Owámniyomni Okhódayapi
Unlearning Urgency: Somatic Leadership for Collective Care
Track: Resilience & Sustainability
Leaders in social impact spaces carry heavy emotional and relational loads, often responding to constant urgency, conflict avoidance, and anxiety. This session offers a restorative, evidence-based approach to leadership through the RESET Method™: a framework integrating nervous system regulation, restorative dialogue, and trauma-informed, decolonial practices. You’ll experience a curated somatic practice combining breathwork, light movement, and guided meditation to restore calm and presence. The final portion of the session offers space for reflection, dialogue, and connection with peers, grounding insights in real organizational contexts.
Presented by Camille Cyperian, founding practitioner, Centered Spaces; Rochelle Younan-Montgomery, founder, The Reset
Not Just a Seat: The TABLE as a model for community-driven engagement
Track: Advocacy & Community Engagement
Discover practical ways to engage individuals with lived experiences in community-driven change. The Team of Advisors Bringing Lived Experience of homelessness (The TABLE), is ready to share the group’s experience and recommendations, including logistics, strategies, recruitment, and community integration activities, for community engagement rooted in values and empowerment.
Presented by Jamal Gayles and Dusti Olson, co-leaders of The TABLE; Collin Johnson, outreach leader and co-founder of The TABLE, and Beth Kangas, executive director and co-founder of The TABLE, Zumbro Valley Medical Society
The AI Acceptable Use Policy Lab
Track: Data & Technology
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the way nonprofits operate—often faster than our policies or values can keep up. This session invites you to step into the creative, collaborative process of designing AI use guidelines that actually reflect your mission, values, and people. You’ll leave with a tangible, ready-to-adapt AI policy starter kit for continued work with your organization.
Presented by Eric Molho, founder, Bon Partners
Six Generations, One Mission: Communication that Connects
Track: People, Culture & Communication
From Gen Alpha to the Silent Generation, today’s nonprofit sector spans six generations—each with distinct expectations around communication, collaboration and trust. These differences influence how teams work, how communities engage, and how organizations inspire lasting support. In mission-driven work, where relationships fuel impact, understanding generational nuance is key to leading effectively and communicating authentically. This session explores how age and life stage shape workplace culture, leadership styles, and audience engagement. You’ll gain tools to recognize blind spots, adapt messaging without losing mission alignment, and strengthen communication across teams, volunteers, and supporters.
Presented by Melissa Harrison, CEO and founder, Allee Creative, LLC
Design the Future: Future-Focused Change Practices
Track: Strategy & Organizational Change
In times of rapid social and organizational change, effective leadership requires both creativity and foresight. Drawing on the principles of human-centered design and strategic vision, this session introduces actionable strategies for planning, innovation, and intergenerational collaboration. Participants will explore how understanding generational perspectives, fostering psychological safety, and applying design-based problem-solving can strengthen team dynamics, improve decision-making, and sustain mission impact across changing contexts.
Presented by Stephanie Luedtke
Centering Leadership: Aligning Body, Heart, and Head Wisdom
Track: Resilience & Sustainability
Effective nonprofit leadership requires more than strategy or empathy—it calls for alignment between thinking, feeling, and doing. Drawing from the Enneagram’s three centers of intelligence—the head (thinking), heart (feeling), and body (doing)—this session helps leaders recognize where they naturally lead from and how to access all three centers for greater balance and impact. Explore how each center contributes to leadership presence, decision-making, and relationship-building, and how imbalance can lead to overthinking, burnout, or disconnection.
Presented by Dr. Mai Moua, Dr. Mai Moua Consulting Inc.
Cultivating a Purpose-Driven Culture of Learning and Evaluation
Track: Data & Technology
How can evaluation help us meet urgent needs while building a culture that learns and adapts for the future? Learn how Project Success re-imagined evaluation to align people, purpose, and systems/tools—centering equity, student voice, and staff capacity. This session addresses real, field-wide concerns: how to align evaluation efforts across teams, make data meaningful, and cultivate a culture of learning. Participants will learn practical strategies, engage in an interactive reflection activity, and leave with resources to support their own journey toward aligning evaluation with purpose and cultivating a culture of learning that builds for the future.
Presented by Emily Heagle, director of strategic initiatives, Project Success; Ava Yang-Lews, founder / principal consultant, ACT Research
Let Your Heart Speak: Bold Leadership Roots
Track: Resilience & Sustainability
Authentic leadership begins with the courage to express what’s truly in our hearts, even when fear or uncertainty holds us back. Explore “heart power,” the confidence to share authentic thoughts and feelings with kindness, clarity, and confidence—what we call “being a tree.” This session offers nonprofit leaders actionable, evidence-based tools to identify and disrupt barriers to open communication, fostering inclusive cultures of growth and courageous leadership. Attendees will engage deeply with social-emotional learning strategies that strengthen individual leadership pathways and build foundational skills for leading teams and organizations.
Presented by Kathleed Cannon, executive director, Girls on the Run Minnesota
Better Together: The Power of Co-Leadership
Track: People, Culture & Communication
Co-leadership isn’t just a creative staffing model; it’s a strategic choice that can transform how organizations make decisions, distribute power, and sustain leaders. This session explores the value of shared executive leadership through the lens of strategy, accountability, and growth. Participants will learn how co-leadership can strengthen organizational resilience, balance the weight of responsibility, and create space for deeper reflection, creativity, and learning. Grounded in real-world experience from a Minnesota nonprofit that was founded with a co-leadership model, this session will offer insights into structure, communication, and culture shifts that make shared leadership successful.
Presented by Katie Drews, co-president and CEO, and Miriam Holsinger, co-president and COO, Eureka Recycling
Visible Healing: Redefining Strength in Leadership
Track: Resilience & Sustainability
Nonprofit leadership often assumes steadiness, resilience, and composure, even when leaders are facing a personal crisis. Yet when leaders are transparent about mental health, organizations have an opportunity to become more humane, trusting, and adaptive. This session examines how one organization experienced cultural strengthening when its executive director took medical leave for a mental health condition and later returned to the role. Explore how communication with staff and boards can support continuity, how reintegration practices can build trust rather than uncertainty, and how visible healing can normalize mental health as a shared human experience rather than a private struggle.
Presented by Emily Foos, executive director, Red Wing Arts
Rethinking “Best Practices:” Creating More Equitable Volunteer Systems
Track: People, Culture & Communication
In the nonprofit sector, “best practices” are often cited as the key to successful volunteer programs. But what if this concept is actually doing more harm than good? This session challenges the widely accepted notion of “best practices,” demonstrating how they are often rooted in white supremacy culture and are therefore not effective or equitable for all. We will move beyond this limiting concept to explore how adopting truly people-centered practices unlocks innovation, allowing us to build volunteer systems that are deeply rooted in equity, not just one dominant group’s definition of “best.”
Presented by Niila Hebert, executive director, and Lisa Joyslin, consultant, Minnesota Alliance for Volunteer Advancement (MAVA)
The Science of Healing: Using Data to Build Emotionally Intelligent and Community-Centered Organizations
Track: Data & Technology
This session explores how trauma-informed, equity-driven, and community-led research can strengthen both organizational culture and community impact. Participants will learn how to measure emotional safety, belonging, and wellness within teams and among the people they serve by using data that honors lived experience. Through real-world examples from health equity initiatives, attendees will leave with tools to translate stories and qualitative insights into meaningful, actionable change.
Presented by Shaunequa James, director of health equity, Sabathani Community Center
Leading Young: Lessons from the Next Generation of Leaders
Track: Strategy & Organizational Change
Stepping into leadership as a young professional can feel both exciting and isolating, especially in a sector built on experience, tenure, and trust. Leading Young explores the unique challenges and opportunities that come with leading from a younger perspective, offering insight for both emerging and seasoned leaders. Drawing from real-life nonprofit and ministry experiences, this session will unpack how young leaders can build credibility, cultivate confidence, and collaborate across generations without losing authenticity.
Presented by Kenyan Kleinsmith
Managing Up, Down, and Sideways: Nonprofit Leadership Skills
Track: People, Culture & Communication
Leadership in nonprofits doesn’t follow a straight line. Whether you’re coordinating across teams, coaching staff, or presenting to your board, your ability to communicate and influence can make or break your success. In this session, we’ll explore communication strategies to “manage up” to senior leaders, “manage down” to develop your team, and “manage sideways” to collaborate across departments — even in matrixed or resource-strapped environments. You’ll leave with practical frameworks, relatable stories, and research-backed tips you can apply right away.
Presented by Stephanie Lucas, vice president of communications, National Ataxia Foundation
Wellness Wins: Boost Culture Without Busting Budgets
Track: Resilience & Sustainability
Workplace culture is the backbone of nonprofit success, and a key factor in retaining staff and preventing burnout. One powerful way to strengthen culture is through workplace wellness programs. In this session, we’ll demystify workplace wellness: what it is, why it matters, and how to implement it without breaking the bank. We’ll explore free and low-cost resources that show appreciation for your team while supporting their well-being. You’ll leave with actionable steps to create a healthier, more supportive work environment, helping your nonprofit keep its most valuable asset: your people.
Presented by Emily Orr, Eden Prairie Community Foundation
Breakout sessions by track | All breakout sessions
People, Culture & Communication: Examine how leaders build trust, navigate conflict, communicate effectively, and cultivate healthy culture.
Better Together: The Power of Co-Leadership
Co-leadership isn’t just a creative staffing model; it’s a strategic choice that can transform how organizations make decisions, distribute power, and sustain leaders. This session explores the value of shared executive leadership through the lens of strategy, accountability, and growth. Participants will learn how co-leadership can strengthen organizational resilience, balance the weight of responsibility, and create space for deeper reflection, creativity, and learning. Grounded in real-world experience from a Minnesota nonprofit that was founded with a co-leadership model, this session will offer insights into structure, communication, and culture shifts that make shared leadership successful.
Presented by Katie Drews, co-president and CEO, and Miriam Holsinger, co-president and COO, Eureka Recycling
Bridging Divides: Leadership Skills for Polarized Times
In a time of deep polarization, effective leadership requires the courage and skill to engage across differences. Learn how to navigate difficult conversations in ways that can strengthen relationships, deepen trust, and advance equity and belonging in your team and organization. You will explore the role of power, identity, and empathy in dialogue; practice techniques for active listening, perspective-taking, managing defensiveness, and navigating disagreement without disengagement; and learn how to model accountability and curiosity when tensions arise. You will leave better prepared to bridge divides, foster psychological safety, and create a culture where every voice can be heard and valued.
Presented by Rebecca Slaby, executive director, AmazeWorks
Managing Up, Down, and Sideways: Nonprofit Leadership Skills
Leadership in nonprofits doesn’t follow a straight line. Whether you’re coordinating across teams, coaching staff, or presenting to your board, your ability to communicate and influence can make or break your success. In this session, we’ll explore communication strategies to “manage up” to senior leaders, “manage down” to develop your team, and “manage sideways” to collaborate across departments — even in matrixed or resource-strapped environments. You’ll leave with practical frameworks, relatable stories, and research-backed tips you can apply right away.
Presented by Stephanie Lucas, vice president of communications, National Ataxia Foundation
Rethinking “Best Practices:” Creating More Equitable Volunteer Systems
In the nonprofit sector, “best practices” are often cited as the key to successful volunteer programs. But what if this concept is actually doing more harm than good? This session challenges the widely accepted notion of “best practices,” demonstrating how they are often rooted in white supremacy culture and are therefore not effective or equitable for all. We will move beyond this limiting concept to explore how adopting truly people-centered practices unlocks innovation, allowing us to build volunteer systems that are deeply rooted in equity, not just one dominant group’s definition of “best.”
Presented by Niila Hebert, executive director, and Lisa Joyslin, consultant, Minnesota Alliance for Volunteer Advancement (MAVA)
Six Generations, One Mission: Communication that Connects
From Gen Alpha to the Silent Generation, today’s nonprofit sector spans six generations—each with distinct expectations around communication, collaboration and trust. These differences influence how teams work, how communities engage, and how organizations inspire lasting support. In mission-driven work, where relationships fuel impact, understanding generational nuance is key to leading effectively and communicating authentically. This session explores how age and life stage shape workplace culture, leadership styles, and audience engagement. You’ll gain tools to recognize blind spots, adapt messaging without losing mission alignment, and strengthen communication across teams, volunteers, and supporters.
Presented by Melissa Harrison, CEO and founder, Allee Creative, LLC
Resilience & Sustainability: Build sustaining leaders and organizations through self-awareness, healing centered practices, and skills development.
Centering Leadership: Aligning Body, Heart, and Head Wisdom
Effective nonprofit leadership requires more than strategy or empathy—it calls for alignment between thinking, feeling, and doing. Drawing from the Enneagram’s three centers of intelligence—the head (thinking), heart (feeling), and body (doing)—this session helps leaders recognize where they naturally lead from and how to access all three centers for greater balance and impact. Explore how each center contributes to leadership presence, decision-making, and relationship-building, and how imbalance can lead to overthinking, burnout, or disconnection.
Presented by Dr. Mai Moua, Dr. Mai Moua Consulting Inc.
Let Your Heart Speak: Bold Leadership Roots
Authentic leadership begins with the courage to express what’s truly in our hearts, even when fear or uncertainty holds us back. Explore “heart power,” the confidence to share authentic thoughts and feelings with kindness, clarity, and confidence—what we call “being a tree.” This session offers nonprofit leaders actionable, evidence-based tools to identify and disrupt barriers to open communication, fostering inclusive cultures of growth and courageous leadership. Attendees will engage deeply with social-emotional learning strategies that strengthen individual leadership pathways and build foundational skills for leading teams and organizations.
Presented by Kathleed Cannon, executive director, Girls on the Run Minnesota
Unlearning Urgency: Somatic Leadership for Collective Care
Leaders in social impact spaces carry heavy emotional and relational loads, often responding to constant urgency, conflict avoidance, and anxiety. This session offers a restorative, evidence-based approach to leadership through the RESET Method™: a framework integrating nervous system regulation, restorative dialogue, and trauma-informed, decolonial practices. You’ll experience a curated somatic practice combining breathwork, light movement, and guided meditation to restore calm and presence. The final portion of the session offers space for reflection, dialogue, and connection with peers, grounding insights in real organizational contexts.
Presented by Camille Cyperian, founding practitioner, Centered Spaces; Rochelle Younan-Montgomery, founder, The Reset
Visible Healing: Redefining Strength in Leadership
Nonprofit leadership often assumes steadiness, resilience, and composure, even when leaders are facing a personal crisis. Yet when leaders are transparent about mental health, organizations have an opportunity to become more humane, trusting, and adaptive. This session examines how one organization experienced cultural strengthening when its executive director took medical leave for a mental health condition and later returned to the role. Explore how communication with staff and boards can support continuity, how reintegration practices can build trust rather than uncertainty, and how visible healing can normalize mental health as a shared human experience rather than a private struggle.
Presented by Emily Foos, executive director, Red Wing Arts
Wellness Wins: Boost Culture Without Busting Budgets
Workplace culture is the backbone of nonprofit success, and a key factor in retaining staff and preventing burnout. One powerful way to strengthen culture is through workplace wellness programs. In this session, we’ll demystify workplace wellness: what it is, why it matters, and how to implement it without breaking the bank. We’ll explore free and low-cost resources that show appreciation for your team while supporting their well-being. You’ll leave with actionable steps to create a healthier, more supportive work environment, helping your nonprofit keep its most valuable asset: your people.
Presented by Emily Orr, Eden Prairie Community Foundation
Strategy & Organizational Change: Focus on direction-setting and organizational effectiveness, exploring leadership transitions, governance, change management, and strategic decision-making.
Design the Future: Future-Focused Change Practices
In times of rapid social and organizational change, effective leadership requires both creativity and foresight. Drawing on the principles of human-centered design and strategic vision, this session introduces actionable strategies for planning, innovation, and intergenerational collaboration. Participants will explore how understanding generational perspectives, fostering psychological safety, and applying design-based problem-solving can strengthen team dynamics, improve decision-making, and sustain mission impact across changing contexts.
Presented by Stephanie Luedtke
Follow the Leader: Leading After Founders
A confluence of factors has led to increased leadership turnover in our sector, as we see many long-time leaders and founders retire and new leaders enter the space. While all executive transitions are critical moments in an organization’s lifecycle, the transition from founder leadership to a new leader can be especially challenging. Participants will leave understanding: the environmental factors contributing to executive leadership turnover in this current moment; the unique challenges posed by following a long-tenured or founding executive; and strategies for turning this transition into an opportunity for transformational change by engaging board, staff, and incoming and outgoing leaders.
Presented by Jehra Patrick, executive director, Highpoint Center for Printmaking; Julie Bluhm, CEO, Bluhm Forward; Shateka Flowers, executive director, Family Values for Life
Leadership Transitions for the Rest of Us
Minnesota nonprofits are in the midst of a leadership revolution. With half of the state’s civic leaders new to their roles, how do we prepare ourselves and our organizations to help a new generation of executives thrive? Jenna Ray, interim-then-appointed executive director and incoming board chair of GiveMN, will share her experience navigating transitions as an interim and incoming executive director and board chair supporting two executive transitions simultaneously. With emphasis on how her lived experience as a Native, rural leader in historically white-led Metro-based nonprofits, Jenna will help attendees to ask the right questions, challenge their preconceptions, and build confidence for executive transitions as board and staff leaders. You will leave equipped to undertake an executive transition of your own and to understand the nuanced challenges of leading from a marginalized worldview.
Presented by Jenna Ray, executive director / CEO, GiveMN
Leading Young: Lessons from the Next Generation of Leaders
Stepping into leadership as a young professional can feel both exciting and isolating, especially in a sector built on experience, tenure, and trust. Leading Young explores the unique challenges and opportunities that come with leading from a younger perspective, offering insight for both emerging and seasoned leaders. Drawing from real-life nonprofit and ministry experiences, this session will unpack how young leaders can build credibility, cultivate confidence, and collaborate across generations without losing authenticity.
Presented by Kenyan Kleinsmith
Data & Technology: Understand how data, evaluation, and technology can support leaning, equity, and ethical decision-making.
AI for Professional Growth: Equitable, Future-Ready Career Paths
How can nonprofits invest in their people while staying true to their mission and values? Let’s explore how AI can enhance professional development, making it more accessible, equitable, and effective for individuals and organizations. We’ll practice using AI chatbots to identify growth areas, assess competencies, and design personalized learning plans that align with organizational strategy. Try exercises that connect your individual goals with organizational values and strategic priorities, ensuring staff development not only provides individuals with the skills needed for future growth but also drives mission impact and supports retention. We’ll share practical techniques for blending free AI tools with human coaching and peer support, making development inclusive for all staff—not just those with access to formal programs.
Presented by Karen Graham, consultant and coach; TaKeisha Walker, consultant
Cultivating a Purpose-Driven Culture of Learning and Evaluation
How can evaluation help us meet urgent needs while building a culture that learns and adapts for the future? Learn how Project Success re-imagined evaluation to align people, purpose, and systems/tools—centering equity, student voice, and staff capacity. This session addresses real, field-wide concerns: how to align evaluation efforts across teams, make data meaningful, and cultivate a culture of learning. Participants will learn practical strategies, engage in an interactive reflection activity, and leave with resources to support their own journey toward aligning evaluation with purpose and cultivating a culture of learning that builds for the future.
Presented by Emily Heagle, director of strategic initiatives, Project Success; Ava Yang-Lews, founder / principal consultant, ACT Research
The AI Acceptable Use Policy Lab
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the way nonprofits operate—often faster than our policies or values can keep up. This session invites you to step into the creative, collaborative process of designing AI use guidelines that actually reflect your mission, values, and people. You’ll leave with a tangible, ready-to-adapt AI policy starter kit for continued work with your organization.
Presented by Eric Molho, founder, Bon Partners
The Science of Healing: Using Data to Build Emotionally Intelligent and Community-Centered Organizations
This session explores how trauma-informed, equity-driven, and community-led research can strengthen both organizational culture and community impact. Participants will learn how to measure emotional safety, belonging, and wellness within teams and among the people they serve by using data that honors lived experience. Through real-world examples from health equity initiatives, attendees will leave with tools to translate stories and qualitative insights into meaningful, actionable change.
Presented by Shaunequa James, director of health equity, Sabathani Community Center
Advocacy & Community Engagement: Lean into engaging communities, advancing civic participation, and sharing power for collective impact.
Advocacy Isn’t Optional: The Risk of Playing It Safe
Nonprofit leaders are navigating a perfect storm — rising needs, shrinking budgets, and increasing political hostility. In this environment, “staying neutral” isn’t safe; it’s a risk. This interactive session challenges us to redefine leadership as both strategic and courageous. We will unpack the “courage gap” in our sector, explore research on public trust in nonprofits, and learn how advocacy can increase credibility, funding, and impact. Using examples from real nonprofits and Snyder Strategies’ proven “Advocacy Superpowers” framework, you will leave with the confidence to lead boldly, engage boards and staff, and respond to crisis moments with strength instead of fear.
Presented by Bethany Snyder, nonprofit advocacy expert, Synder Strategies, LLC
Civic Engagement 101: Leading from Where You Sit
In a time of declining trust—in institutions and in each other—meaningful civic engagement has never been more important. But what is civic engagement, really? Why does it matter? And as a nonprofit leader, how can you use it as an organizational strategy? Learn how nonprofits can intentionally create diverse, accessible pathways for community members to engage civically. From skills-based volunteering and advocacy to new, innovative models of relationship-building, we’ll share practical tools and fresh thinking on how to meet people where they are and invite them to the table.
Presented by Jake Loesch, executive director, Citizens League; Martin Ludden, managing director – Twin Cities, and Remy Reya, director of AI & thought leadership, Compass Pro Bono
Not Just a Seat: The TABLE as a model for community-driven engagement
Discover practical ways to engage individuals with lived experiences in community-driven change. The Team of Advisors Bringing Lived Experience of homelessness (The TABLE), is ready to share the group’s experience and recommendations, including logistics, strategies, recruitment, and community integration activities, for community engagement rooted in values and empowerment.
Presented by Jamal Gayles and Dusti Olson, co-leaders of The TABLE; Collin Johnson, outreach leader and co-founder of The TABLE, and Beth Kangas, executive director and co-founder of The TABLE, Zumbro Valley Medical Society
Transforming Land, Water and Systems through Dakota Values
Owámniyomni Okhódayapi is on a mission to not only physically reclaim and transform sacred Dakota land in Minneapolis, but to also transform systems of power and partnership. Hear from Owámniyomni Okhódayapi President Shelley Buck on how the organization’s firm commitment to Dakota leadership and values has impacted its approach to contracting, design/engineering, engagement, and collaboration with Dakota Tribal Nations. Connect with fellow participants in conversation over how to authentically engage Tribal Nations and overcome bureaucratic processes and practices.
Presented by Shelley Buck, president, Owámniyomni Okhódayapi
This Conference is generously sponsored by:
