Nebraska Wesleyan University will host the Vision & Ventures Symposium: "Igniting Innovation" on September 24 at O鈥橠onnell Auditorium. This annual, student-driven event brings together the university and the broader community to focus on a significant national issue.
The event will kick off with the Senator Carl T. Curtis, 鈥28, and Mildred M. Curtis Lecture on Public Leadership. The speaker, Dr. Beth Simone Noveck, is a professor at Northeastern University who leads InnovateUS, which trains public servants in AI, digital and innovation skills, and the AI for Impact Coop Program, where students build AI solutions for social good.
Following the lecture, attendees can visit the Innovation Expo, where departments across campus will host hands-on activities and demonstrations showcasing innovation by faculty and students. The expo will be followed by a panel of local innovators sharing their biggest flops and failures in a session titled 鈥淥ops! A Celebration of Glorious Failures.鈥
The final event of the day will be SM论坛's first-ever TEDx event. Themed 鈥淎 Community of eXcellence,鈥 the gathering will bring together visionary speakers and community members to explore how 鈥渢rue excellence is achieved through collective effort, shared values and a commitment to lifting one another high.鈥
Five thought-provoking speakers, whose ideas challenge conventional thinking, will invite the audience to explore how we can, together, create lasting change and build a brighter future.
Art Wilson
Drawing on lived experience from homelessness, addiction and incarceration to earning an MBA and leading nonprofits and businesses, Wilson explores how communities thrive at the delicate balance between order and disorder, and how people shaped by instability help maintain that balance.
Ben Pankonin
As the founder and CEO of Social Assurance and Class Intercom, Pankonin helps financial institutions and schools engage authentically and communicate with trust in a digital world. His daughter, Aurora, inspires his vision for building a more connected future.
Dr. Laura Young
A strategic communication expert and professor, Dr. Young challenges the outdated notion of balance, offering a bold framework for integrating work and life with purpose. Audiences will leave with practical tools for setting boundaries and aligning priorities.
Greg Harris
Co-founder and former CEO of Quantum Workplace, Harris calls on leaders to focus on the true superpower of leadership 鈥 honing in on SIGNAL rather than sentiment. He will explore how to rebuild trust, performance and progress by pairing empathy with clarity and direction.
Joshua Berry
Author and global leadership consultant, Berry works with leaders to unlock team-driven results, where decisions are shared, ownership is deep and outcomes endure. He helps leaders trade the addiction to being right for systems that foster participation, experimentation and aligned autonomy.
Everyone is welcome to participate in this day of bold ideas, shared purpose and the kind of connections that make true excellence possible.