North Star Summit

Speaker Information

Andrew Miller

Chief Operating Officer, The Minnesota Vikings

Andrew Miller enters his seventh season as chief operating officer of the Minnesota Vikings in 2025, being named to the position on Aug. 12, 2019. Miller works alongside Vikings ownership and executive leadership in developing the organization’s vision and the strategy for all business departments. Under Miller’s leadership, the Vikings business operations units have seen tremendous success. In 2024, the team and U.S. Bank Stadium earned the No. 1 spot for “Overall Gameday Satisfaction” in the NFL-wide “Voice of the Fan” survey, which measures Season Ticket Members’ and game attendees’ experience at all NFL games. The Vikings set an NFL record with the highest score the league had seen in the overall category and finished No. 1 or No. 2 in multiple areas, including “Game Entertainment” and “Gameday Staff.” Following the 2021 season, Miller played a key role as a member of the interview committee in the search for new football leadership, an extensive process that led to the hiring of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell.It included virtual and in-person interviews with numerous candidates and significant background research before ownership and the committee landed on Adofo-Mensah, who was officially announced as general manager Jan. 26, 2022. Miller then worked closely on the hiring process that led to the selection of O’Connell, who was named head coach on Feb. 16, 2022. Both Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell signed multi-year contract extension with the Vikings following the 2024 season. Miller helped the organization obtain international marketing rights in the United Kingdom and Canada as part of the NFL’s
Global Markets program in 2022, expanding the Vikings brand and fan base. Minnesota, which is set to become the first NFL team to play in back-to-back international games in different countries in 2025 (Dublin and London), will have played four international games in the past four years by the conclusion of the 2025 season. In 2021, Miller helped guide the Vikings in welcoming fans back to U.S. Bank Stadium following a 2020 season that saw empty or near-empty venues across the country. The 2021 Vikings regular-season opener marked the first time in more than 630 days the team had hosted fans for a regular-season game, and the Vikings treated the return as a grand reopening of U.S. Bank Stadium, complete with a kickoff concert and new pregame introduction show. Throughout 2021, Miller also collaborated with the state of Minnesota to host multiple COVID-19
vaccination clinics both at TCO Performance Center and at U.S. Bank Stadium prior to Vikings games, leading to more than 25,000 Minnesotans receiving vaccinations at these clinics. In 2020, Miller was responsible for guiding the Vikings front office through the pandemic following the office closure March 13. Under his leadership, the Vikings formed both an Internal COVID-19 committee and an incident management team to direct safety protocols at TCO Performance Center and U.S. Bank Stadium during the 2020 season, as well as to plan for the safe office return for all staff members in 2021. Despite the challenges, Miller kept employees focused on using the team’s
platform to positively impact the community via COVID-19 relief efforts and providing a best-in-class fan experience virtually. Miller also served as co-chair for the Minnesota Safe Sports Venues Task Force to bring fans safely back into stadiums, arenas and ballparks. Following the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Miller led the Vikings response, engaging the team’s leadership, players, diversity and inclusion council, staff and alumni to open internal dialogue and determined the best way to use the organization’s platform to influence positive change in the
community. He has emphasized the Vikings commitment to eliminating racism, influencing positive reform of law enforcement, promoting racial and social equity through education and food security and building an internal culture that champions diversity and inclusion. Miller previously served as the executive vice president of business operations for the Toronto Blue Jays from May 2016 to September 2019. In Toronto, Miller was responsible for managing all business operations of the club and Rogers Centre. Miller also led extensive work on facility renovations and capital improvements for Rogers Centre and the Blue Jays spring training facility upgrades. Prior to joining the Blue Jays, Miller spent 10 seasons with the Cleveland Guardians, with the final four as senior vice president of strategy and business analytics. He joined the organization in 2006, serving as baseball operations assistant for the 2007 season and assistant director of baseball operations for the 2008 and 2009 seasons before being promoted to assist Mark Shapiro during his transition to team president from 2010-12. Miller played a lead role in the development, construction and operations of the club’s Goodyear Player Development Complex in Arizona and the renovation of Progressive Field. Miller spent nearly seven years in the investment banking and venture capital industries and earned a Juris Doctorate-MBA at Northwestern in 2007. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business a the University of California, Berkeley, in 1997, playing four years as a left-handed pitcher for the Golden Bears baseball team. Miller serves on the board of directors for the Minnesota Business Partnership, the Minnesota Vikings Foundation and Teach for America Twin Cities. He also participates in CEOs Against Cancer. Miller and his wife, Jill, are the parents of Alana, Evan and Adle

Speaker Information

Dayna Frank

First Avenue Productions

Dayna Frank is President and CEO of First Avenue Productions. Originally founded in 1970, First Avenue promotes over 1,200 shows annually and owns and operates the Fine Line, Turf Club, Palace Theatre, and Fitzgerald Theater, as well as the First Avenue Mainroom & 7th St Entry. Dayna is co-founder and a Board Member of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), who rallied music lovers and lobbied Congress, securing $16.25 billion dollars to Save Our Stages. Dayna is a 2018 Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, Rolling Stone Future 25 2021, Billboard Women in Music Top Executive, pickleball champion, and firm believer in community building through live music. She lives in Minneapolis with her wife and two sons.

Speaker Information

Peter Meijer

The New Industrial Corporation

Former Congressman Peter Meijer is a co-founder and Head of Strategy at The New Industrial Corporation, an investment company specializing in project development at the intersection of venture and infrastructure capital. In Congress, he represented Michigan’s Third Congressional District in the US House of Representatives, serving on the Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, and Science, Space, and Technology committees. His major legislative accomplishments include the DHS Trade and Economic Security Council Act of 2021 and the National Supply Chain Database Act of 2021. Peter previously served in the US Army Reserves and deployed to Iraq in 2010 to conduct intelligence operations. After Iraq, he led disaster-response efforts in South Sudan and the Philippines before working with an international NGO in Afghanistan to provide conflict analysis to humanitarian groups and deliver emergency assistance after kidnappings and targeted killings. Prior to running for Congress, Peter worked in alternative investment management in New York and urban redevelopment in Detroit and served as Chairman of the Board of Student Veterans of America. He holds a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from New York University, and lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his wife and young son.

Speaker Information

Houston White

CEO, Entrepeneur, Author, and Developer

https://houstonwhite.co/founder

houstonwhite.co

Business leader and entrepreneur Houston White is a creative visionary who brings people, cultures, and communities together to elevate one another. Houston is invested in creating a better world, especially for the black community, and regularly collaborates with local government officials and business leaders to increase racial equity. The driving force behind his work over the past two decades has been to inspire a renaissance of optimism and action with and for people who believe in vibrant Black futures.

Houston believes that style is an act of authenticity, a means of asserting your point of view and bridging the distance between yourself and others. The Houston White brand of apparel and accessories was born to foster a community of people who see strength in cultural collision, who recognize that our differences makes us dope, who lead with, style, swagger, and heart. As the founder of Camdentown tennis club and market series to housing solutions that make newcomers to the city feel at home. And he’s just getting started. Every action Houston takes is rooted in his belief that human connection is the most powerful force in nature, that we are here together to usher in a new era of humanity where we are all united in the pursuit of living to our highest good.

Speaker Information

Ping Yeh

CEO & Co-Founder

Ping Yeh is a health tech entrepreneur and cancer survivor building breakthrough companies from the heart of the Midwest. He is CEO of Vocxi Health, a spinout from Boston Scientific and the University of Minnesota, pioneering breath-based disease detection. Vocxi’s platform—recently nominated for the Prix Galien Award, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of the medical industry—uses a breathalyzer powered by quantum sensors and AI/ML to detect early signs of disease from just one minute of breath.
Ping previously led nanotechnology R&D that increased storage capacity for data centers, and helped bring the world’s first solid state drives (SSDs) to market at Seagate—technology that underpins today’s AI systems. He later co-founded and served as CEO of StemoniX, which industrialized human organ development for safer drug discovery using Nobel Prize–winning cell reprogramming technology.
His entrepreneurial track record includes winning the MN Cup in 2016 (after three attempts), leading Vocxi Health to be named a SXSW Healthtech finalist in 2025 and securing the Silicon Valley Regional title for Startup World Cup—advancing to the International Final in October 2025.
Ping holds degrees from UC San Diego, the Carlson School of Management, and Kellogg at Northwestern, and serves on several med tech and nonprofit boards.

Speaker Information

Peter Leyden

Tech Expert and Futurist

https://www.peterleyden.com/about

Peter Leyden is a tech expert and thought leader on artificial intelligence, climate technologies and a more positive future through his keynote speaking, writing and advising.
Leyden currently is the creator of The Great Progression: 2025 to 2050, which is a series of keynote talks, Substack essays, and his next book on our new potential to harness AI and other transformative technologies to create a much better world.
He also is the founder of Reinvent Futures, advising senior leaders in strategic foresight and the impacts of these new technologies.
Since coming to San Francisco to work with the founders of WIRED to start The Digital Age, he has followed the front edge of technological change and built an extraordinary network of pioneering innovators in Silicon Valley.
Leyden most recently convened this network of elite tech experts through the first two years of the Generative AI Revolution as host and curator of one of the premier event series at ground zero in San Francisco — The AI Age Begins.
Leyden is the former Managing Editor of WIRED, who then became the Founder and CEO of two startups that pioneered the early video mediums of first YouTube and then Zoom.
He wrote two influential books on the future that went into multiple languages, including The Long Boom that foretold how the new digital economy would scale over 25 years — and largely did.
Leyden began his career as a journalist covering America, then did a stint as a foreign correspondent in Asia for Newsweek, including covering the early rise of China. He has traveled to more than 50 countries around the world.
He was raised in the heartland in Minnesota, graduated summa cum laude at Georgetown University, and earned two masters degrees from Columbia University.

Speaker Information

Myles Shaver

Professor and Associate Dean of Faculty Research

Myles Shaver is Associate Dean of Faculty and Research at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management where he is a Professor of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship and holds the Curtis L. Carlson Chair in Corporate Strategy.
Myles’ research about corporate expansion is published in leading scholarly journals and he is invited to present at conferences and universities around the world. His research about the Minneapolis-St. Paul Headquarters economy has helped guide talent attraction and retention initiatives in the region and is presented in his book: Headquarters Economy: Managers, Mobility, and Migration. Myles presents this research to audiences in Minnesota and to audiences in other states and countries.
Myles is recipient of the Irwin Outstanding Educator Award – the most prestigious international teaching award in Strategic Management and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business Distinguished PhD Alumni Award. Poets and Quants profiles Myles in their compilation of the “World’s 50 Best Business School Professors.”
Myles is a Fellow and President of the Strategic Management Society

Speaker Information

Zachary Mannheimer

Founder and Chairman

Zachary, a native of SE Pennsylvania, studied Theatre and Philosophy at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. Post-graduation he ventured to London and NYC, creating, and operating several experimental theater companies. A transformative road trip in 2007 led him to Des Moines, IA where he spearheaded and established the non-profit Des Moines Social Club with a dedicated group of artistic collaborators. In 2020 he co-founded Atlas Community Studios, addressing community and economic development in over 25 states. Zack recognized the acute need for quality, affordable housing in America and, in response, established Alquist 3D to 3D print homes in underserved communities. Notably, the first ever 3D-printed, owner-occupied home in the U.S. was printed in Williamsburg, VA in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. In 2024, Alquist printed the largest commercial structure in the U.S. for Walmart, in Athens, TN. His contributions have been recognized by prominent media outlets like the New York Times, Wall St. Journal, Washington Post, CNN, The Atlantic, and he has appeared regularly on CNBC’s Squawk Box to discuss the 3DCP industry. Zack currently resides in Iowa City with his family, is passionate about exploring rural America, creating restaurants and theater, and harbors an unhealthy passion for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Speaker Information

Neel Kashari

President and CEO

Neel Kashkari took office as president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis on January 1, 2016, following a national search conducted by the Bank’s independent board of directors.
In this role, he serves as a member on the Federal Open Market Committee, bringing the Ninth District’s perspective to monetary policy discussions in Washington, D.C. In addition to his responsibilities as a monetary policymaker, Neel oversees all operations of the Bank, including supervision and regulation, Treasury services, and payments services.
Neel leads the Bank’s many initiatives. He was instrumental in establishing the Opportunity & Inclusive Growth Institute, whose mission is to ensure that world-class research helps to improve the economic well-being of all Americans.
Most recently, he’s supported the expansion of the Center for Indian Country Development, which advances the prosperity of Native nations and Indigenous communities through actionable data and research.
Under Neel’s leadership, the Minneapolis Fed also released an action plan on ending too big to fail, which calls for tighter bank regulations to avoid future taxpayer bailouts of large financial institutions.
Committed to increasing transparency at the Fed, Neel has published in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Financial Times and is active on social media. He serves on the boards of the Economic Club of Minnesota and the Northside Achievement Zone and is a member of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group.
Neel began his career as an aerospace engineer at TRW (now Northrop Grumman) in Redondo Beach, California, where he developed technology for NASA space science missions. Following graduate school, he joined Goldman Sachs in San Francisco, where he helped technology companies raise capital and pursue strategic transactions.
From 2006 to 2009, Neel served in several senior positions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In 2008, he was confirmed as assistant secretary of the Treasury. In this role, he oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) during the financial crisis. Neel received the Alexander Hamilton Award, the Treasury Department’s highest honor for distinguished service. Following his tenure in Washington, Neel returned to California in 2009 and joined PIMCO as managing director and member of the executive office. He left the firm in 2013 to explore returning to public service and, in 2014, ran for governor of California on a platform focused on economic opportunity.
Raised in Ohio, Neel earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
He lives with his wife, Christine; children, Uly and Tecumseh; and Newfoundland dog, Webster, in Orono, Minnesota.

Speaker Information

Steve Grove

CEO & Publisher

https://www.stevegrove.com

Steve Grove is the CEO and Publisher of the Minnesota Star Tribune. Previously, he was Minnesota’s commissioner of employment and economic development. Before moving back to his home state, Grove built a career in Silicon Valley as an executive at Google and YouTube, most recently as the founding director of Google News Lab and previously as YouTube’s first head of news and politics.

A graduate of Claremont McKenna College with a Master’s degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, Grove has written for several national publications and has served as an advisor to the White House and State Department on counter-terrorism strategy. Steve and his wife Mary are the cofounders of Silicon North Stars, a nonprofit that helps underserved youth find career pathways in technology. They are proud parents of eight-year-old twins, a yellow lab, and two farm cats.

Speaker Information

Dessa

Musician, Writer, and Speaker

https://www.dessawander.com/

dessa

Dessa has made a career of bucking genres and defying expectations—her résumé as a musician includes performances at Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, co-compositions for 100-voice choir, performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, and top-200 entries on the Billboard charts. “Congratulations”, the track she contributed to the #1 album The Hamilton Mixtape, has notched over 20 million streams. As an author, she’s written for The New York Times and National Geographic Traveler, broadcast by the BBC, and published a memoir-in-essays (My Own Devices, Penguin Random House) in addition to several literary collections. As a speaker, Dessa has delivered keynote speeches and presentations on art, science, and entrepreneurship; guest lectures at universities and colleges across the US; and a TED Talk about her science experiment on how to fall out of love. The LA Times says she “sounds like no one else.” NPR’s All Songs Considered calls her “a national treasure.” She’s currently serving as Artist in Residence at Georgetown University’s Music Sustainability Initiative, and preparing to perform two shows with the Minnesota Orchestra in November of 2025. On the stage and on the page, Dessa’s style is defined by ferocity, wit, tenderness, and candor.

Speaker Informaion

Susan Brower

State Demographer

Susan Brower is the Minnesota State Demographer and directs the MN State Demographic Center. Susan became the State Demographer in February 2012. In that capacity, she travels the state talking with Minnesotans about the new social and economic realities that are brought about by recent demographic shifts. Susan’s work applies an understanding of demographic trends to changes in a range of areas including the state’s economy and workforce, education, health, immigration and rural population changes.

Susan joined the State Demographic Center after working as a researcher on the Minnesota Compass project at Wilder Research in St. Paul. Prior to that, she worked at the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan.

Susan earned her Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Michigan, specializing in demography and family sociology. She also holds a master’s degree in public policy from Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

Speaker Information

Gunjan Kedia

President and CEO, U.S. Bancorp

Gunjan Kedia is the president and chief executive officer, and a member of the Board of Directors of U.S. Bancorp, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the country.

Kedia became CEO in April 2025 after serving as president since 2024. She previously served as vice chair of Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking.

Kedia brings 30 years of financial services experience to her role. Before joining U.S. Bancorp in 2016, she led the investment servicing business in the Americas at State Street Financial and was a member of its Managing Committee. In 2004, Kedia joined Bank of New York Mellon, where she served as an executive vice president and head of global product management for its global asset servicing business. Previously, she was a partner at McKinsey & Co. and a core leader of its financial services practice. She began her career at PwC.

Kedia serves on the boards of the American Red Cross, PBS and the Carnegie Mellon Business School.

Kedia earned a bachelor’s degree with distinction in engineering from the Delhi School of Engineering and an MBA with distinction from Carnegie Mellon University.

Speaker Information

Danielle Russell

Managing Director: Data, Measurement, and Analytics

websitelink.com

socialhandle

Danielle Russell is a seasoned senior strategy and operations executive with over 25 years of experience advising

C-suite leaders at Fortune 500 companies. As a Managing Director at Google and a recognized Top Technology
Executive in Michigan, she drives business growth and digital transformation by helping clients modernize their
marketing efforts. She is a deep subject matter expert in data, and AI, guiding organizations to build durable first-party

data foundations and navigate evolving privacy demands to enable personalized experiences and data-driven insights at scale.

Speaker Information

Governor JB Pritzker

43rd Governor of Illinois

Governor JB Pritzker is Illinois’ 43rd Governor, elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022 with the highest vote share for any Democratic governor in more than 60 years. Since taking office, he has accomplished one of the most ambitious policy agendas in the nation.

During his tenure, he has worked with the General Assembly to overcome years of fiscal mismanagement by balancing the state budget every year, eliminating the state’s multi-billion-dollar bill backlog, improving pension funding, and achieving nine credit rating upgrades.

He raised the minimum wage to a living wage and made historic investments to infrastructure.

He has attracted massive new investments in electric vehicle manufacturing and quantum computing, helping Illinois’ economy reach over a trillion dollars. Illinois now ranks among the top five states for infrastructure and workforce development and has significantly improved its ranking among CNBC’s “Best States for Business.”

Illinois is now a top five state for college readiness and its high school graduation rate is at its highest level in more than a dozen years. University of Illinois has become a top ten public university in the U.S., and community college tuition is now free for working-class families.

Governor Pritzker led nation-leading climate action and clean energy expansion, creating thousands of new jobs and doubling the state’s renewable energy production.

With a focus on families and children, his leadership has led to an assault weapons ban, nation-leading reproductive rights protections, a ban on book bans, and guaranteed paid leave for every worker in the state.

Governor Pritzker and his wife, MK, have been married for more than 30 years, and they are the proud parents of two children.

Speaker Information

Tim Pawlenty

Former MN Governor

While serving for two terms as Minnesota’s Governor, Tim Pawlenty used innovative and
conservative leadership to balance Minnesota’s budget, cut spending, reform healthcare, and
improve schools without raising taxes. Due to his leadership, Minnesota had nation-leading
healthcare, high school test scores and a prosperous economy.

As Governor, he was responsible for a $50 billion biennial budget, more than 30,000
employees, and over 30 agencies and departments. As Minnesota’s CEO, Pawlenty balanced
the budget every year – erasing a deficit of $4.3 billion—and cut taxes by nearly $800 million.
This moved Minnesota out of the top 10 highest-taxed states—a goal of every Minnesota
governor for more than 30 years.

In addition to addressing the state’s fiscal issues, Pawlenty promoted innovative reforms in
education and healthcare that later served as models nationwide. Pawlenty also served as
Chair of the National Governors Association, Chair of the Education Commission of the States,
and Chair of the Midwest Governors Association.

Tim Pawlenty’s other career experiences include serving in the Minnesota House of
Representatives, where he was elected Majority Leader by his colleagues; leading the Financial
Services Roundtable as its CEO; serving on the boards of numerous publicly traded and
privately held companies as well as non-profit organizations; working as a VP at an early-stage
technology company; and practicing law – both as a criminal prosecutor and as an attorney in
private practice.

Speaker Information

Curtis Sittenfeld

Bestselling American Novelist

Curtis Sittenfeld is the bestselling author of seven novels, including Romantic Comedy, Prep, American Wife, Eligible and Rodham, and two story collections, You Think It, I’ll Say It and Show Don’t Tell. Her books have been selected by The New York Times, Time, EW, and People for their “Ten Best Books of the Year” lists, picked twice for Reese Witherspoon’s book club, optioned for television and film, and translated into thirty languages. Her short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The Best American Short Stories anthology, of which she was the 2020 guest editor. She lives with her family in Minneapolis.

Speaker Information

Dr. Ronnie Chatterji

Chief Economist, Open AI

Aaron “Ronnie” Chatterji, Ph.D. is OpenAI’s first Chief Economist. He is also the Mark Burgess
& Lisa Benson-Burgess Distinguished Professor of Business and Public Policy at Duke University. Ronnie works at the intersection of academia, public policy and business, investigating the most important forces shaping our economy and society. Chatterji is committed to public service, both at the national level and in his home state of North
Carolina. He most recently held senior economic policy positions in the Biden Administration. Chatterji served as the White House CHIPS coordinator, overseeing the implementation of the $52 billion CHIPS and Science Act, one of the largest industrial policy initiatives in a generation. He was also the Acting Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council, overseeing the Administration’s work on supporting American manufacturing, building more resilient supply chains, and driving technological innovation. Prior to his White House role, he served as the Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he was the principal economic adviser to the Secretary of Commerce and responsible for policy development related to U.S. competitiveness, innovation, trade and economic growth. Ronnie previously worked for President Obama as a Senior Economist at the White House
Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Chatterji served on the North Carolina FIRST Commission and the Governor’s Entrepreneurial Council, two statewide bodies advising Governor Roy Cooper on economic policy. During his sabbatical leave in 2020, Ronnie ran for State Treasurer of North Carolina, winning the statewide primary election and earning more than 2 million votes in the general election. Chatterji is on leave as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and was previously a visiting Associate Professor at The Harvard Business School. He also holds a secondary appointment at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Ronnie was previously a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and his B.A. in Economics from Cornell University

Speaker Information

Lisa Lerer

National Political Correspondent, The New York Times

Lisa Lerer is a national political correspondent for The New York Times, who has written about American politics, power, and elections for nearly two decades. She has covered five presidential campaigns, the White House, and Congress. Her focus is examining the big personalities, ideas and emotions that drive American politics. She joined The Times in 2018, as the founding author of the On Politics newsletter. Previously, she was a national political writer at The Associated Press, and reported for Politico, Bloomberg News, Business week and The American Lawyer magazine. She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia Journalism School. After about a dozen years in Washington, she now lives in New York City with her family.

Speaker Information

Governor Tim Walz

41st Governor of Minnesota

Tim Walz is Minnesota’s 41st Governor. He was first elected Governor in 2018 and won re-election in 2022. Accomplishments from his time as Governor include providing universal free school meals for students, protecting reproductive freedom, strengthening voting rights, laying the groundwork to get Minnesota to 100% clean electricity by 2040, cutting taxes for the middle class, and expanding paid leave for Minnesota workers. Throughout his time as Governor, Tim has prioritized making Minnesota the best state in the country to raise a family.

Born in a small town in rural Nebraska, Tim’s parents instilled in him the values of public service, generosity toward your neighbors, and working for the common good that guide his commitment to Minnesota today. After high school graduation, Tim enlisted in the Army National Guard. He attended Chadron State College and graduated with a social science degree in 1989. Tim spent a year teaching abroad before returning home to serve full time in the Army National Guard and eventually accepting a high school teaching and coaching position.

While teaching, Tim met his future wife, Gwen Whipple, who taught at the same school. They moved to Mankato in 1996, where they worked at Mankato West High School. In addition to teaching social studies, Tim helped coach the Mankato West football team that won the school’s first state championship. After 24 years in the Army National Guard, Command Sergeant Major Walz retired from the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in 2005. Tim won his first election to the United States House of Representatives in 2006 and was re-elected for another five terms serving Minnesota’s First Congressional District in Southern Minnesota.

Speaker Information

Josh Boak

White House Correspondent, The Associated Press

Boak joined the AP as an economics reporter in November 2013. He previously was deputy Washington bureau chief for The Fiscal Times and an economics reporter for Politico. He also was a business reporter for the Chicago Tribune, covering energy, derivatives and agriculture. Boak also covered politics at The Toledo Blade, where he won a Livingston Award and a Gerald Loeb Award.

Speaker Information

Ernesto Londoño

National Correspondent, The New York Times

Ernesto Londoño is a correspondent on the National desk of The New York Times, where he has worked since 2014. He is the author of Trippy: The Promise and Perils of Medicinal Psychedelics, a book that blends memoir and reportage to take readers inside a wondrous field that straddles spirituality and health care. Ernesto joined The Times as an editorial writer, where he focused on foreign policy. He later served as the newspaper’s Brazil bureau chief in Rio de Janeiro, where an episode of depression became the catalyst of his personal and professional interest in psychedelics. Earlier in his career, Ernesto worked at The Washington Post, where his assignments included covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring and The Pentagon. Ernesto was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, during a period of armed conflict and political turbulence fueled by the war on drugs. He moved to the United States for college in 1999 and moved around a lot over the years, having called Miami, Dallas, Washington D.C., Baghdad, Cairo, New York and Rio de Janeiro home. In early 2022, he moved to Saint Paul, MN, where he lives in a quiet neighborhood near the Mississippi River with his husband, Steven, a veterinarian, and their dog, Hugo, a Brazilian rescue who is not a fan of Minnesota winters.

Speaker Information

Allison Kaplan

Director of Innovation & Engagement, The Minnesota Star Tribune

Allison (Ali) Kaplan is Director of Innovation & Engagement for the Minnesota Star Tribune, working with the newsroom on multimedia initiatives and storytelling that deepens community connection. She brings to this newly created role more than two decades of experience as a journalist, radio show host, podcaster, television contributor, emcee, and entrepreneur. Previously, she served as editor in chief of Twin Cities Business and vice president of content for the magazine division of its parent company, MSP Communications. She created and hosted the TCB podcast By All Means, a show about leadership and innovation. A style columnist turned business editor, Ali’s areas of expertise include retail, entrepreneurship, and work culture. She’s interviewed everyone from top fashion designers and celebrities to Fortune 500 CEOs. A career side hustler, Ali is also the co-founder of Mother Of, a digital media platform that spotlights and offers advice to mothers of the bride and groom.

Speaker Information

Gianrico Farrugia

President & CEO, Mayo Clinic

Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Mayo Clinic, leads the world’s No. 1 ranked hospital. Powered by an 85,000-person global workforce, Mayo Clinic cares for people with serious and/or complex illnesses from all 50 U.S. states and across 135 countries annually. With a distinct focus on advancing patient-centered healthcare transformation for the entire sector, Dr. Farrugia is a pioneering voice in moving healthcare from a linear
pipeline operating model to a platform-based model. Under his leadership, Mayo Clinic launched and scaled Mayo Clinic Platform, which brings together data partners, solution developers and healthcare providers to transform care through insights derived from the world’s most comprehensive repository of longitudinal, de-identified clinical data across four continents. To further enable transformation, Dr. Farrugia and his leadership team are rearchitecting Mayo Clinic’s physical and digital infrastructure to support the future of care. These efforts include Mayo Clinic’s over $9-billion investment to invent a new integrated healthcare experience. This transformation includes bringing the first carbon ion therapy program in the Americas to Mayo Clinic, introducing over 300 AI algorithms into clinical care and creating new facilities that act as an integral and proactive member of the care team. Prior to his appointment as CEO, Dr. Farrugia served as CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida, led the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine and co-founded the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation. He is a member of the Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees and Governors. Dr. Farrugia has been a Mayo Clinic physician for more than 35 years. He is jointly
appointed in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, and the Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering. He is also a professor of medicine and physiology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He completed his undergraduate training at St. Aloysius College and earned his medical degree from the University of Malta Medical School. Dr. Farrugia is the co-author of “Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast: A Blueprint for Transformation from the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation,” a book highlighting the need for change in the delivery of healthcare. He is co-chair of the National Academy of Medicine’s committee that published An Artificial Intelligence Code of Conduct for Health and Medicine, co-chair of the Patient Safety in the Era of AI initiative and steering group member of the Action Collaborative on Translating
Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation (ACT-ESTI) partnership to advance a responsible biomedical innovation ecosystem. He is a past president of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society and past co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Health and Healthcare Governors. An active translational scientist and NIH-funded researcher, he has published more than 390 academic articles.

Speaker Information

Zack Duckworth

Minnesota Senator

Zach Duckworth is serving in his second term in the Minnesota Senate. He represents Minnesota’s 57th District which includes Lakeville, Elko New Market, Credit River, and Eureka Township. He serves as a member of the Education Policy and Commerce committees, and serves as the Republican lead for the Higher Education committee. Senator Duckworth continues to serve in the Minnesota Army National Guard where he was commissioned as an Infantry Officer via the University of Minnesota’s Army ROTC program and awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service overseas as a Platoon Leader. He also serves as a volunteer firefighter on the Lakeville Fire Department and previously served as Chair of the Lakeville School Board. He attended college at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul where he also earned his M.B.A. and currently stays busy as a small business owner. Senator Duckworth grew up in Lakeville and married his high school sweetheart, Carly. They have four amazing children

Speaker Information

Chanda Smith Baker

President & CEO, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation

Chanda Smith Baker is President and CEO of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, which stewards nearly $2 billion in charitable assets and is the state’s largest community foundation. A nationally recognized executive and strategist, she brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across philanthropy, business, government, and community. She previously served as Chief Impact Officer at the Minneapolis Foundation, where she oversaw a $1B+ portfolio, and as President and CEO of Pillsbury United Communities, where she launched North Market and acquired a community newspaper. Chanda is a founding member of the Black Collective Foundation MN, co-curator of Portraits of Us: A Book of Essays Centering Black Women Leading Philanthropy, and host of the award-winning Conversations with Chanda podcast. Her leadership has earned numerous honors, and she currently serves as Chair of the Allina Health Foundation and on the boards of The Joyce Foundation and NACD Minnesota.

Speaker Information

Chef Gavin Kaysen

Soigne Hospitality Chef & Owner

Chef Gavin Kaysen has transformed the Minneapolis dining scene through his visionary approach to hospitality as founder and chef-owner of Soigné Hospitality Group. In 2024, Food & Wine magazine featured Kaysen saying “How One Chef Has Changed the Midwestern Culinary Landscape.” Since returning to his Midwestern roots in 2014, Kaysen has created a collection of acclaimed restaurants that have redefined fine dining in the Twin Cities while launching a catering company and book publishing Company. Now renowned for his leadership and commitment to culinary excellence, Kaysen continues to broaden his impact with new partnerships and openings in 2025 including two locations of Bellecour, and his first restaurant outside of Minneapolis called The Merchant Room in collaboration with Naples Beach Club Florida, Four Seasons Resort. Spoon and Stable is at the heart of his culinary portfolio. The North Loop flagship earned a James Beard nomination for “Best New Restaurant” upon opening and continues to receive national recognition. His intimate 20-seat, tasting menu restaurant, Demi, showcases another level of technical precision and creativity. In 2024, it was the only independent restaurant welcomed into the prestigious Relais & Châteaux collection and in 2020 it was a James Beard Award Nominee for “Best New Restaurant.” Further demonstrating his culinary range and commitment to exceptional dining experiences, Gavin opened the Mediterranean-inspired Mara Restaurant and Bar, and adjacent Socca Café, at Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis in 2022. That same year, Mara was named “Restaurant of the Year” by both The Star Tribune and Minnesota Monthly. Kaysen’s influence extends beyond restaurants, as well. His commitment to collaboration and professional development is evident through The Synergy Series, his second self-published book through Spoon Thief Publishing, which debuted in May 2025. Inspired by the collaborative dining event of the same name, The Synergy Series is part cookbook, part inspirational leadership book spotlighting the stories of 25 of the country’s most renowned chefs, all who have joined Kaysen and his team in the kitchen at Spoon and Stable. In 2017, Kaysen launched KZ ProVisioning with his co-founder Chef Andrew Zimmern, to provide customized culinary programs for professional sports teams. Ready to broaden their impact, KZ Provisioning announced its partnership with Aramark Sports + Entertainment in fall 2024, to expand to professional sports teams nationwide, and at the collegiate level for the first time. As President of Team USA for Ment’or, Kaysen works alongside his mentors, and culinary icons, Chefs Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller to support rising culinary talent. Kaysen’s dedication to the profession is further exemplified through his co-founding of Heart of the House Foundation, as well as his other charitable commitments. Kaysen is a two-time James Beard Award winner (Rising Star Chef 2008, Best Chef: Midwest 2018), and continues to receive accolades. He was recently named one of the “50 Most Powerful People in American Fine Dining” by Robb Report and one of the “50 People Changing the Way Minnesotans Eat” by The Star Tribune. His media presence also includes serving as executive culinary producer for Netflix’s “Iron Chef” reboot in 2022 and appearing as a judge on Food Network’s Bobby’s Triple Threat.” Through his thoughtful leadership and culinary innovation, Chef Gavin Kaysen is building not just restaurants but a legacy that celebrates the intersection of exceptional food and generous hospitality.

Speaker Information

Rochelle Olson

The Minnesota Star Tribune Editorial Columnist

Since 2000, Rochelle Olson has been a reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune covering Minneapolis and St. Paul City Halls, state government, Hennepin and Ramsey counties and the district and state court systems. In February 2025, she joined the editorial board has a columnist focused on politics at the Capitol. For the first eight years of her career, she worked at the Associated Press, covering state Capitols in St. Paul, Charleston, W.Va., and Topeka, Kan. She’s a Bloomington native with a graduate degree in journalism from the University of Kansas and a undergraduate degree in French from Hamline University.

Speaker Information

Beth Wozniak

Chair & CEO, nVent

Wozniak is the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of nVent, a $3.3B leading global provider of electrical connection and protection solutions. With more than 11,000 employees worldwide, nVent is focused on building a more sustainable and electrified world. Wozniak is proud of her diverse board and leadership team and is passionate about inclusion and diversity. nVent is a certified Great Place To Work™ and was named to Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Manufacturing & Production™ List. In 2023, Wozniak was honored by Twin Cities Business as its Person of the Year, and in 2024 Wozniak was named a regional Entrepreneur of the Year®2024 Heartland Award winner by Ernst & Young LLP (EY US).Prior to leading nVent in its spin from Pentair plc in 2018, Wozniak was the President of Pentair’s Electrical business unit and before that she served as President of Pentair’s Flow & Filtration Solutions business unit. Prior to joining Pentair in 2015, Wozniak had a 25-year career at Honeywell, holding several executive leadership positions including President of the Environmental and Combustion Controls business and President of the Sensing and Control business. Through her career at Honeywell, she held various executive positions in both the Automation and Control, and Aerospace business units. Wozniak is the Chair of the Board of Governors of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association(NEMA).She holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and an MBA from York University in Toronto

Speaker Information

Julia Coleman

Minnesota Senator, Carver County

First elected in 2020, she is currently Assistant Minority Leader and serves on committees focused on education, family policy, and economic growth. Before joining the Senate, Senator Coleman served on the Chanhassen City Council, where she gained firsthand experience addressing local priorities. She also worked in public relations and communications, bringing strong skills in collaboration and community engagement to her public service. A graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in Political Science and Sociology, Senator Coleman is committed to advancing policies that strengthen families, expand educational opportunities, and support small businesses. She lives in Waconia with her husband, Jacob, and their three young sons. Senator Coleman is also the daughter-in-law of former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman, continuing a family tradition of public service

Speaker Information

Phil Morris

Vice President & Opinion Editor, The Minnesota Star Tribune

Morris has been recognized as a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for commentary and formerly worked as a contributing essayist for National Geographic Magazine. Morris was the recipient of a Knight-Wallace Fellowship at the University of Michigan, where he researched the use of social media in social justice movements.

Session Information States v. Washington: Who's Leading?

Two Midwestern Governors explore what states can do better than Washington, and how Governors are stepping up in a time of national gridlock.

Governor Walz

41st Governor of Minnesota

Governor Tim Walz is Minnesota’s 41st Governor. He was first elected Governor in 2018 and won re-election in 2022. Accomplishments from his time as Governor include providing universal free school meals for students, protecting reproductive freedom, strengthening voting rights, laying the groundwork to get Minnesota to 100% clean electricity by 2040, cutting taxes for the middle class, and expanding paid leave for Minnesota workers. Throughout his time as Governor, Tim has prioritized making Minnesota the best state in the country to raise a family. Born in a small town in rural Nebraska, Tim’s parents instilled in him the values of public service, generosity toward your neighbors, and working for the common good that guide his commitment to Minnesota today.

Governor Pritzker

43rd Governor of Illinois

Governor JB Pritzker is Illinois’ 43rd Governor, elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022 with the highest vote share for any Democratic governor in more than 60 years. Since taking office, he has accomplished one of the most ambitious policy agendas in the nation. During his tenure, he has worked with the General Assembly to overcome years of fiscal mismanagement by balancing the state budget every year, eliminating the state’s multi-billion-dollar bill backlog, improving pension funding, and achieving nine credit rating upgrades. He raised the minimum wage to a living wage and made historic investments to infrastructure. He has attracted massive new investments in electric vehicle manufacturing and quantum computing, helping Illinois’ economy reach over a trillion dollars.

Lisa Lerer

National Political Correspondent
The New York Times

Lisa Lerer is a national political correspondent for The New York Times, who has written about American politics, power, and elections for nearly two decades. She has covered five presidential campaigns, the White House, and Congress. Her focus is examining the big personalities, ideas and emotions that drive American politics. She joined The Times in 2018, as the founding author of the On Politics newsletter. Previously, she was a national political writer at The Associated Press, and reported for Politico, Bloomberg News, Business week and The American Lawyer magazine. She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia Journalism School. After about a dozen years in Washington, she now lives in New York City with her family.

Session Information: Morning Keynote

The Great Progression: Understanding the Next Great Digital Age: Peter Leyden reveals how AI and emerging tech could spark a new era of progress and possibility.

Speakers:

Peter Leyden

Tech Expert & Futurist

Leyden is a tech expert and thought leader on artificial intelligence, climate technologies and a more positive future through his keynote speaking, writing and advising.

Session Information; Leading from the Midwest

Leading from the Midwest: Regional CEOs share candid insights on leadership, growth, and navigating today’s fast changing business landscape.

Gianrico Farrugia

President & CEO
Mayo Clinic

Farrugia, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Mayo Clinic, leads the world’s No. 1 ranked hospital. Powered by an 85,000-person global workforce, Mayo Clinic cares for people with serious and/or complex illnesses from all 50 U.S. states and across 135 countries annually. With a distinct focus on advancing patient-centered healthcare transformation for the entire sector, Dr. Farrugia is a pioneering voice in moving healthcare from a linear pipeline operating model to a platform-based model. Under his leadership, Mayo Clinic launched and scaled Mayo Clinic Platform, which brings together data partners, solution developers and healthcare providers to transform care through insights derived from the world’s most comprehensive repository of longitudinal, de-identified clinical data across four continents.

Gunjan Kedia

President & CEO
U.S. Bancorp

Kedia is the president and chief executive officer, and a member of the Board of Directors of U.S. Bancorp, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the country. Kedia became CEO in April 2025 after serving as president since 2024. She previously served as vice chair of Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking. Kedia brings 30 years of financial services experience to her role. Before joining U.S. Bancorp in2016, she led the investment servicing business in the Americas at State Street Financial and was a member of its Managing Committee. In 2004, Kedia joined Bank of New York Mellon, where she served as an executive vice president and head of global product management for its global asset servicing business. Previously, she was a partner at McKinsey & Co. and a core leader of its financial services practice.

Beth Wozniak

Chair & CEO
nVent

Wozniak is the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of nVent, a $3.3B leading global provider of electrical connection and protection solutions. With more than 11,000 employees worldwide, nVent is focused on building a more sustainable and electrified world. Wozniak is proud of her diverse board and leadership team and is passionate about inclusion and diversity. nVent is a certified Great Place To Work™ and was named to Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Manufacturing & Production™ List. In 2023, Wozniak was honored by Twin Cities Business as its Person of the Year, and in 2024 Wozniak was named a regional Entrepreneur of the Year®2024 Heartland Award winner by Ernst & Young LLP (EY US).

Allison Kaplan

Director of Innovation & Engagement
The Minnesota Star Tribune

Kaplan is Director of Innovation & Engagement for the Minnesota Star Tribune, working with the newsroom on multimedia initiatives and storytelling that deepens community connection. She brings to this newly created role more than two decades of experience as a journalist, radio show host, podcaster, television contributor, emcee, and entrepreneur. Previously, she served as editor in chief of Twin Cities Business and vice president of content for the magazine division of its parent company, MSP Communications. She created and hosted the TCB podcast By All Means, a show about leadership and innovation. A style columnist turned business editor, Ali’s areas of expertise include retail, entrepreneurship, and work culture. She’s interviewed everyone from top fashion designers and celebrities to Fortune 500 CEOs. A career side hustler, Ali is also the co-founder of Mother Of, a digital media platform that spotlights and offers advice to mothers of the bride and groom.

Session Information; Disruptor Talks

Fast paced presentations from bold thinkers unpacking trends shaping the Midwest’s future.

Speakers:

Dayna Frank

President & CEO
First Avenue Productions

Frank is President and CEO of First Avenue Productions. Originally founded in 1970, First Avenue promotes over 1,200 shows annually and owns and operates the Fine Line, Turf Club, Palace Theatre, and Fitzgerald Theater, as well as the First Avenue Main room & 7th St Entry. Dayna is co-founder and a Board Member of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), who rallied music lovers and lobbied Congress, securing $16.25 billion dollars to Save Our Stages. Dayna is a 2018 Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, Rolling Stone Future 25 2021, Billboard Women in Music Top Executive, pickleball champion, and firm believer in community building through live music. She lives in Minneapolis with her wife and two sons.

Zachary Mannheimer

Founder & Chairman
Alquist 3D

Zachary, a native of SE Pennsylvania, studied Theater and Philosophy at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. Post-graduation he ventured to London and NYC, creating, and operating several experimental theater companies. A transformative road trip in 2007 led him to Des Moines, IA where he spearheaded and established the non-profit Des Moines Social Club with a dedicated group of artistic collaborators. In 2020 he co-founded Atlas Community Studios, addressing community and economic development in over 25 states. Zack recognized the acute need for quality, affordable housing in America and, in response, established Alquist 3D to 3D print homes in underserved communities.

Andrew Miller

Chief Revenue Officer
Minnesota Vikings

Miller enters his seventh season as chief operating officer of the Minnesota Vikings in 2025, being named to the position on Aug. 12, 2019. Miller works alongside Vikings ownership and executive leadership in developing the organization’s vision and the strategy for all business departments. Under Miller’s leadership, the Vikings business operations units have seen tremendous success. In 2024, the team and U.S. Bank Stadium earned the No. 1 spot for “Overall Game day Satisfaction” in the NFL-wide “Voice of the Fan” survey, which measures Season Ticket Members’ and game attendees’ experience at all NFL games. The Vikings set an NFL record with the highest score the league had seen in the overall category and finished No. 1 or No. 2 in multiple areas, including “Game Entertainment” and “Gameday Staff.

Ping Yeh

CEO
Vocxi Health

Ping Yeh is a cancer survivor and health tech entrepreneur building global-impact companies from the heart of the Midwest. He is currently CEO of Vocxi Health, a spinout from Boston Scientific and the University of Minnesota, pioneering breath-based disease detection. Vocxi’s platform, recently nominated for the Prix Galien Award—often referred to as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in the medical industry—uses a breathalyzer powered by quantum sensors and AI/ML to extract early signals of cancer and other illnesses from just one minute of breath. Before shifting into health innovation, Ping led breakthrough work in advanced data storage. His early nanotechnology research was used to increase hard drive storage capacity for data centers, and he went on to lead the first and second teams at Seagate to bring solid state drives (SSDs) to the world—technology that now underpins the speed and performance of AI and large language models.

Kristen Painter

Business Editor
The Minnesota Star Tribune

Kristen Painter is the Star Tribune’s Business Editor. She has spent most of her career in business news, here and in Colorado. As a reporter, she covered a range of beats, including airlines and aerospace, food and agriculture, and growth and development. She’s reported from Tokyo to Sudan. Kristen was a key contributor to teams awarded the Pulitzer Prize and named a Gerald Loeb Awards finalist.

Zachary Mannheimer

Founder & Chairman
Alquist 3D

Zachary, a native of SE Pennsylvania, studied Theater and Philosophy at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. Post-graduation he ventured to London and NYC, creating, and operating several experimental theater companies. A transformative road trip in 2007 led him to Des Moines, IA where he spearheaded and established the non-profit Des Moines Social Club with a dedicated group of artistic collaborators. In 2020 he co-founded Atlas Community Studios, addressing community and economic development in over 25 states. Zack recognized the acute need for quality, affordable housing in America and, in response, established Alquist 3D to 3D print homes in underserved communities.

Session Information: AI and the Midwest Economy

Two of the nation’s most influential economic voices explore how artificial intelligence, innovation, and economic policy are reshaping the future of work, growth, and stability in the Midwest and beyond.

Speakers:

Dr. Ronnie Chatterji

Chief Economist
Open AI

Aaron “Ronnie” Chatterji, Ph.D., is Open AI’s first Chief Economist. He is also the Mark Burgess & Lisa Benson-Burgess Distinguished Professor at Duke University, working at the intersection of academia, policy, and business. He served in the Biden Administration as White House CHIPS coordinator and Acting Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, shaping industrial policy, manufacturing, and supply chains. Before that, he was Chief Economist at the Department of Commerce and a Senior Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Neel Kashkari

President & CEO
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Neel Kashkari President and CEO Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Neel Kashkari took office as president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis on January 1, 2016, following a national search conducted by the Bank’s independent board of directors. In this role, he serves as a member on the Federal Open Market Committee, bringing the Ninth District’s perspective to monetary policy discussions in Washington, D.C. In addition to his responsibilities as a monetary policymaker, Neel oversees all operations of the Bank, including supervision and regulation, Treasury services, and payments services.

Josh Boak

White House Correspondent
The Associated Press

Boak joined the AP as an economics reporter in November 2013. He previously was deputy Washington bureau chief for The Fiscal Times and an economics reporter for Politico. He also was a business reporter for the Chicago Tribune, covering energy, derivatives and agriculture. Boak also covered politics at The Toledo Blade, where he won a Livingston Award and a Gerald Loeb Award.

Session Information; Insight Talks: Big Ideas in Brief

Fast paced presentations from bold thinkers unpacking trends shaping the Midwest’s future.

Speakers:

Susan Brower

State Demographer
State of Minnesota

Brower is the Minnesota State Demographer and directs the MN State Demographic Center. She travels the state talking with Minnesotans about the new social and economic realities that are brought about by recent demographic shifts.

Myles Shaver

Professor and Associate Dean at the University of Minnesota-Carlson School of Management

Shaver is Associate Dean of Faculty and Research at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. Myles’ research about corporate expansion is published in leading scholarly journals and he is invited to present at conferences and universities around the world.

Chanda Smith Baker

President & CEO
Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation

Smith Baker is President and CEO of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, which stewards nearly $2 billion in charitable assets and is the state’s largest community foundation. A nationally recognized executive and strategist, she brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across philanthropy, business, government, and community.

Peter Meijer

Co-Founder and Head of Strategy
The New Industrial Corporation

Meijer is a co-founder and Head of Strategy at The New Industrial Corporation, an investment company specializing in project development at the intersection of venture and infrastructure capital. In Congress, he represented Michigan’s Third Congressional District in the US House of Representatives, serving on the Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, and Science, Space, and Technology committees.

Houston White

CEO & Entrepreneur
Houston White Ventures

White is a creative visionary who brings people, cultures, and communities together to elevate one another. Houston is invested in creating a better world, especially for the black community, and regularly collaborates with local government officials and business leaders to increase racial equity. The driving force behind his work over the past two decades has been to inspire a renaissance of optimism and action with and for people who believe in vibrant Black futures.

Danielle Russell

Managing Director of Data, Measurement, and Analytics
Google

Russell is a seasoned senior strategy and operations executive with over 25 years of experience advising C-suite leaders at Fortune 500 companies. As a Managing Director at Google and a recognized Top Technology Executive in Michigan, she drives business growth and digital transformation by helping clients modernize their marketing efforts.

Session Information: The Future of the Republican Party in Minnesota

Former Governor Tim Pawlenty sits down with rising GOP voices Julia Coleman and Zach Duckworth to discuss what’s next for the Republican party in Minnesota.

Speakers:

Tim Pawlenty

Former MN Governor

While serving for two terms as Minnesota’s Governor, Tim Pawlenty used innovative and conservative leadership to balance Minnesota’s budget, cut spending, reform healthcare, and improve schools without raising taxes. Due to his leadership, Minnesota had nation-leading healthcare, high school test scores and a prosperous economy.

Zack Duckworth

Minnesota Senator

Duckworth is serving in his second term in the Minnesota Senate. He represents Minnesota’s57th District which includes Lakeville, Elko New Market, Credit River, and Eureka Township. He serves as a member of the Education Policy and Commerce committees, and serves as the Republican lead for the Higher Education committee.

Julia Coleman

Minnesota Senator
Carver County

Coleman represents District 48 in the Minnesota State Senate, serving communities across Carver County. First elected in 2020, she is currently Assistant Minority Leader and serves on committees focused on education, family policy, and economic growth. Before joining the Senate, Senator Coleman served on the Chanhassen City Council, where she gained firsthand experience addressing local priorities.

Rochelle Olson

The Minnesota Star Tribune Editorial Columnist

Since 2000, Rochelle Olson has been a reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune covering Minneapolis and St. Paul City Halls, state government, Hennepin and Ramsey counties and the district and state court systems. In February 2025, she joined the editorial board has a columnist focused on politics at the Capitol.

Session Information; Midwest Creativity Panel

Culture That Shapes the Nation: leading artists and creators explore how the Midwest punches above it’s weight and shapes America’s cultural story far beyond our borders

Dessa

Musician, Speaker, and Writer

Dessa has made a career of bucking genres and defying expectations—her résumé as a musician includes performances at Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, co-compositions for 100-voice choir, performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, and top-200 entries on the Billboard charts. “Congratulations”, the track she contributed to the #1 album The Hamilton Mixtape, has notched over 20 million streams. As an author, she’s written for The New York Times and National Geographic Traveler, broadcast by the BBC, and published a memoir-in-essays (My Own Devices, Penguin Random House) in addition to several literary collections.

Curtis Sittenfeld

Bestselling American Novelist

Sittenfeld is the bestselling author of seven novels including Romantic Comedy, Prep, American Wife, Eligible and Rodham, and two story collections, You Think It, I’ll Say It and Show Don’t Tell. Her books have been selected by The New York Times, Time, EW, and People for their “Ten Best Books of the Year” lists, picked twice for Reese Witherspoon’s book club, optioned for television and film, and translated into thirty languages. Her short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The Best American Short Stories anthology, of which she was the 2020 guest editor. She lives with her family in Minneapolis.

Ernesto Londoño

National Correspondent
The New York Times

Londoño is a correspondent on the National desk of The New York Times, where he has worked since 2014.He is the author of Trippy: The Promise and Perils of Medicinal Psychedelics, a book that blends memoir and reportage to take readers inside a wondrous field that straddles spirituality and healthcare. Ernesto joined The Times as an editorial writer, where he focused on foreign policy. Earlier in his career, Ernesto worked at The Washington Post, where his assignments included covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring and The Pentagon.

North Star Summit

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2025 Speakers

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Speaker Information

Andrew Miller

Speaker Information

Dayna Frank

Speaker Information

Peter Meijer

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Houston White

Speaker Information

Ping Yeh

Speaker Information

Peter Leyden

Speaker Information

Myles Shaver

Speaker Information

Zachary Mannheimer

Speaker Information

Neel Kashari

Speaker Information

Steve Grove

Speaker Information

Dessa

Speaker Informaion

Susan Brower

Speaker Information

Gunjan Kedia

Speaker Information

Danielle Russell

Speaker Information

Governor JB Pritzker

Speaker Information

Tim Pawlenty

Speaker Information

Curtis Sittenfeld

Speaker Information

Dr. Ronnie Chatterji

Speaker Information

Lisa Lerer

Speaker Information

Governor Tim Walz

Speaker Information

Josh Boak

Speaker Information

Ernesto Londoño

Speaker Information

Allison Kaplan

Speaker Information

Gianrico Farrugia

Speaker Information

Zack Duckworth

Speaker Information

Chanda Smith Baker

Speaker Information

Chef Gavin Kaysen

Speaker Information

Rochelle Olson

Speaker Information

Beth Wozniak

Speaker Information

Julia Coleman

Speaker Information

Phil Morris

Session Information States v. Washington: Who's Leading?

Session Information: Morning Keynote

Session Information; Leading from the Midwest

Session Information; Disruptor Talks

Session Information: AI and the Midwest Economy

Session Information; Insight Talks: Big Ideas in Brief

Session Information: The Future of the Republican Party in Minnesota

Session Information; Midwest Creativity Panel