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North Star Summit Schedule

North Star Summit Schedule

Event Schedule

7:30-8:30

Registration and networking over a breakfast buffet.

8:30-8:45

Minnesota Star Tribune CEO and Publisher Steve Grove and Editor Kathleen Hennessey welcome attendees and premiere the North Star Index.

8:45-9:15

Peter Leyden, futurist and co-founder of The Great Progression presents "Understanding the Next Great Digital Age."

9:20-10:30

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

Presents “Demographic shifts that will define the next generation of regional leadership and growth.”

Presents “Minnesota’s competitive edge in headquarters and talent.”

Presents “The Minnesota Paradox and the role of philanthropy in addressing inequality.”

Presents “Independent thinking from the Midwest and its national impact.”

Presents “Building community-first businesses and bridging divides.”

Presents “What Midwest businesses must know about data, privacy and digital transformation.”

10:30-11:15

Ronnie Chatterji (OpenAI), Neel Kashkari (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis), and Josh Boak (Associated Press) discuss the profound economic and societal implications of artificial intelligence.

11:20-11:55

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Sen. Zach Duckworth, Sen. Julia Coleman. Moderated by Rochelle Olson (The Minnesota Star Tribune).

11:55-1:30

Mix and mingle with other attendees while enjoying a specially prepared lunch.

1:30-1:55

A discussion featuring artist Dessa, novelist Curtis Sittenfeld, and journalist Ernesto Londoño (The New York Times).

2:00-2:45

A discussion featuring Dr. Gianrico Farrugia (Mayo Clinic), Gunjan Kedia (U.S. Bancorp), Beth Wozniak (nVent). Moderated by Allison Kaplan (Minnesota Star Tribune).

2:50-4:00

Meet the visionaries driving innovation, redefining industries, and putting the Midwest on the world's radar.

Presents “When live music becomes civic power.”

Presents “Reinventing how Americans live through housing innovation.”

Presents “Disrupting sports business and fan engagement.”

Presents “Midwest grit and MedTech breakthroughs.”

4:00-5:00

Gov. Tim Walz and Gov. JB Pritzker will join Lisa Lerer (The New York Times) to debate state and federal leadership in this pivotal moment.

5:00-6:30

Event concludes with networking and conversation over light bites and beverages.

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

Insight Talks: Myles Shaver

Why does Minnesota punch above it’s weight in headquarters and talent? Fresh insights into the Midwest’s competitive edge. 

Speakers:

Myles Shaver
Professor & Associate Dean of Faculty & Research
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 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. 

Insight Talks: Chanda Smith Baker

A reflection on the Minnesota paradox and the creative role that philanthropy can play in addressing systemic inequality.  

Speakers:

Chanda Smith Baker
President & CEO
Minnesota & Saint Paul Foundation

Smith Baker became the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation’s President & CEO on August 25, 2025.The Foundation is a trusted philanthropic partner for individuals, families and organizations statewide, providing more than 9,000 grants annually. A seasoned executive and nationally recognized thought leader, Chanda brings deep expertise in aligning vital resources with community priorities and a steadfast belief in what’s possible when people unite around a common purpose.

Insight Talks: Peter Meijer

What does it mean to rethink industry and politics from the Midwest? How can independent thinking from our region disrupt the status quo nationally? 

Speakers:

Peter Meijer
Co-Founder & Head of Strategy
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.

Insight Talks: Houston White

What building community-first businesses in Minneapolis can teach the nation about bridging divides. 

Speakers:

Houston White
CEO & Entrepreneur
Houston White Ventures

Business leader and entrepreneur Houston White is a creative visionary who brings people, cultures, and communities together to elevate one another. 

Insight Talks: Danielle Russell

What Midwest businesses must learn about data, privacy, and digital transformation.

Speakers:

Danielle Russell
Managing Director: 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. 

Fireside Chat: AI

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.

Panel: 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.

Session Information CEO Panel

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.

Disruptor Talks: Dayna Frank

When live music becomes civic power: disrupting culture and business from a concert stage

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.

Disruptor Talks: Zachary Mannheimer

What happens when the Midwest leans in reinventing how Americans live? The promise and barriers of being a disruptor in housing and community building. 

Speakers:

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.

Disruptor Talks: Andrew Miller

What does it mean to innovate in one of America’s most tradition-bound industries? How a Midwest team can disrupt sport business and fan engagement 

Speakers:

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.

Disruptor Talks: Ping Yeh

How do personal experience and Midwest grit fuel innovation? Lessons from building medtech breakthroughs outside the coasts.

Speakers:

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.

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.

Insight Talks: Susan Brower

What do the numbers tell us about the Midwest’s future? Demographic shifts that will define the next generation of regional leadership and growth.

Speakers:

Susan Brower
State Demographer

 Brower is the Minnesota State Demographer and directs the MN State Demographic Center. 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.

Insight Talks: Susan Brower

What do the numbers tell us about the Midwest’s future? Demographic shifts that will define the next generation of regional leadership and growth.

Speakers:

Susan Brower
State Demographer

 Brower is the Minnesota State Demographer and directs the MN State Demographic Center. 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.