2nd Annual NetWorked for Change Conference
Pre-Conference Mixer
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
6 pm-8 pm | Botanica, Koi Pond Pavilion
701 Amidon, Wichita, KS 67203
Registration includes two complimentary drink tickets.
COME & GO EVENT.
CONFERENCE
Thursday, May 25, 2023
8:30 am-3 pm | Hyatt Regency Wichita
400 W. Waterman, Wichita, KS 67203
Registration costs $99 per person.
Groups of 10+ may register for a group-rate of $79 per person.
Hotel accommodations are in addition to
conference registration and may be secured
directly through the Hyatt Regency Wichita.
Revisiting the inaugural NetWorked Conference
APRIL 1, 2022 - Hyatt Regency, Wichita, KS
2022 NETWORKED VIDEO LIBRARY
The following videos were recorded at the NetWorked for Change conference
held in Wichita on April 1, 2022. See presenter bios by clicking here.
Morning Session featuring the Changemaker Chat with Erik Pedersen and Steve Radley of NetWork Kansas
and Power Talks:
Entrepreneurship Support - Melissa Roberts Chapman, Senior Program Officer, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (24:02 mark)
Community Development - Kayla Savage, Director, Community Development Division, Kansas Department of Commerce (39:12 mark)
Entrepreneurship Support - Miguel Johns, Founder, mmnt* and Marty Beth Jarvis, Executive Director, NXTUS, Inc. (46:11 mark)
Civic Engagement - Michelle De La Isla, Managing Director, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation (59:30 mark)
Entrepreneurship Support Huddle featuring:
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Gabe Munoz, Executive Director, the Toolbox KC: Small Business Resource Center
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Daniel Smith, Co-Founder, the Porter House KC
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Mary Beth Jarvis, Executive Director, NXTUS, Inc.
Civic Engagement Huddle featuring:
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Marquetta Atkins, Founder & Executive Director, Destination Innovation, Inc.
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Misty Bruckner, Director, Public Policy and Management Center
Health Huddle featuring:
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Rial Carver, Program Leader, Rural Grocery Initiative, K-State Research & Extension
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Jeff Usher, Senior Program Officer, the Kansas Health Foundation
Community Development Huddle featuring:
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Imagene Harris, Vice President, Impact Investment Services, NetWork Kansas
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Aubrey Abbott Patterson, President & Chief Executive Officer, Hutchinson Community Foundation
Diversity, Equity and Innovation Afternoon Keynote featuring:
Dominick J. Ard'is, Founder & CEO, ACT House, Inc.
Diversity, Equity and Innovation Huddle featuring:
Dominick J. Ard'is, Founder & CEO, ACT House, Inc.
Community Development Huddle featuring:
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Peter Jasso, Director, Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission with members of the Kansas Department of Commerce staff
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Jamie Buster, Deputy City Clerk, the City of Wichita
NetWorked for Change closing remarks
2022 ITINERARY
Stay tuned for 2023 details
PRE-CONFERENCE MIXER
MARCH 31, 2022
6 PM-8 PM
jenny dawn cellars
703 E. Douglas Ave, Ste. 180
Wichita, KS 67202
CONFERENCE
APRIL 1, 2022
8:30 AM-3 PM
hyatt regency wichita
400 W. Waterman
Wichita, KS 67202
Calling together our network of do-gooders – people and organizations working, each day, to make their communities better places to live, work and play.
The NetWorked for Change Conference is for you.
This conference features speakers, interactive huddles where problem-solving replaces lectures and where intentional networking will lead to relevant resource connections.
Featured Topics:
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Community Development
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Civic Engagement
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Entrepreneurship Support
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Health
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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
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$99 per participant
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Groups of 10 or more may register for $79.20 per participant
Registration includes two complimentary drink tickets to the pre-conference mixer at Jenny Dawn Cellars.
CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
The NetWorked for Change conference is as much about our participants as it is our presenters. Our presenters will help engage, inspire and offer insight on HOW they're solving challenges and how to strategize around concepts for your own community.
Steve's featured resource:
Steve Radley - Chief Executive Officer, NetWork Kansas
Conference Host, Keynote & Impact Investing Huddle Leader
Steve Radley is Chief Executive Officer of NetWork Kansas. A resident of Wichita, Steve began his career in the private sector as the 28th employee of a business startup technology company, Brite Voice Systems in Wichita. The company grew from $6 million to more than $175 million during the nine years Steve worked for Kansas entrepreneur Stan Brannan. Since then, Steve has co-owned two businesses including a manufactured housing dealership that was sold to the largest manufacturer in the country, Champion Enterprises. Steve’s work experience centers on business development and taking products and businesses from startup to maturity. Steve has an MBA from the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University, an MA in Christian Ministry from Friends University, and a BA in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma.
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Erik's featured resource:
Erik Pedersen - President and Chief Operating Officer,
NetWork Kansas
Conference Host, Keynote & Impact Investing Huddle Leader
Erik is the President and Chief Operating Officer for the Kansas Center for Entrepreneurship DBA NetWork Kansas. Erik’s initial task was the development and growth of the NetWork Kansas referral center. Erik’s responsibilities have grown to oversee the Entrepreneurship (E-) Community partnership. This partnership, which has grown to 66 E-Communities, includes an injection of capital raised locally through the NetWork Kansas Entrepreneurship Tax Credit Program to help start and grow businesses in rural Kansas communities. Erik graduated from Friends University in 1988 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. Erik began his career in 1990 when he went to work for a Wichita-based technology startup company, Brite Voice Systems, owned by Stan Brannan. At Brite Voice, Erik worked in marketing and business development. In 1997, Erik left Brite Voice to start a manufactured housing dealership with Steve Radley, President of the Kansas Center for Entrepreneurship. The business was later sold to the largest manufacturer in the country, Champion Enterprises, and Erik remained with Champion as General Manager until May 2005. Erik’s work experience centers on the overall operation and management of fast growing businesses and organizations.
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Christina's featured resources:
Developing funding programs for minority entrepreneurs
Creating inclusive entrepreneurship programming
Christina M. Long - Strategic Director, NetWorked
Conference Emcee
Christina Long is an entrepreneur and community-builder who is passionate about diversity, inclusion and economic development through entrepreneurship. Long is a native of Wichita, Kansas; Wichita State University graduate and owner of CML Collective, LLC, an inclusive communication and design firm. She is also the Founding President/CEO of Create Campaign, Inc., a tax-exempt nonprofit she established to help urban entrepreneurs in Kansas to launch, innovate and grow.
Long leads the Wichita Urban E-Community, has served on the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors and is an author of her debut book, “For the Greater Success.” Her numerous honors include being named among 50 Kansans Who You Should Know by Ingram’s Magazine; earning the Chamber’s Exceptional Young Leader Award; receiving a Wichita Business Journal Leaders in Diversity Award and being named the Kansas Minority Business Advocate of the Year by the Kansas Department of Commerce’s Office of Minority and Women Business Development. Long is married to Jonathan and the couple has three brilliant children, Amarah, Malcolm and Jordyn.
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Jeff's featured resources:
Developing impact investing opportunities
Jeff Usher - Senior Program Officer, Kansas Health Foundation
Huddle Leader - Impact Investing for Community Foundations and other Philanthropic Organizations
Jeff Usher is a senior program officer for the Kansas Health Foundation.
Mr. Usher’s responsibilities include working with foundation staff to develop program initiatives. He also provides technical assistance to KHF partners, reviews proposals and monitors existing grants. Mr. Usher serves as senior program officer for the Foundation’s leadership, healthy behaviors and growing community philanthropy Initiatives. In the last twenty-one years he has supervised a portfolio of nearly 800 approved grants totaling more than $170 million to support the mission of improving the health of Kansans.
A graduate of Wichita State University, Mr. Usher received a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1982. He has also been active in several volunteer organizations including the Wichita Health and Wellness Coalition, the Kansas High School Cycling League Development Team and the Governor’s Council on Fitness. He is an avid cyclist and a grandfather of 7 beautiful grandchildren.
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Kayla's featured resources:
Developing vibrant Kansas communities
Kayla Savage - Director, Community Development Division, Kansas Department of Commerce
Power Talk - Community Development
Kayla Savage is Director of the Community Development Division at the Kansas Department of Commerce and a member of the Executive Leadership Team. In this role, Kayla provides knowledge and direction for all community development programs, creates initiatives to leverage existing and new resources, manages the division budget, and works collaboratively with public and private partners. The Community Development Division includes: Kansas Main Street, Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, Rural Opportunity Zones, Kansas Angels, Community Service Tax Credits, Community Development Block Grants and field staff. Kayla represents Commerce on the Kansas Water Authority, Kansas State Fair Board and serves as Treasurer of the Kansas community Pride Board.
Before coming to Commerce, Kayla spent 14 years in nonprofit management and community development. Kayla started her professional community development career as the Director of Emporia Main Street. She has volunteered for several community organizations, including the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation Board and Junior League of the Flint Hills and currently serves as alumni member of the GP IDEA MS of Community Development student group and Greater Manhattan Community Foundation fund committee. Kayla earned her BFA in Communications-Public Relations from Emporia State University and Master of Science in Community Development from Kansas State University. She is a practitioner of Asset-Based Community Development and the Community Capitals Framework.
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Daniel Smith - Co-Founder, The Porter House KC
Huddle Leader - Entrepreneurship Support
Daniel provides organizational leadership and direction to The Porter House KC. He is a native of Kansas City, Mo and graduated from The Bishop Hogan High School. He has worked in both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors in the past 14 years, and has started/owned/operated 5 businesses, including The Porter House KC. Dan's affinity for the not-for-profit sector, and specifically helping in the underserved populations started roughly 20+ years ago when his mother exposed him to the importance of helping others. This experience gave him a deep appreciation for the not-for-profit work being done in the underserved communities of color, and fueled his drive to help those in need.
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Daniel's featured resource:
Jamie's featured resource:
Administering funding programs for underrepresented entrepreneurs
Jamie Buster - Deputy City Clerk, the City of Wichita
Huddle Leader - Entrepreneurship Support
Job Description: As the Deputy City Clerk for the City of Wichita, Jamie is responsible for assisting the City Clerk with preparation of the City Council agendas and minutes and attending the City Council meetings in her absence. She is also responsible for assisting the City Clerk in scheduling public agenda speakers in conformance with Council policies and procedures and responsible for content of subject being allowed on the public agendas. She analyzes and summarizes information to support project planning and /or responding to public issues. She also confers with citizens and representatives of other organizations.
Jamie received a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and a minor in Business Management in 2005 and a Masters of Public Administration degree in 2020 from Wichita State University with a Graduate Certificate in City/County Management. She graduated from the Municipal Clerks Certification Institute November 14, 2013 where she obtained her Certified Municipal Clerk certificate and is now working toward her Master Municipal Clerk certificate. Jamie is currently a member of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks, the City Clerks and Municipal Finance Officers Association, and serves on the District IV Citizens Advisory Board for Sedgwick County.
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Imagene Harris - Vice President of Impact Investment Services, NetWork Kansas
Huddle Leader - Entrepreneurship Support
Imagene serves as the Vice President of Impact Investment Services and oversees NetWork Kansas's statewide funding programs. Imagene joined NetWork Kansas in December 2013 after working in compliance for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). She is a lifelong Kansan, hailing from Ottawa and now calling Lawrence home, where she also earned a BS in Environmental Studies from the University of Kansas and her Masters of Business Administration from Fort Hays State University. Imagene appreciates the opportunity to work for an organization whose resources not only help Kansas businesses and entrepreneurs but also improve the quality of life in Kansas.
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Imagene's featured resource:
Developing impact investing opportunities