Governor’s 2018 Future Ready Iowa Summit

Governor's Future Ready Iowa Summit
Governor Kim Reynolds addresses approximately 1,000 attendees at the Governor’s 2018 Future Ready Iowa Summit on April 3, 2018.

Approximately 1,000 leaders from education, business, nonprofits, government and other sectors gathered in Des Moines for the Governor's 2018 Future Ready Iowa Summit earlier this month. The day focused on transforming education and the workforce, including:

  • How state and national trends are shaping change in a knowledge economy;
  • The importance of expanding high-quality authentic work-based learning experiences;
  • Ways for better connecting more students with future careers; and
  • Why rapidly expanding computer science instruction is necessary in our schools.

The general session featured a robust line-up of the following speakers (by order of the program agenda), including:

  • Governor Kim Reynolds
  • Lt. Governor Adam Gregg
  • Brandon Busteed, Executive Director of Education and Workforce Development at Gallup
  • Mary Andringa, Chair of the Board at Vermeer Corporation
  • Debi Durham, Director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, who moderated a panel that included various business and educational leaders in Iowa
  • Nicole Smith, Chief Economist at Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
  • Jemar Lee, Senior at Prairie High/Iowa BIG and EdRevision Co-Founder and Olivia Carraso, Mechanical Engineering Major at Iowa State University
  • Hadi Partovi, Founder and CEO of Code.org
  • Ryan Wise, Director of the Iowa Department of Education, who moderated a panel that included Governor Kim Reynolds, Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas
  • Jeff Weld, Senior Policy Advisor and Assistant Director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
  • The Honorable Alexander Acosta, U.S. Secretary of Labor

In addition to the general session, eleven breakout sessions provided in-depth conversations about various aspects and efforts related to the overall Future Ready Iowa initiative.

Summit attendees were able to experience a “Showcase of Work-Based Learning” which featured more than 20 engaging hands-on exhibits demonstrating school and business partnerships taking place throughout Iowa.

The Governor’s 2018 Future Ready Iowa Summit was made possible through the generous support of sponsors, including Accumold, Alliant Energy, Associated General Contractors of Iowa, Cognizant, Google, Iowa Area Education Agencies, Iowa Association of Business and Industry, Iowa Association of Community College Trustees, Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, Iowa Association of School Boards, Iowa Biotech Association, Iowa Board of Regents, Iowa Business Council, Iowa Economic Development, Iowa State Association of Counties, Iowa Workforce Development, ITC Midwest, John Deere, MidAmerican Energy, Principal Financial, Rockwell Collins, School Administrators of Iowa, Technology Association of Iowa and Vermeer Corporation.

Videos, presentation materials and other summit resources are available at www.IowaSTEM.gov/Archive.

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