Be sure to arrive early and check in before 8:15am, where we'll begin with welcoming remarks and introductions from the Kirkwood Corporate Training team.

Working well as a team can help us win at work, resulting in better productivity, results, relationships, and more. During this session, you will tackle a challenge together. Your two goals: win the challenge and utilize specific strategies and skills to make that possible.

Speaker Bio

Brenda Meeker is passionate about supporting others in their personal and professional growth. As a Learning and Development Specialist at Van Meter, she develops and facilitates programs that support leaders in growing themselves and building engaged, high performing teams. Her interest in continuous improvement within organizations leads her to celebrate success with others and then work toward delivering even better results. In addition to her current functions, Brenda has experience in human resources, managing projects and events, and developing communication plans and messages. She has worked in corporate and nonpro­fit settings and Division I athletics, providing a range of experience that informs her work.

Brenda is an active community volunteer. She currently serves as a Leadership for Five Seasons (Class of 2022) Advisory Board member and volunteers as an English tutor with the Catherine McAuley Center. She is an active member of the Association for Talent Development (ATD) Hawkeye Chapter and served on its Board of Directors in a variety of roles, including President.

Brenda has a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and an MBA from Drake University in Des Moines.

Tired of tiptoeing around tension? Whether it's clashing coworkers, difficult clients, or just two strong personalities going head-to-head, conflict happens — but it doesn't have to explode. In just 20 minutes, this fast-paced session will equip you with real-world tools to manage conflict without drama.

You'll learn how to:

• Spot the early warning signs of tension
• Stay calm under pressure
• Respond instead of react
• Turn conflict into collaboration

Speaker Bio

Kelly Dybvig is a dynamic human resources leader and organizational strategist with more than 2 decades of experience transforming people, teams, and cultures across industries. As Assistant Vice President of Human Resources at UFG Insurance, she leads cross-functional teams in organizational development, change management, learning and development, and HR business partnering—driving alignment between talent strategies and business goals.

With a background that spans healthcare, municipal leadership, and the corporate sector, she brings a unique lens to leadership development, employee engagement, succession planning, and performance excellence. Her passion lies in building inclusive, people-centered systems that empower individuals while moving the organization forward.

A certified coach and experienced facilitator, Kelly is known for bringing practical, people-first insights to life with humor, clarity, and authenticity. She’s a trusted advisor to executive leaders, a sought-after speaker on HR strategy and engagement, and a champion for building cultures of trust, accountability, and growth.

Leadership isn’t about a job title — it’s about the ability to inspire, influence, and bring out the best in others. In this talk, we’ll explore how  to cultivate authentic leadership by building trust, communicating with purpose, and empowering those around you. Whether you're leading a
team, a project, or simply striving to make an impact, you’ll learn actionable strategies to lead in a way that others choose to follow.

Speaker Bio

Sarah Gorsh began her unexpected journey into project management over 20 years ago when her bachelor’s degree in Leisure Studies left her craving more purposeful and challenging work. She discovered her passion in the dynamic world of project management and never looked back.

Through leading countless projects, initiatives, and transformations, Sarah has witnessed firsthand how great influential leadership can drive organizational success. Unlike leadership rooted in authority or position, influential leadership is built on trust, credibility, and the ability to connect with people both emotionally and intellectually. Helping others harness their influential powers to achieve meaningful results is Sarah’s favorite thing to do!

As a consultant and certified coach specializing in project management, process improvement, and leadership coaching, Sarah thrives on helping clients bring order to their chaos. She leverages her extensive experience to coach individuals one-on-one, facilitate impactful workshops, and empower teams during transformative times. Sarah holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University’s College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

Discover how to create a culture where employees feel safe to speak up, take risks, and drive innovation. Great ideas don't thrive in fear. In this interactive mini-session, you'll learn the key behaviors that foster psychological safety and walk away with practical tools to start building a more open, engaged, and high-performing team.

Speaker Bio

Cathy Busch is an accomplished human resources leader with over two decades of experience spanning healthcare, manufacturing, retail, agriculture, start-up, and non-profit sectors. She has expertise in employee relations, leadership development, strategic planning, talent acquisition, and organizational change.  She thrives on building engaged, high-performing teams.

In addition to her extensive corporate and consulting career, Cathy currently serves as the Director of Human Resources for the Sumner-Fredericksburg School District, Tripoli CSD, & East Marshall CSD. She has held multiple senior leadership HR roles, consistently delivering innovative, people-focused solutions that improve organizational culture, efficiency, and retention.

Cathy holds both SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Kentucky while on a basketball scholarship. She is known as a collaborative, creative problem-solver who thrives on helping others succeed.

Most leadership programs focus on fixing bad habits; this one focuses on preventing them. In this fast-paced, interactive session, participants will explore the real challenges new and emerging leaders face, bust some common myths about what leadership actually looks like, and walk away with practical tools they can use immediately.

Through live coaching demos and relatable scenarios, Jarrod will show how confidence, clarity, and calm can be built (not inherited) and why early investment in leadership development pays off long-term.

You will leave with:

• 3 high-impact prompts for leading better 1:1s
• A simple decision-making framework for first-time leaders
• A fresh understanding of how to lead even when you don’t have all the answers

Speaker Bio

Jarrod Hogan is the Founder of Forge & Flow Coaching, where he helps new and emerging leaders build confidence, lead with intention, and avoid the dysfunction that often comes with inexperience. With over a decade of experience leading teams in healthcare, instructional design, and the military, Jarrod brings a grounded, real-world approach to leadership development. He specializes in coaching first-time leaders to get out of their heads and into effective action without becoming someone they’re not.

"TAKE 2" is a behavior based safety program focusing on worker’s conduct and the workplace environment. This hands-on session will focus on job task scenarios by taking 2 minutes to ensure safety is priority!

Speaker Bio

For the past 14 years, David Hughes has been the Fire and Safety Program Manager for the Kirkwood Community College Continuing Education and Corporate Training divisions. The position involves OSHA safety training for safety professionals in OSHA standards and safety behaviors.