Bios of Speakers, Programs and Communities

Paul M. Vaaler
Donna Rae Scheffert
Community Stories

1. Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin: Thriving After theCompany Store Goes Away
2. Alexandria, MN: Automation. Anywhere. Anytime.
3. Mississippi Valley Partners: Getting on the Map as a Tourism Region
4. New York Mills, MN: Getting on the Map with Arts and Culture
5. Callaway, MN: From Boom to Bust, and Back Again

Joel Barker, Futurist and Scholar
Community Development Program Leaders

1. Kim Boyce and Jim Mulder, Minnesota County Futures
2. Melissa Bahr and Dr. Valerie Shangreaux, The Blandin Leadership Program
3. Michael Darger, Business Retention and Expansion Strategies Program
4. Dan Frank, Healthy Communities Partnership Program
5. Moderator: Joyce Hoelting, Extension Center for Community Vitality
6. Moderator: Gary DeCramer, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs

Paul M. Vaaler
Associate Professor of Strategic Management & Organization
UMN Carlson School of Management

Paul M. Vaaler is Associate Professor of Strategic Management & Organization at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, and Co-Director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Integrative Leadership. He teaches, researches and has consulted with businesses and government agencies on risk and investment in turbulent industries. His latest research deals with political-economic factors changing risk and investment behavior by multinational firms active in developing countries during election years. He is the author, co-author and or co-editor of books including Creative Destruction (MIT Press, 2001) and Financial Innovation and the Welfare of Nations (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001), and has written teaching cases published by Harvard Business School Publishing. Professor Vaaler received his BA in History from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, his MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University (where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar); his JD from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and his Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Presentation: Wanted: Integrative Leadership for Minnesota Communities
Presentation Time: Monday, April 21, 2008, 12:30 – 1:00 pm

How do Minnesota communities build enduring and mutually beneficial partnerships among local businesses, governments and civic organizations? Professor Paul Vaaler will answer that question from an “integrative leadership” perspective that prompts local business, government and civic leaders to step into each others’ shoes, think about a local issue from different angles, assess the pay-offs from going it alone or working cooperatively, and learn to trust or distrust one another along the way. Hear Professor Vaaler talk about the concept and its practical application to designing, implementing and maintaining partnerships for local Minnesota communities looking for investment and economic growth, better education, healthcare and infrastructure in the 2000s.

Donna Rae Scheffert
Leadership Development Specialist
Extension Center for Community Vitality, University of Minnesota

Donna Rae Scheffert has studied leadership and designed leadership programs at the University of Minnesota for more than 20 years. The Extension programs she has influenced have had demonstrated success in growing the amount of leadership available in a community, and strengthening the community leadership assets of those who participate in programs. In 2007, the U-Lead program that has her fingerprint was used in 20 Minnesota communities.

Donna Rae received an Interdisciplinary degree with a focus on public leadership from the Minnesota State University in Mankato, and completed coursework for her Ph.D. with the Adult Department of Education at the University of Minnesota.

Presentation: Community Leadership in the Face of Change and Challenge: Introduction to Case Studies
Presentation Time: Monday, April 21, 2008, 1:00 – 1:30 pm

Communities are ripe with stories of integrative leadership. In fact, most communities do not have the luxury of relying upon one sector – business or government or nonprofits – when economic and civic challenges put the entire community at risk. Donna Rae will set the stage for hearing the stories of five communities who overcame the odds by thinking across boundaries.

Community Stories
Presentation Times: April 21, 2008, 1:30 – 2:30 and 2:40 – 3:40

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin: Thriving After the Company Store Goes Away.
For generations, Wisconsin Rapids was a comfortable, even prosperous, company town. The well-paying jobs of the paper industry provided a stable economic base for Wisconsin Rapids and its workshed since 1894. But when Consolidated Papers was sold in 2000 and changes in the global paper industry led to widespread layoffs, Wisconsin Rapids reeled from the job losses. The area also suffered a civic crisis, having relied upon the paper company itself for the civic leadership needed to build a new future.

In 2004, the Community Progress Initiative was created to address the “double bind” of economic and civic loss. The project's goal is to create a more vibrant, entrepreneurial business culture, foster civic leadership, and encourage residents to get more involved in civic affairs. The Initiative has formed new partnerships between business, government, and nonprofits, and has envisioned a future of economic and civic entrepreneurship. Ties have been strengthened among all communities who suffered the loss of this critical employer.

Community leaders will discuss the project, its successes and the challenges of thinking across boundaries.

Alexandria, MN Center for Applied Mechatronics: Automation. Anywhere. Anytime.
See how the RAMP project of the Alexandria Technical College gives Alexandria the ability to affect change at a global level from a local perspective. The Remote Applied Mechatronics Project (RAMP) leverages internet technology to support advanced controls and automation education and implementation by a variety of stakeholders. The RAMP demonstrates how Minnesota's public education system finds solutions that move forward all sectors in the area - manufacturers, government, private funding agencies, and representative professional organizations. With this collaboration, Alexandria Technical College is a key component of the economic engine in the west central region, effectively extending the influence of a Minnesota Center of excellence and changing the way local manufacturers compete on a global scale.

Mississippi Valley Partners: Getting on the Map as a Tourism Region
The Mississippi Valley Partners have helped to make Southeast Minnesota, and Southwest Wisconsin, a destination tourism area. When MVP began in 1992, simply establishing the Valley as a region was a bold proposition. The river was seen as a great divide between Minnesota and Wisconsin. There was no history of collaboration, and the business regions were seen as rivals. With organization, marketing of creative events (such as “The 85 Mile Garage Sale”) and the creation of a marketing identity for the region, tourism has become a staple industry.
This community tells the story of leaders who saw “mutual gain” where others saw competition. The partners will describe their partnership, its commitment to sustainable tourism, and the kind of leadership that was needed to reach across the river for a new future.

New York Mills, MN: Getting on the Map with Arts and Culture
Over three hours in distance from the Twin Cities, New York Mills shared problems of population loss that many agricultural rural communities faced in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. But this small town reinvented itself. Visit New York Mills in 2008 and you’ll see a vibrant town with a bustling main street. After five years of building arts and cultural capacity, seventeen new businesses opened and employment opportunities in New York Mills increased by 40% (Markusen and Johnson, 2006).

Their innovative community events and centers have given New York Mills national attention. It was named one of the top five culturally cool towns by USA Today Weekend Magazine (1994); was featured in Mark Cramer's book, Funkytowns, USA (1995); was described as one of "The 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America" by travel writer John Villani (1994), and was described as a national model by the Northwest Area Foundation (1993). By being receptive to new ideas and being committed to the town’s future, the New York Mills community and leadership ushered in a colorful new model for small-town vitality.

allaway, MN: From Boom to Bust, and Back Again
Community members will talk briefly about what Callaway used to be (when it was a booming town), what happened to change it, and a process they have gone through to reclaim their town and their identity. The story describes the importance of leadership and setting a vision, as well as the need for working with external partners who can help vision become reality.

Joel Barker, Futurist and Scholar

Joel Barker educates and consults with a focus on futuristic thinking and visionary strategies for organizations, communities, sectors and nations. His work has been a staple of the University of Minnesota’s community leadership education program for the past decade. He was the first to popularize the concept of paradigm shifts for the corporate world, recognizing that this concept, sequestered in scientific discussion, could explain change in all areas of human endeavor. In 1980, he began to focus on a second crucial component for organizations and individuals: the importance of vision. Barker has worked with organizations both for profit and not for profit, all over the world as well as with nations including Singapore, Venezuela, Canada, Mexico and Peru. His honors include an honorary Doctorate in Visionary Leadership from St. Mary’s University and the Excellence in Education Award given to him by the international education association, Pi Lambda Theta for his part in supporting educational innovation.

Presentation: Innovation and Implication: New Responsibilities for 21st Century Leaders"
Presentation Time: Monday, April 21, 2008, 4:15 pm

Community Development Program Leaders

Presentation Time: Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 8:45 – 10:15 am

Kim Boyce and Jim Mulder, Minnesota County Futures
The Minnesota County Futures Program of the Association of Minnesota Counties aims to bring local government staff and elected officials together to build skills, encourage collaboration and tackle the difficult problems local governments face now. Leadership cohort groups in two regions are participating in an 18-month program. Kim Boyce is the Extension Educator who has designed and delivered the program. Jim Mulder, Executive Director of AMC, has led the charge for regional problem-solving through leadership education opportunities.

Melissa Bahr and Dr. Valerie Shangreaux, The Blandin Leadership Program
Since its inception in 1985, the Blandin Community Leadership Program has served over 4,000 leaders from 244 rural Minnesota communities focusing on individual and community change. This Minnesota staple is centered on three core competencies: 1) framing opportunities and challenges in ways that lead to effective action; 2) building social capital for cooperation and resource-sharing; and 3) mobilizing a critical mass of resources to achieve specific outcomes. Melissa Bahr is the coordinator of this well-established program. Dr. Valerie Shangreaux is its new director.

Michael Darger, Business Retention and Expansion Strategies Program
Traditional economic development programs rely upon recruitment of new businesses, or business-to-business connections to spur development. The Business Retention and Expansion Strategies program works across sectors instead. The program purposely brings volunteers from all sectors of the community into conversation with business owners to ask, “What do you need to grow your business here?” As a result, businesses know that the entire community supports their well-being, and economic development plans create bridges in communities. Michael Darger has the program lead for BR&E programs for Minnesota for almost a decade.

Dan Frank, Healthy Communities Partnership Program
The Healthy Communities Partnership program works to develop the capacity of citizens to create a locally-shared vision and mobilize local and regional assets to implement that plan. The program provides training that focuses on the importance of involving all segments of the community in the planning and development process, and the value of connecting to surrounding communities. Dan Frank leads and coordinates this program.

Moderator: Joyce Hoelting, Extension Center for Community Vitality
Joyce is the Assistant Director for Community Vitality programs at Extension. In 2007, Joyce co-led the development of “Friends in the Field”, an initiative to bring together Minnesota’s community development organizations for mutual understanding, learning and collaboration.

Moderator: Gary DeCramer, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
Gary DeCramer has served as a state senator representing the southwest region of Minnesota, as state director of USDA Rural Development, principal planning analyst for Hennepin County’s Office of Planning Development, and Senior Fellow in the Humphrey Institute’s State and Local Policy Program. Gary is the director of the Humphrey Institute’s mid-career Master of Public Affairs program. He teaches in that program and in the University’s leadership minor.

Tim Penny, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation

Tim Penny was named Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation’s President/CEO in April 2007. His extensive background will help Southern Minnesota in the areas of workforce development, early childhood development and economic development with a focus on bio-ag and bio-medical industries.

Penny practiced cross-boundary leadership in his twelve years in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1982 – 1994. He was a persistent voice for bi-partisan efforts, especially in relation to budget issues. Penny has co-authored three books: Common Cents; The 15 Biggest Lies in Politics; and Payment Due.

Presentation: Reinventing Minnesota: Crossing Traditional Boundaries to Create Change
Presentation Time: April 22, 2008, 10:15 AM – 10:45 AM