Midwest Educators Forum on Entrepreneurship Brings Leaders Together

Midwest Educators Forum on Entrepreneurship Brings Leaders Together

From June 24-26 North Iowa will be hosting thought leaders from across the Midwest and the nation to share best practices in entrepreneurship education. The entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Midwest has truly become a hotbed of activity with some of the best entrepreneurial conferences in the country, including EntreFEST and BigOmaha, just to name two. But for educators wanting to learn how to best teach the entrepreneurial mindset, how to accelerate a start-up, or how to initiate an experiential project in a classroom, attending a national conference – typically at a big expense – has been the only option. So why not bring the best of the best together in Iowa?

The Midwest Educators Forum on Entrepreneurship is designed to bring college and university educators, entrepreneurial leaders, and community champions together to share best practices for improving the entrepreneurial ecosystem for students, schools, businesses, and communities.

We define ‘educator’ in the broadest sense and welcome K-12 Educators, Administrators, business owners trying to establish an entrepreneurial mindset, and especially economic development professionals.

We are currently pulling together the conference tracks and breakout sessions and working to put this puzzle together. (For those of you who have planned a conference, you know what I mean!) As of this posting, here are the identified tracks, which will include a total of 25 sessions to choose from:

1. Entrepreneurial Curriculum involving Business Model Canvas, Entrepreneurial Mindset and Technology based classes.

2. Experiential Exercises used by educators and practitioners to demonstrate impactful exercises hands-on learning.

3. Creating and maintaining a culture of mentorship for new business startups.

4. Entrepreneurial Arsenal – Tools for success.

5. Best practices in supporting Entrepreneurs and Start-Up Communities.

Speakers to include: 

Dr. Angeline Godwin, President, Patrick Henry Community College:
Session:  Mastery Class on Effectuation:  The Entrepreneurial Mindset

Dr. Angeline Godwin has been President of Patrick Henry Community College since July 1, 2012.  Previous assignments include President, Area Development Partnership, Hattiesburg, MS; Vice President/Research & Development, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS; President/CEO, Mississippi Technology Alliance and Institute for Technology Development; President, Ashland Community & Technical College District, Ashland, KY; and Dean, Arts & Sciences, Jackson State Community College, Jackson, TN.

Bob Dorf, Columbia University:
Session: Customer Discovery and Venture School

Bob Dorf is likely the second most knowledgeable Customer Development expert on the planet, second only to its developer and Godfather, Steve Blank.  Together the two spent nearly two years conceiving, outlining, drafting, rewriting, and revising the global bestseller, The Startup Owner’s Manual, now a business bestseller in the U.S. and many countries around the world. Bob travels the world, helping startups, incubators, governments, and established corporations learn how to effectively deploy the Customer Development process.

Diana Kander, Attorney, Author of All In Startup

A refugee of the Soviet Union, Diana Kander entered America as an eight-year old resident of subsidized housing in Brooklyn, New York. By the time she was an American citizen, she had perfected her skills as a capitalist – selling flea market goods to grade school classmates at a markup.

Today, Diana is a successful entrepreneur, having founded and sold a number of ventures, and a Senior Fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the largest non-profit in the world dedicated to entrepreneurship and education. A Georgetown-educated attorney who left a successful practice to launch her first company, Diana draws on her experience as a founder, investor, and academic to design and implement curriculum in educational institutions and the private sector.

A sought-out public speaker, consultant and writer, Diana has advised startup founders and Fortune 500 executives on her methodology for launching customer-focused products and services.

Please visit the MEFE website for more information and a current list our featured keynotes and presenters.  We plan to have the full schedule with breakout sessions posted in the next two weeks.

Registration Fee Only $175 – Includes conference, meals, receptions and dinner event
Pre-Forum: $50 – Mastery Class on Effectuation:  The Entrepreneurial Mindset.


Tim Putnam,  Director, NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center

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