IEEE Smart Tech Metro Area Workshop: Minneapolis

Friday Morning 

Cloud in the Business Environment

Managers are often faced with having to decide if and how to upgrade their IT infrastructure and how to pay for it. In an environment of tight budgets and soaring hardware and software costs, they are also looking for alternatives to making huge investments that will have to be upgraded again and again. The Cloud can be that solution. Managers need information to make intelligent decisions, however.

Questions pertaining to Cloud economics, security, regulation and governance, metrics, and migration are introduced and discussed. In the final analysis, managers must be able to answer key questions: is the Cloud the right place for my IT infrastructure and data? Is it a good business decision? How do I migrate to the Cloud? This course introduces and discusses these and other key concepts.

Learning objectives include:

• describe the Cloud from the perspective of a business manager or owner;
• demonstrate by example the principle economic considerations of the Cloud, including Net Present Value, Benefit Rations, and Playback Periods;
• explain the principle security issues with the Cloud and what kinds of data would and would not be entrusted to the Cloud and why;
• illustrate the principles of Cloud governance and its regulatory environment;
• outline and explain the key issues and steps in migrating a business to the Cloud.

Interactivity is achieved through constant questioning and discussion engagement as well as interactive exercises and in-line quiz sessions.

About the instructor: As Cofounder and Chief Technology Officer, Don Shafer developed Athens Group's oil and gas practice and leads engineers in delivering software services for exploration, production, and pipeline monitoring systems for clients such as BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell. He led groups developing and marketing hardware and software products for Motorola, AMD, and Crystal Semiconductor. From the development of low-level software drivers to the selection and monitoring of semiconductor facilities, he has led key product and process efforts. In 2010, as an expert witness, he helped win for the plaintiff the second-largest jury verdict in Texas: $238 million.

He received a B.S. from the United States Air Force Academy and an MBA from the University of Denver, CO, USA. Twice Treasurer of the IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors, past Editor in Chief and Chair of the IEEE Computer Society Press, an IEEE Senior member, and a Golden Core member, he is a software engineering subject-matter expert for the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Advanced Research in Software Engineering Center at the University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA. Shafer has contributed to three books, written more than 20 published articles, and is the coauthor of Quality Software Project Management, published by Prentice-Hall. He is a contributor to the 2010 edition of the Encyclopedia of Software Engineering and is a Certified Software Development Professional. His current projects include the development of a multi-volume set of Software Engineering Proven Practices for the oil and gas industry based on more than a decade of extensive engineering work done at Athens Group. His current patents deal with control system hardware and software virtualization for functional and performance validation and verification in a virtualized Cloud environment.  

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Friday Morning

This course will provide a broad understanding of how wind and solar energy projects are developed, operated, and integrated into power systems. The emphasis will be on utility scale projects, but the emerging opportunities and challenges of distributed solar generation will also be discussed.

The student will understand the interaction of weather, wind, and solar power plants, power system operations, transmission systems, power markets, and “best practices” for integrating renewables that have been identified through integration studies and actual practice.

Students will also gain an appreciation for the complex interplay of renewables and public policy with transmission system planning, as well as information about the latest activities and developments in the Midwest (USA) region related to new transmission and renewables integration. The course shows how the power market in the region, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), is integrating wind energy into the market system.

About the instructors:

Mark Ahlstrom has been the CEO of WindLogics, Inc. since December of 2000. Under his leadership, the company became an authority in the assessment, forecasting, operations, and integration of renewable energy. WindLogics became a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources (formerly FPL Energy) in 2006, allowing it to expand its role as an applied R&D center and provider of services to utility, wind, and solar energy clients. Prior to joining WindLogics, Mark was founder of two software technology companies. He holds degrees in Biochemistry and Biomedical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA.

Matt Schuerger, Energy Systems Consulting Services, LLC, is an independent consultant working on power systems planning and analysis. He has 30 years of experience in the utility industry, including senior positions in engineering, power plant operations, and business development. Matt has worked extensively with the integration of large amounts of variable renewable energy into both local distributed and regional bulk power systems including interconnection and delivery, operating impacts, reliability, and market rules. Matt is a licensed Professional Engineer with an M.S. in Electrical Engineering (Power Systems) from the University of Minnesota, MN, USA, a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, IN, USA, and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas, MN. He is formerly the Executive Vice President of District Energy Saint Paul, Inc, a privately held provider of district heating, district cooling, and cogenerated electricity.

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Friday Morning

Part 1: Test System Design: Structure, Tips, and Techniques

The course will present a framework for the design of functional test systems. Too often, test systems are assembled but not designed, with the result of poor system performance, reliability, and possibly needlessly low yields of shippable products. Engineers interested in designing test systems for repetitive testing in production, quality control, or research will learn the basics of:

• “systems-of-systems” architecture;
• subsystems of typical test systems;
• design tips and potential pitfalls;
• deployment and maintenance.

About the instructor: Roger E. Montague, PE, started getting “real world” data into and out of computers during the age of the “Mini-Computer.” He remembers when 64K was a lot of memory. He has built many years of experience in systems design, software development, and integration of product test and process automation systems. Roger has worked in the automotive, chemical, and fluid power industries in addition to the medical-device world. Roger is a registered electrical engineer and is certified as a systems engineer and project manager.

Part 2: Robotic Accuracy Measurement And Calibration

The presentation will focus on the following topics:

• source of machine error;
• compensation techniques;
• measurement tools and techniques;
• areas of investigation for compensation.

About the instructors:

Thomas E. Marrinan has 27 years of design and project management experience. He oversees the design of custom rigid robot structures for material handling, material removal, and large part inspection, with experience in design and integration of special processes tooling and systems. Integration of specialty tooling includes intelligent drills, routers, waterjets, tactile probes, non-destructive inspection probes, and grippers. He is a specialist in robot metrology, developing techniques for measuring and enhancing the accuracy of PaR’s robots. Mr. Marrinan has authored papers relating to robot design and accuracy. He shares three patents in this area and has at least three more pending. Graduating from the University of Minnesota, MN, USA, with a B.S.M.E. in 1983, he joined PaR Systems. He also holds a B.A. in Biology from St. John's University.

Come Rene-Bazin has 13 years of design and project management experience. As part of his role as Program Manager for PaR Systems, he is responsible for the development and sales of drilling and trimming robotic systems in the aerospace industry. Mr. Rene-Bazin holds one pending patent. Graduating from the Université de Technologies de Belfort Montbéliard in France with a bachelor's degree in System Design in 1998, he joined PaR Systems in 2001, after three years working for Dassault Aviation in France. He graduated with an executive MBA from St. Thomas University, MN.

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Friday Afternoon 

This course takes an in-depth look at 12 of the 15 Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) Knowledge Areas (KAs) that define the entire software life-cycle, from the development of software requirements through software deployment and maintenance. These KAs are the basis for the Computer Society Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP) Assessment Course and Certification exam.

Participants will study each of the SWEBOK KAs, including in-line and summative quizzes, and actual content from the CSDP Preparation Program hosted on the IEEE Xplore MOODLE platform. The instructor will prompt interactive discussions relating content to practical applications, followed by quizzes to ensure content is understood. Quizzes are accompanied by feedback that provides insights into why a given response was correct and others incorrect.

At the end of the presentation, participants will have a foundational understanding of the software engineering life-cycle, from requirements generation to deployment, maintenance, quality, professional practices, and software project management.

Learning objectives include:

• discuss the SWEBOK in terms of its principle objectives, the content of its KAs, and as a baseline for the practice of software engineering;
• describe the principle elements of the software development life-cycle;
• explain the relevance of each KA to the software development life-cycle;
• illustrate how this life-cycle governs real-world software engineering projects;
• identify how the CSDP Certification demonstrates a practical knowledge of the software development life-cycle;
• assess their strengths and weaknesses relative to preparedness for success in taking the CSDP certification exam;
• identify the necessary skills needed to make a successful transition into software engineering;
• overview employment trends and demand in the field of software engineering.

About the instructor: Linda Shafer began her career in the software industry in 1965. She has held positions in academia and industry, including IBM, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Motorola, and The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA, where she was director of the Software Quality Institute. She holds a B.A. from the University of Texas (UT) and an MBA from the University of New Mexico, NM, USA. She co-founded the Software Project Management Certification Program at UT and was one of three principle instructors. Ms. Shafer has co-authored four textbooks and published 25 articles. She authored CSDA self-assessment courses, including Software Process, Software Methods and Tools, Software Engineering Management, and Economic Fundamentals. The Encyclopedia of Software Engineering entry on Software Process was written by her. She serves on the Publications Board and the Digital Library Operations Committee for the IEEE Computer Society and is a Certified Software Quality Engineer, a Certified Software Development Professional, and a Senior member of IEEE.

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Friday Afternoon

Discover the importance of embedded software testing and learn how you can use NI VeriStand to simplify development of systems that require closed-loop control, deterministic stimulus generation and test sequencing, triggerable, multi-file data logging, and other features with a ready-to-use, configurable software environment. NI VeriStand, National Instruments' software environment for configuring real-time testing applications, reduces development time and application maintenance costs by providing a performance optimized and well-tested software framework for real-time testing applications in a ready-to-configure-and-use format. Out of the box, NI VeriStand helps you configure a multicore-ready real-time engine to execute tasks such as real-time stimulus generation, data acquisition for high-speed and conditioned measurements, and calculated channels and custom channel scaling.

There will be an instructor-led demonstration of designing an embedded software tester from scratch. The class will be involved in designing the test system from a set of requirements given at the beginning of the class.

• FPGA development for embedded IO interfacing
• Real-Time Embedded Test system software architecture
• Host side scripting and analysis of the embedded software test

About the instructor: Todd Holthaus is the Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and real-time test product specialist for National Instruments. Todd holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in computer engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, as well as a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. Prior to working at NI, Todd was an embedded software engineer at Delphi Delco Electronics and Software Engineering Professionals. His areas of expertise include embedded software development and test.

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Friday Afternoon

In this workshop, attendees will get an overview of the open source project Hadoop, describing where it fits in the Big Data picture. In addition, there will be a discussion on the details of the Map/Reduce programming model, and how Hadoop and its file system, HDFS, implement it. Computing cluster hardware and administration considerations will be covered, as well as a description of other key software components in the Hadoop ecosystem, such as Hive, Pig, HBase, and Mahout.

Attendees will do an in-class exercise tracing the flow of data from input through the map/partition/shuffle/sort/reduce phases of Hadoop, yielding the output. At the end of the presentation, attendees will have an understanding of:

• the big data domain and the role of the open source project Hadoop and its ecosystem;
• the map/reduce programming model;
• how Hadoop and its file system, HDFS, implement the programming mode.

About the instructor: Brad Rubin is an Associate Professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, USA, in the Graduate Programs in Software department where he teaches courses in Big Data, Information Retrieval, Computer Security, and Software Analysis and Design. He is the co-founder of the Center of Excellence for Big Data. Previously, he spent 14 years with IBM in Rochester, MN, working on all facets of the AS/400 hardware and software development, starting with its first release. He was a key player in IBM's move to embrace the Java platform and was lead architect of IBM's largest Java application, a business application framework product called San Francisco (now part of WebSphere). He was also chief technology officer for the Data Storage and Information Management division of Imation Corp., as well as the leader of its R&D organization. Dr. Rubin has degrees in Computer and Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL, USA, and a doctorate in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA. He holds five patents and four invention disclosures, has authored many research and trade publications, consults, and is a frequent speaker on technology topics.

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Saturday Morning

Learn how to create Android mobile apps with AppInventor in this hands-on workshop. AppInventor is an "easy," drag and drop, visual programming system for creating apps for Android phones and tablets. AppInventor comes with a PC "emulator," which mimics a phone, so a real Android phone/tablet is not needed to create or test your apps.

To maximize instruction time, workshop participants are required to bring their PC or Mac laptop on which AppInventor has already been installed and tested (directions will be provided to session attendees upon registration) and participate in a checkout procedure at breakfast (or lunch) that will test their computer’s preparedness for this hands-on workshop.

About the instructor: Charles P. Rubenstein, Ph.D., CEng, is a tenured professor at Pratt Institute’s graduate School of Information and Library Science in New York City, USA, and was a visiting professor of engineering at Farmingdale State College (SUNY), Farmingdale, New York. He has an earned doctorate in bioengineering (Polytechnic Institute of New York) and master’s in library and information science (Pratt Institute). He has received many IEEE honors including IEEE’s Robert S. Walleigh Distinguished Professionalism Award, an IEEE-USA Citation of Honor, IEEE Centennial Outstanding Young Engineer and Third Millennium Medals, and an IEEE Regional Activities Board Innovation Award. An internationally known distinguished lecturer for Engineering Management and Computer Society Tutorial Programs, he has delivered HTML, leadership skills, ecommerce, wireless technology, and "Scalability of Membership" presentations, tutorials, and workshops throughout the world. Dr. Rubenstein was 2010-2011 IEEE Director and Region 1 Chair (NE USA) and is 2013-2014 Chair of the IEEE-USA Conferences Committee. He is a member of IEEE Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi engineering honor societies.

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All day Saturday. Course content provided by IEEE Power & Energy Society.

This course provides a basic introduction to Smart Grid from multiple stakeholder perspectives. It covers the Smart Grid principles that accommodate all generation types including renewable and energy-storage options. These principles drive the goals and objectives that enable new products, services, and markets; optimize asset utilization and operating efficiencies; improve system reliability and power quality; and enable informed customer participation. The NIST Conceptual Model and its domains and interfaces will be explained. Smart Metering is explored. The various definitions and focus areas of Smart Grid are described, as well as the current state of Smart Grid applications and how these drive infrastructure requirements. Monitoring equipment used by Smart Grid applications in the network to generate data for analysis and improving customer service is highlighted. Issues involved with the integration of Smart Grid elements into utility operations is explored. A look is taken at how distribution automation can be an enabling technology for Smart Grid. The terminology and techniques of Smart Grid cyber security and the technology and techniques used to provide security are introduced. The Smart Grid standards framework and the challenges associated with it are described. An overview of Smart Grid network communications and the data needed in/out of the network are explained.

At the end of the course, the participant will:

• gain a high-level understanding of the levels of the NIST Conceptual Model and be able to identify the conceptual model's seven domains and describe their functions;
• be able to compare Smart Grid applications of today and tomorrow and how they impact infrastructure requirements and deployment challenges;
• gain a high-level understanding of the large volume of data required to enable the Smart Grid and how this data is obtained;
• gain an understanding of issues important to energy consumers and how monitoring enabled by the Smart Grid can help utilities address these issues;
• gain a high-level understanding of security principles and how these principles are applied to Smart Grid concerns;
• gain a high-level understanding of the various types of equipment used in distribution automation and the benefits of distribution automation;
• gain an overview of the need for interoperability and how the explosion of data that results from Smart Grid will require a common method of communication;
• be able to list the categories of standards in the Smart Grid Standards Framework and relate these to stakeholder benefits;
• understand the employment trends, necessary skill, and other components needed to make a successful transition into Smart Grid.  

About the instructor: Hahn Tram (IEEE Senior member), Vice President of Enterprise at Quanta Technology, is responsible for the consulting practice areas of Asset Management, Smart Grid & Integration, and Communications. He has nearly 35 years of experience in developing integrated engineering, automation, IT, and business solutions for energy utilities worldwide. He has helped numerous utilities worldwide develop and implement strategic initiatives in AMI, Smart Transmission, Smart Distribution, and Demand Response to build the foundation for the utility and electric grid of the future for over a decade. Hahn has given over 100 presentations in industry journals and conferences, including a number of courses at DistribuTECH, IEEE, Autovation, Penn State University's Advanced Power Engineering program, and tailored training programs for utilities. He is a Senior member of IEEE and a DistribuTECH Advisory Committee member.

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All day Saturday. (Afternoon only is permissible and encouraged if you are taking a half-day course.)

Presented by volunteer members of the IEEE-USA Employment and Career Services Committee (ECSC), the goal of this workshop is to assist engineers and technology professionals in developing lifelong employability in a continuously changing career and employment environment, by focusing on their own professional and career development. The workshop will provide information and tools that will help engineers and technology professionals with:

• developing networking and job-seeking skills;
• achieving career satisfaction;
• improving the ability to take responsibility for personal career and professional development;
• emphasizing that career and professional development involves both technical and non-technical areas;
• learning how to make organizations more productive.

Specific topics that will be discussed in the workshop may include:

• managing your career as a business;
• career strategy;
• networking;
• job searching;
• resumes;
• interviewing;
• consulting;
• globalization and your career.

Throughout the Career Assistance track, the presenters will highlight the unique resources that IEEE makes available to help engineers and technology professionals manage their careers. Participants will learn:

• why career management is vital to a satisfying career;
• how to effectively compete in the job market through improved job searching, resume preparation, and interviewing;
• how to assess if consulting is a viable career option, and how to compete in the consulting market;
• how IEEE can greatly enhance career management through available tools and networking opportunities.

About the instructors:

Ron Jensen is a member of the IEEE-USA Employment and Career Services Committee. He was the 2011 IEEE-USA President and has served on the IEEE Board of Directors for three years. He is retired after a 41-year career at IBM working in technology from chips to systems. His emphasis was technical, people, and project management. Ron continues as an active volunteer in IEEE and nonprofits.

Don Herres is the IEEE Region 1 Employment & Career Activities Coordinator and also Syracuse Section Chair. He has been involved with Career Activities Workshops with IEEE for a number of years and was awarded an IEEE-USA Citation of Honor in 2006 for these efforts. Don has a B.S.E.E. from SUNY Buffalo, NY, USA, and an MSEE from Syracuse University, NY, and is a licensed professional engineer in New York State. He has extensive experience in product design and manufacturing, holds three patents, and is currently employed as Senior Design Electrical Engineer with the Switches, Sensors, and Controls Business Unit of Marquardt Switches in Cazenovia, NY.

Edward L. Kirchner is the 2012 Chair of the IEEE-USA Employment and Career Services committee, on which he also represents IEEE Region 3. His engineering career spans 28 years and includes senior technical and management positions. He is currently a Project Engineer and Program Manager at Harris Corporation.

Tarek Lahdhiri, Ph.D., PE, PMP, SM-IEEE, is the IEEE Region 4 PACE Chair and the IEEE Region 4 representative to the IEEE-USA Employment & Career Services committee. Dr. Lahdhiri is the recipient of the 2001 IEEE-USA Professional Achievement Award, the 2004 IEEE-USA Professional Leadership Award, and the 2007 IEEE-USA Citation of Honor Award. Dr. Lahdhiri is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in the state of Michigan, USA, and a licensed Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute (PMI). He works at General Motors Corporation, where he is the Strategy Leader for Real-Time Control Systems.

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Saturday Morning

This course will cover:

• the requirements for mobile device antennas;
• limitations of electrically small antennas;
• antenna structures used in mobile devices;
• techniques for increasing the bandwidth;
• trends in mobile antenna design.

At the end of the course, the attendee should have familiarity with the types of antennas used in mobile devices. They will develop an understanding of the limitations of electrically small antennas and an awareness of the techniques used to design mobile-device antennas. As part of the interaction, attendees will be asked to discuss their interest and exposure to antennas especially for mobile devices. Additional interaction will involve simple antenna sizing and design exercises.

About the instructor: Robert Sainati, B.S.E.E., M.S.E.E., Ph.D.E.E., has over 40 years' experience in commercial and industrial organizations and private and government R&D facilities, plus 16 years as an adjunct in the University of Minnesota EE department.

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Saturday Afternoon

Part 1: Introduction to RFID

The first part of this course will cover:

• description of various RFID approaches;
• the “physics” of RFID;
• the “RF” in RFID;
• applications.

At the end of the course, the attendee should have familiarity with RFID technology. They will develop an understanding of the capabilities of the various RFID approaches and get an idea as to its applicability. As part of the interaction, attendees will be asked to discuss their interest in RFID and to describe potential applications. Additional interaction will involve simple question-and-answer periods.

Part 2: Introduction to Radio Propagation

The second part of this course will cover:

• description of various of propagation mechanisms;
• propagation in various frequency bands from VLF through microwave;
• top-level presentation of equations used to describe propagation;
• propagation modeling for systems calculations.

At the end of the course, the attendee should have familiarity with radio propagation as a function of frequency. They will develop an understanding of the capabilities of the various RFID approaches and get an idea as to its applicability. As part of the interaction, attendees will be asked to discuss their interest in RFID and be asked to describe potential applications. Additional interaction will involve simple question-and-answer periods.

About the instructor: Robert Sainati, B.S.E.E., M.S.E.E., Ph.D. E.E., has over 40 years' experience in commercial and industrial organizations and private and government R&D facilities, plus 16 years as an adjunct in the University of Minnesota EE department.

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Saturday Afternoon

Topics to be covered include:

• the US patent system: Is it broken?;
• issues facing the US patent system today: a historical perspective;
• patent sharks, thickets, trolls, and other creatures;
• proposed legislation after the America Invents Act;
• careers in patent law.

After introducing the issues, an interactive discussion will be held with course participants.

About the instructor: Clara Davis, Ph.D., J.D., has her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering, and she has been an attorney since 1995. She is a registered patent attorney since 2002. Clara practices in the area of patent prosecution in the Twin Cities area and is a partner in the firm Hollingsworth Davis.

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Trusting Autonomous Systems

Dr. Gowen will share a perspective of the integration of advances in technology to enable the assurance of integrity and trust in the operation of multiplatform autonomous systems to accomplish critical mission objectives. Autonomous systems use a wide range of technologies to deliver military and civilian applications in areas as diverse as defense, logistics, management, and personnel. He will present capabilities to qualify information from sensors and other sources to provide options to assure the integrity of autonomous systems operating in environments with potential for both internal and external sources of corruptions.

About the keynote speaker: Dr. Richard Gowen has had a distinguished career in education, industry, and government and is the past President of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT) and Dakota State University. Prior to joining SDSMT, he served as a member of the faculty of the United States Air Force Academy and directed a joint Air Force-NASA program that provided biomedical systems for manned spaceflight. He was a co-director of a program to develop the probabilistic risk assessment process for the licensing of nuclear power plants. He was a founding director of the Minneapolis-based ETA supercomputer company. He directed the conversion of the Homestake gold mine in South Dakota to become an international underground laboratory. He was a member of the Congressional Web Education Commission and is a member of the South Dakota Board of Education and the South Dakota Hall of Fame. Dr. Gowen is a Life Fellow of IEEE. In 1984, he served as Centennial President of IEEE and served as the President the IEEE Foundation from 2004 to 2011. He is the President and CEO of Dakota Power and guides the development of unique lightweight electric drive systems.

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Resilience for a Career Lifetime

On the day of retirement, most of us aspire to be able to look back with satisfaction and fulfillment for a career well lived, despite whatever career adversity and challenge we encounter along the way. But what are the catalytic agents that enable a person to be at their best, engaged and contributing from their strengths, and enjoy the rewards of work well done over the course of a career? This presentation will highlight essential elements to being well, and working and leading well, for a career lifetime.

About the keynote speaker: Sheryl Niebuhr, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist with extensive leadership and consulting experience within the private sector, healthcare, and human services. She has developed and provided services addressing a spectrum of life transitions, personal and workplace dilemmas, and the personal and organizational resilience needed to effectively navigate them. With her compassionate and strategic approach, she has functioned as a thought leader throughout her career and been known as a highly regarded and effective leader, presenter, practitioner, and consultant.

Currently, Sheryl is in private practice with Sheryl Niebuhr Consulting, LLC in St. Paul, MN, USA, where she offers leader coaching and organizational consultation. Enduring areas of interest throughout her career include leader and practitioner development, workplace climate, health and productivity, stress and resilience, loss and transition, and person-centered healthcare.

Formerly an adjunct clinical faculty member of the Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Sheryl now teaches leadership as an adjunct faculty member in the graduate program, School of Engineering at the University of St. Thomas. She also serves as a board member of the Search Institute (addressing the developmental assets and resilience of young people), and chairs the Business Advisory Group to The Joint Commission for the accreditation of healthcare organizations. In addition, Sheryl provides volunteer consultation on a limited basis to various service organizations.

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