Post-Summit Learnshop with Joni Wickham

Great News!! The inspiration, reflection and renewal you experienced on June 29 at the 2021 Midwest Leadership Summit will continue! Join us in July, August and September for continued conversations with 4 of your favorite speakers with our Post-Event Learnshops.

These live conversations will be on Zoom and will be based on their presentations they gave at this year’s Summit. More information about these conversations are coming soon, but make sure to register today for all of the Learnshops. You don’t want to miss them!

There will be a live Q&A! If you would like to submit your questions ahead of time, there is an option to do so on the registration form or feel free to send us an email with your questions.

• Joni Wickham // July 19 at Noon
• Nicole Jacobs Silvey // August 16 at Noon
• Liz Bohannon // September 9 at 2pm
• Dr. Kevin Sansberry II // September 28 at Noon

A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Joni and her indisputable southern accent arrived in Kansas City almost 10 years ago after leading initiatives within state and federal government as well as advocacy organizations. In her eight years with the mayor’s office—the majority of them spent as Chief of Staff—Joni has proven herself as an accomplished political strategist, communications expert, and organizational leader. She directed public policy initiatives, communications tactics, and administrative decision-making during her tenure, all while promoting women’s leadership and empowerment issues.

An artful negotiator, Joni helped steer Sly’s major development projects in Kansas City while raising the city’s profile at the national and international levels. Her front-row seat at city hall shed light on how local government is still very much a man’s world, and this motivated her to create a first-of-its-kind women’s empowerment initiative, which has been implemented in several major cities.

Prior to her time at city hall, Joni worked with the American Federation of Teachers, the Missouri Department of Transportation, and in the office of Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan. While a student at Meredith College, where Joni received her Bachelor of Arts in political studies, she studied abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia. An accomplished alumnus of University of Missouri where she earned her Masters of Arts in political science, Joni was the recipient of the 2019 University of Missouri Truman School of Public Affairs Mel Carnahan Public Service Award.