Welcome Session Speaker

Wednesday, February 28, 8:30-10:15am

Rodney Franklin
Director of Texas State Parks
TPWD

Rodney Franklin was named director of Texas State Parks in 2018. He has more than 30 years of service, rising through the ranks from seasonal employee to park management and leadership roles. He believes state parks are important for everyone, regardless of their background or experience in nature, because of the mental, physical and emotional benefits of time spent in the outdoors.

As director of Texas State Parks, Franklin oversees a workforce of about 1,350 employees who proudly protect and manage the more than 640,000 acres that comprise the state parks system in Texas. State parks represent Texas’ principal gateway to the outdoors where more than 9 million visitors discover adventures in hiking, camping, fishing and countless other outdoor pursuits every year.

Conference Keynote

Thursday, February 29, General Session, 8-9:30am

The Curiosity Muscle (0.1 CEUs)
Diana Kander
A New York Times best-selling author and innovation consultant, Diana Kander has spent her career challenging assumptions and asking big questions - what kind of culture needs to exist in an organization to ensure innovative ideas and practices? How has Snoop Dogg continued to innovate decade after decade to stay relevant to the next generation? What causes name brands to lose relevance with their customers and go out of business? A serial entrepreneur who entered the United States as a refugee at the age of 8, she has launched and sold millions of dollars’ worth of products and services. Her first book, All In Startup, has been used by over 100 universities in their innovation courses and countless large organizations to help their employees think more like entrepreneurs. Her second book, The Curiosity Muscle walks readers through a methodology to keep curiosity alive and thriving inside of an organization, ultimately, future-proofing the organization. Fun fact about Diana: She likes to use her curiosity methodology to push herself out of her own comfort zone and achieve big personal challenges each year. Despite having never completed a pull-up prior to 2021, she raised over $26,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas City by doing 5,000 pull-ups that year.

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