We’re less than three weeks away from the most inspirational government training opportunity of the year, the Next Generation of Government Training Summit, co-hosted by Young Government Leaders and GovLoop. If you’ve been to NextGen before, you know that it’s a busy and invigorating two-day training, jam-packed with learning and networking opportunities.
Here’s a rundown of what you need to know about what’s happening this year!
Inspirational Keynotes
Our keynote speakers will inspire and motivate you to public service greatness.
Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Biden, is a lifelong educator, a proud military mom, and an active member of her community
Mitchell B. Weiss, Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management unit, Harvard Business School
“How to Be a Public Entrepreneur?”: This session will put you in the shoes of Boston’s “New Urban Mechanics,” the city’s chief innovation officers, and ask you to decide how best to scale their startup efforts.
Nathan Schwagler, Co-Director, The Dali’s Innovation Lab
“Creative Problem Solving”: In this session you’ll learn how to train your brain to use its creative side to help you more clearly identify a solution to a challenge.
Erika Anderson, Founding Partner, Proteus
“Be Bad First”: Erika proposes that success today depends on our ability to acquire new skills and knowledge quickly and continuously. This session will share a practical approach for becoming this kind of high-payoff learner.
David Eagles, Director, The Center for Presidential Transition
“Ace the Presidential Transition”: Change is coming. But it doesn’t have to be stressful if you follow David’s advice.
Janet C. Arrowood, Author, Plain Language, Please
“Plain Language 101”: Using plain language makes it more likely that people will understand what you and your agency have to say. In this session, you’ll learn more plain language benefits and how to improve.
Dan Helfrich, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP
“The Challenge To Think Differently”: This session will challenge you to change your perspective and start thinking differently to inspire you and your agency to make a bigger impact on the country and the world.
Adam Conner, Senior Account Executive, Slack
“Collaborate!”: Communication and collaboration, when done correctly, will open doors to endless opportunities. In this session, you’ll get a few quick tips on how to be a better collaborator.
Kate Symes, Client Success Consultant, GovDelivery
“Improv for Improvement”: Improv is a state of being and creating action without pre-planning. And while typically used for comedic acting training, it also has real-world applicability in the workplace.
Lightning Sessions
We held a speaker contest for govies to present at NextGen. Our three finalists will share their stories in the lightning sessions.
Marilyn A. Braxton, Human Resources Lead, Office of Environmental Information, Environmental Protection Agency
“Show Me What You’ve Got”: It’s important to show your capabilities as a leader. In this session, you’ll learn three steps you can take to demonstrate your, skills and abilities that can lead to the next stage in your career.
Katelyn James, Ready New York Outreach Coordinator, New York City Emergency Management
“From Intern to Superhero”: Hear Katelyn’s journey from intern to “Ready Girl”, New York City’s emergency management superhero.
Mikki Maruska, Community Supports Division, Minnesota Department of Human Services
“Using Humor and Self-Care to Cope”: Learn practical tips for resilience and self-care in environments where “vocabulary is too dubious for comprehension.”
Breakout Sessions
There are three breakout session blocks per day with five sessions per time slot to choose from. That equals 30 total breakout sessions, with six to attend (don’t worry, we’ll have blog recaps and presentation materials for any session you can’t make).
We know it can be hard to choose which breakout sessions to attend, that’s why we put together this blog with tips on navigating the schedule.
Office Hours
One of our most popular features of NextGen is Office Hours, where you can meet one-on-one with a career counselor or coach, resume coach, financial advisor, mentor, or government innovator. These appointments take place throughout the day and you need to sign up beforehand to secure a 20-30 minute slot.
Awards Ceremony
Each year, NextGen recognizes thirty finalists, at the NextGen Public Service Awards Ceremony. This year’s ceremony takes place at the end of the second day of the summit. A networking happy hour will commence at 4:45pm and the awards ceremony, where five winners will be announced will take place from 5:30 – 7:00. All NextGen attendees are encouraged to stay for the awards ceremony and invite colleagues to join in the celebration of exceptional public service.