Welcome to the Midwest Chapter!

The Midwest Chapter spans 12 states, making it the largest geographic chapter of IAP2 USA. We are happy to serve IAP2 members and friends who reside in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

View our Chapter's Equity Statement here

Connect with us!

  • Sign up for our chapter e-newsletter by emailing us at midwest@iap2usa.org
  • Visit us on Facebook and LinkedIn


2023 Spring Conference


The IAP2 USA Midwest Chapter will return to Minnesota's Twin Cities metro area from May 3-5, 2023 for its annual spring conference. Join us as we explore this year’s theme, Meeting People Where They Are in Public Participation, and delve into the ways P2 practitioners can improve our interactions with the communities we serve.

Dates: May 3-5, 2023

Location: Eagan Community Center (1501 Central Pkwy, Eagan, MN 55121)

Theme: Meeting People Where They Are in Public Participation

Registration fees:

  • IAP2 Member — $175
  • Non-Member — $215
  • Student — $90

Registration covers:

  • More than 20 sessions to choose from (many of which eligible for CM credits)
  • Wednesday lunch and evening happy hour
  • Thursday breakfast, lunch and evening event with food and drinks
  • Friday breakfast


S
pace is limited


Visit the conference website for more information.

A limited number of affordability scholarships will be awarded based on need. Scholarship submission requests will be accepted until April 1, 2023, and applicants notified by email on the status of their application by April 15, 2023

Pre-Conference Training Sessions

The Midwest Chapter is also offering two optional add-on trainings in conjunction with the 2023 Spring Conference. These trainings will be held the morning of Wednesday, May 3, from 8 am to noon. The conference will then kick-off with a keynote speaker over lunch.

Training Option #1
Inclusive Thinking in Engagement Planning: Strategies for Incorporating Diverse Perspectives

$125

This training session is designed to help engagement practitioners facilitate inclusive thinking amongst their teams and colleagues. It is intended to raise awareness of the importance of actively engaging the diverse perspectives of project team members to support engagement planning.

The workshop will cover a variety of topics including:

  • Understanding biases and its impact on engagement planning within project teams
  • Techniques for actively seeking out and considering diverse perspectives amongst project teams
  • Principles for inclusive thinking that promotes open dialogue amongst project team

By the end of the workshop, participants will have a better understanding of the importance of inclusive thinking and the need to actively seek out and consider diverse perspectives into their engagement planning work with project teams.

Trainer: Maria deBruijn, Emerge Solutions, Inc.

Training Option #2
Stakeholder Mapping: Identifying And Analyzing Underrepresented Stakeholders 

$125

This course introduces a powerful, transparent process to identify and analyze key stakeholders for any engagement project – a critical step in an ethical and equity-centered engagement design. After understanding the theory and purpose, participants use short cases to practice stakeholder mapping.

Participants will learn how to identify and analyze the full spectrum of stakeholders, with special emphasis on underrepresented stakeholders who need additional outreach/support to ensure inclusive engagement. For each case, the group learns how to “clean” and finalize the map, and then discusses implementation challenges and how to overcome them.

Participants leave ready to conduct thorough, defensible stakeholder mapping that identifies underrepresented stakeholders, and use the results to plan and successfully implement inclusive engagement

Trainer: Anne Carroll, Carroll, Franck & Associates

**Space is limited for each of the trainings.**
Don't delay in registering!**


Conference Sponsors

A big THANK YOU to the sponsors of our 2023 Spring Conference!


TIER 4 SPONSORS
TIER 3 SPONSORS
null null
     

Become a conference sponsor today

Meet our Board of Directors

The Midwest Chapter Board of Directors has nine seats of staggered three-year terms. As part of the chapter's annual election, the call for self-nominations to the board is issued in October, with the election occurring in November. 
Term Years: 2022-2023    
Anne Carroll   MJ Lamon  Emily Larson
Anne Carroll
Minnesota

MJ Lamon
Minnesota

Click here to email MJ

Emily Larson
Minnesota
*2023 Secretary
Click here to email Emily

"I'm committed to working on action-oriented teams; actively advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout our chapter and in the in the work we all do; and to supporting others to develop or expand their leadership roles and contributions."

 "I am always drawn to serve in capacities that create spaces for others to learn and grow. Serving on a board is one role and leading committees is how we get the work done. My arranger, activator and strategic strengths allow me to make things happen by turning thoughts into action, organize with flexibility, and find routes to move work forward."

 "In my organization, I am a leader in facilitation and participatory methods. I bring this experience and focus to my work on the board. After filling a partial term on the board (2021), I feel I am just getting started with ideas and efforts around member engagement in our organization and am honored to continue that work."


Term Years: 2022-2024    
Edell Fiedler  Heather Lasher Todd  Josie Shardlow 
Edell Fiedler
Minnesota
Click here to email Edell


Heather Lasher Todd
Missouri
*2023 President
Click here to email Heather

Josie Shardlow
Minnesota
Click here to email Josie

 "I am a team player who collaborates with people across various city service areas, other jurisdictions, and the non-profit and business sectors to help achieve the best possible outcomes. I am committed to using a diversity lens in the communications and engagement work I do."

 "I have really enjoyed being a part of reviving this Midwest Chapter, and I am so excited about where we are headed! There is much work to be done as we look toward our 2023 spring conference in MN and work to engage with our geographically large membership."

 "I bring a passion for the field of community engagement/public participation to be a catalyst to advance our communities’ racial equity, diversity and inclusion goals. I look forward to encouraging others to attend the conference and other events we initiate."


Term Years: 2023-2025    
 Michelle Bennett  Andrea Gebhart  Dan Pfeiffer
Michelle Bennett
Michigan
Click here to email Michelle

 Andrea Gebhart
Nebraska

Dan Pfeiffer
Minnesota
*2023 Treasurer
Click here to email Dan

"I will share my planning experience working on the ground in Michigan engaging with rural, suburban, and urban residents of all backgrounds. I will bring an honest perspective about the merits of doing engagement well and the danger to doing it poorly."

"Using my strengths, I would love to help grow the P2 profession and better establish it as a known professional practice throughout the Midwest. Through strategic collaboration and organized information and resource sharing, we can enhance the P2 work for many project types and communities in the Midwest (and beyond)."

"I want to continue to bring my planning, leadership, and decision-making skills to the board and continue to expand our membership and recognition. In doing this, we elevate the importance of participatory governance and can help be a positive influence in the communities we work."


Past Events

June 2022 Virtual Lunch & Learn

If you missed the June Lunch and Learn presentation on voter outreach and civic engagement, you can catch up by viewing the recording! Learn about the breadth and depth of voter outreach services far beyond your average voter registration drive. Presenters Michael Sund and Emily Hunt reviewed what has worked, what didn't, and what the future holds for voter outreach and civic engagement.

Subscribe to our mailing list

Subscription form

* Mandatory fields
*First name
*Last name
*Email
*Organization
*City
 


Copyright ©2010-2017 IAP2 USA. All rights reserved.