leadership conference

Start with Leadership Conference

The Start With Leadership Conference is back on May 7, 2026!

Presented by FOCUS St. Louis and the University of Missouri-St. Louis, this powerful half-day event will tackle timely topics like innovation, accountability, collaboration, AI, growth mindset and more.

We're bringing together some of the region's top thought leaders for a dynamic lineup of keynotes, panel discussions and interactive workshops. Get ready to learn, connect and be inspired!

Thursday, May 7 | 1:00-5:00 p.m.
University of Missouri-St. Louis, Touhill Performing Arts Center
Tickets: $125

About the Start With Leadership Conference

The Start With Leadership Conference presents a unique learning opportunity for leaders at all levels. It offers professional development opportunities that allow participants to discover new ideas and grow their ability to lead. Nearly 350 attendees joined us for the inaugural conference in 2025, ranging from high-potential emerging leaders to C-suite executives.

Wherever you are in your leadership journey, Start With Leadership is for you.

Level up your leadership and learn from the best.

This year's program is designed to:

Inspire and equip St. Louis leaders with a growth mindset to foster personal leadership growth and regional development.
Encourage cross-sector collaboration and innovative thinking among diverse leaders in our region, as they address regional challenges and opportunities through connection and shared humanity.
Provide practical strategies and actionable insights for leading with agility, adaptability, and resilience, with an awareness of the personal stories and challenges that shape our region.

Start With Leadership is also a great opportunity to network with fellow leaders, share ideas and be inspired. This is more than just a conference – it’s a call to action. Together, we’ll explore what it means to lead with heart, inspire progress, and shape a brighter future for our region.

Yes! With hundreds of regional leaders in attendance your company will have the opportunity to connect with a highly desirable audience throughout the event while accessing top talent from within and outside of our region, providing an exceptional return on investment.

Sponsorship not only provides visibility and branding for your company, but also allows your employees and clients to attend the Start With Leadership Conference and Networking Reception, fully immersing them in the training, connections, and conversations of the event. This opportunity is a powerful vehicle for engaging and retaining talent, as well as positive community influence.

For more info or to reserve a sponsorship, please contact Dr. Yemi Akande-Bartsch.

Conference Schedule

How do visionary leaders turn uncertainty into opportunity? In this session, author and consultant Matt Herzberg explores the discipline of “principled transformation," leading with clarity of purpose while staying agile amid disruption. He will share lessons from his work on resilience, growth, and the power of a shared vision to unite organizations and communities.

Keynote Speaker: Matt Herzberg, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Principled Transformation

About the Speaker: With decades driving culture innovations as a human resources leader in multiple industries, Matt Herzberg makes authentic change happen by delivering the kind of credible transformations executive teams can implement immediately — and continue well into the future.

As a key member of numerous multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, integrations, and initial public offerings, Matt guided top organizations across industries including Utilities, Financial Services, Healthcare, Insurance, High-tech Manufacturing, and Alternative Energy to evolve their cultures from within to meet the challenges of an intense global marketplace. Later he joined Heidrick & Struggles, where he transformed companies into healthy, thriving, high-performance organizations as a partner leading its Culture-Shaping Practice for the Americas.

Matt brings this invaluable CHRO and other executive-level experience to his work consulting for senior leadership teams today, helping them excel amidst rapidly changing regulatory environments, shifting technology platforms, and growing competition.

Matt’s corporate and consulting success is informed by a deep and detailed understanding of principles for organizational health, growth, and high performance: He earned an M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Southern Illinois University and a Ph.D. (ABD) in Organizational Theory from St. Louis University.

St. Louis’ greatest progress happens when business, civic, and community leaders work together. This session will highlight how cross-sector collaboration can fuel innovation and drive a shared regional vision. Through discussion and case studies, our panelists will examine what it takes to move beyond silos and build effective partnerships with meaningful impact.

Panel

Moderator: Joseph Blanner, Partner, McCarthy, Leonard & Kaemmerer
Subash Alias, CEO, Missouri Partnership
Martha Garcia Kampen, President & CEO, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis
Mike Konzen, Chairman & Principal, PGAV
Marc Schreiber, President, St. Louis Sports Commission

Emerging technologies, climate challenges, and shifting workforce expectations are redefining what it means to lead. In this breakout, we'll discuss how forward-thinking leaders are developing adaptable teams and building resilient systems to thrive in the next decade. Explore the trends shaping the future of work and leadership in St. Louis and learn practical tools for fostering adaptability and ethical innovation in your organization.

Panel

Moderator: Dr. Cindy Goodwin-Sak, Assistant Teaching Professor & Director of Executive Education, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Lusnail Haberberger, Founder & CEO, LUZCO Technologies, LLC
AJ Segal, Public Sector AI Center and Workforce Lead, Scale AI
Karen Vangyia, Partner, KPMG
Christopher Jackson, C-Suite Advisor | Former Deloitte Chief Commercial Officer | EOS Implementer
Greg Portell, Partner, Kearney

Tomorrow’s visionaries are already leading today. In this session, we'll tap into the perspectives and priorities of rising leaders shaping our city's future, and explore how mentorship, education, and community engagement fuel leadership development.

Panel

Moderator: Charli Cooksey, Founder & CEO, WEPOWER
Sam Moore, Managing Director of Public History, Missouri Historical Society
Emma Klues, VP of Communications & Outreach, Great Rivers Greenway
Shayn Prapaisilp, Chief Operating Officer, STJ Holdings
Daniela Velazquez, Ward 6 Alderwoman, City of St. Louis

What can St. Louis learn from regions that have successfully reinvented themselves? This session examines the leadership behaviors and collaborative practices that transformed other cities into thriving, cohesive regions, and how we can adapt these strategies to the challenges and opportunities facing St. Louis.

Panel

Moderator: David LaValle, Senior Vice President & Senior Partner, FleishmanHillard
Brad Dean, President & CEO, Explore St. Louis / America's Center Convention Complex
Kalene Griffith, President & CEO, Visit Bentonville
Ron Kitchens, Managing Partner, Greater St. Louis, Inc.

What do our future leaders see for the future of our region? Bringing together students from area universities, this session centers youth voices to learn how they define leadership, where they feel included or excluded in civic life, and what they need from institutions and adult leaders to engage meaningfully in shaping our collective future.

Panel

Moderator: Harlan Hodge, Director of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging, University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Kaine Koehler, Student, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Ismail Botchway
Makenzie Strickler, Student, University of Missouri-St. Louis
John Yeldham, Student, Washington University School of Law

Join us for an interactive, improv-based session designed to help cultivate a growth mindset. We'll tap into the key principles of improvisation —adaptability, deep listening, collaboration, and “Yes, and” thinking and discover how it can be applied to civic and organizational leadership.

FACILITATORS

Ashley Rube, Director of Business Services, The Improv Shop
Ryan Myers, Director of Business Services, The Improv Shop

In our closing session, we'll explore what it means to lead with purpose, clarity, and resilience when the world refuses to sit still. This panel brings together experienced leaders who have navigated organizations through crisis, transformation, and ambiguity. Through candid conversation and real-world examples, panelists will explore how to make confident decisions with incomplete information, maintain trust and morale under pressure, and balance short-term survival with long-term vision.

Panel

Moderator: Kathy O'Neill, President & CEO, O'Neill Advisers, LLC
Dr. Alexander Garza, Chief Community Health Officer, SSM Health
Rod Hicks, Executive Editor, St. Louis American
Dr. Kristin Sobolik, Chancellor, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Michelle Tucker, President & CEO, United Way of Greater St. Louis