US Chamber of Commerce

Governor Bob McDonnell
Commonwealth of Virginia

Margaret Spellings
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Rick Stephens
The Boeing Company

Patrick M. Byrne
Overstock.com, Inc.

8:30 - 9:00 a.m.

Registration and breakfast

9:00 - 9:10 a.m.

Welcome and Opening Keynote Introduction

• Margaret Spellings, President, Forum for Policy Innovation, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
   

9:10 - 9:25 a.m.

Opening Keynote

• Governor Bob McDonnell, Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia

9:25 - 10:35 a.m.

Skills Gap Roundtable

Business leaders in vital industries will discuss how the skills gap is affecting their industry and hiring practices.

Moderator: Domenic Giandomenico, Director of Education and Workforce Programs, Institute for a Competitive Workforce

• Melanie Holmes, Vice President, Manpower

• Mark J. Schmit, Ph.D., Vice President of Research, Society for Human Resource Management

• Jean Wallace, Vice President of Human Resources, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company

• Sandy Westlund-Deenihan, President, Quality Float Works, Inc.

10:35 - 10:45 a.m.

Break

10:45 - 12:00 p.m.

Breakout Discussions

Workforce Investment Act's (WIA) Tabula Rasa

What if you had the chance to start the Workforce Investment Act from scratch? This breakout conversation will discuss the federal government's involvement in workforce development and steps to make WIA's impact more beneficial to business.

Facilitator: Christine Scullion, Director of Human Resources Policy, The Manufacturing Institute 

Realigning Education Outputs with Business Needs

This breakout conversation will discuss how to enter into and maintain successful partnerships between business and education that work towards realigning the pipeline from student to worker.

Facilitator: Peggy Walton, Senior Director, Workforce Readiness, Corporate Voices for Working Families

• Candice Carpenter Olson, Co-Founder, Fullbridge

• Lucia Folk, Senior Director, Public Affairs, Country Music Television

• Willy Kaulfersch, Manager, Launch Planning and Workforce Readiness, Ford Motor Company

• Dr. Merrilea Mayo, Lead Strategist, New Options Project

• Gary Saganski, Director, Corporate Training Division, Henry Ford Community College

12:00 - 12:15 p.m.

Break 

12:15 - 1:15 p.m.

Lunch Keynote Introduction

• Cheryl Oldham, Vice President, Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Lunch Keynote

• Patrick M. Byrne, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Overstock.com, Inc.

1:15 - 1:25 p.m

Break

1:25 - 2:35 p.m.

Higher Education Innovation

This panel will address the need for innovation in higher education by linking the contributions of for-profit institutions, venture capitalists, and other "disruptive innovators" and identify barriers to innovation. 

Moderator: David Parento, Chief Operating and Financial Officer, StraighterLine

• Jim Applegate, Vice President of Program Development, Lumina Foundation

• Mark Brenner, Senior Vice President, External Affairs, Apollo Group

• Bob Sheets, Director of Research at Business Innovation Services, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2:35 - 2:45 p.m.

Break

2:45 - 4:00 p.m.

Discussions

We recognize that the skills gap impacts all aspects of business. These conversations will engage several U.S. Chamber experts on various areas of interest including energy and STEM, immigration, cyber security, and Veteran's Affairs.

• Ann Beauchesne, Vice President, National Security & Emergency Preparedness, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

• Christopher Guith, Vice President for Policy, Institute for 21st Century Energy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

• Randy Johnson, Senior Vice President of Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

• Kevin Schmiegel, Vice President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Executive Director, Hiring Our Heroes

4:00 - 4:10 p.m.

Break

4:10 - 5:20 p.m.

Moving the Needle

Having conversations about how to align education with labor market needs is important. However, even more critical is the need to take action and put pen to paper on initiatives that will improve our worforce's ability to compete in the global economy. This group, led by Rick Stephens, will discuss action steps to take the conversation to a new level.

Facilitator: Rick Stephens, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, The Boeing Company

5:20 - 5:30 p.m.

Wrap-up Remarks

• Cheryl Oldham, Vice President, Institute for a Competitive Workforce

5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Networking Reception