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Conference Schedule at a Glance

Times and events are preliminary and subject to change. Review session and event activity descriptions below.

Thursday, December 1

9:00 - 9:30 AM: President's Welcome and Board Member Updates

9:30 - 10:30AM: Keynote: The Indeed Universe: Inside the World's #1 Job Site - Mason Gates, Indeed

10:30 - 11:20 AM: Inclusive Leadership in a Virtual World - Matthew Cahill, The Percipio Company
11:20 - 11:25 AM: Introduction of Spring Conference
11:25 AM - 12:30 PM: Lunch Break 

12:35 - 1:20 PM: Open Discussion - Career Services & Employers: Fall 2022 Recruiting Reflection
1:25 - 2:15 PM: Reimagine Workforce: Online Career Training as You Know it, UA Global Campus & Professional Workforce Development
2:15 - 3:00 PM: Group Networking & Activity 
3:00 - 3:50 PM: How Sources Search and What Happens Next!! - Dean Da Costa, Lockheed Martin

4:00 PM: Wrap-Up and Closing Remarks

9:30 AM: The Indeed Universe: Inside the World's #1 Job Site - Mason Gates, Indeed

Employment is being re-defined daily across all strata of work. The workforce of tomorrow is also changing and iterating by the year, not the generation. Simultaneously, technology and data are allowing a better understanding of effective and efficient employment and hiring practices. Indeed is at the forefront of this job, hiring and technological process. Mason will bring his knowledge of Indeed’s world and share data, stories, and anecdotes of how tomorrow’s workplace can benefit by understanding how the #1 job site in the world operates. By embracing and applying this new understanding and mindset of how Indeed works, everyone can succeed together.

Speaker Bio: 

Mason Gates is an award-winning entrepreneur with more than 25 years’ experience in idea validation, business growth processes, strategic marketing, business development, and talent cultivation. He has been a founder/developer at such visionary entrepreneurial businesses as Campus Voice, JobDirect.com, and, most notably, Internships.com. Leveraging his desire to assist people get jobs Mason joined Indeed.com in 2018 as a Recruitment Evangelist in the Indeed Idea Center – a global, executive briefing center that uses the volumes of data flowing through Indeed’s systems to share stories of employment optimization for jobseekers and employers alike. A frequent writer, presenter, and speaker about workforce development and optimization, entrepreneurism, and experiential education, Gates has also been certified by the Kaufmann Institute to teach its FastTrac NewVentures courses for entrepreneurs. He has held numerous board and consultative positions throughout the country. He holds a B.B.A. from Radford University where he has been awarded the University’s Outstanding Service Award, has been a board member of its College of Business and Economics and has been a member of the President’s Advisory Council. Additional awards and recognitions include the prestigious Virginia Museum of Fine Arts MUSE award for creativity in business in 2007.

10:30 AM: Inclusive Leadership in a  Virtual World - Matthew Cahill, The Percipio Company

We will focus on the latest and greatest when it comes to inclusive virtual leadership. We will explore best practices for engaging a remote workforce and share key ingredients to increase productivity, strengthen relationships, and increase revenues.

Speaker Bio:

The Percipio Company is led by Matthew Cahill. He is on a mission to de-mystify and de-stigmatize cognitive biases, disrupt social biases of all types and dismantle bias that's become institutionalized in our respective businesses and public agencies. This self-reflective process is the identification of hidden, and sometimes not-so-hidden, biases that impact company performance. We coach organizational leaders to reduce mental mistakes, strengthen employee relationships, and move organizations from bias to belonging®. Matthew’s consulting practice with the Percipio Company begins with exploring how unconscious bias impacts decision-making & team dynamics. The conversations continue within a safe, immersive environment for exploring concepts of identity, agency, power, and flow. Central to organizational change is empowering individuals to develop collective strategies that mitigate individual, interpersonal, cultural, and institutional bias. The Percipio Company engagements typically include a combination of focus groups, interviews, assessments, workshops, individual and/or group coaching. We pick up where compliance training leaves off and share best practices for inclusive interviewing, hiring, promotions, and meeting protocols. Matthew’s work allows organizations to fulfill their strategic goals, increase sales and employee productivity through the promotion of inclusion and belonging. His expertise transcends industry and he has partnered with a diverse portfolio of companies, including Oracle, HP, ETRADE, LinkedIn, Nielsen, and a select list of Silicon Valley startups. His company includes a diverse network of amazing consultants, coaches, and facilitators to deliver solutions for any size organization. When he’s not working to better organizations through promoting cultures of inclusion and belonging, he’s spending time with his Afro-Bolivian wife and two ABA (Afro-Bolivian/American) kids.

1:25 PM: Reimagine Workforce: Online Career Training as You Know It, UA Global Campus & Professional Workforce Development

During this unprecedented time, we are looking to each other for leaders to emerge and help us all move forward with successes and failures to identify and share. It is an understatement that our workforce has taken a hard hit with the pandemic and has affected thousands of workers in all types of demographics and workforce careers. Working hand-in-hand with industry leaders in NorthWest Arkansas has created some amazing opportunities for Arkansans.

Speaker Bio: Mandy Eppley

Mandy has over 20 years experience serving in higher education. Her roles include Director for Ed Tech Training & Instructional Design, faculty, and Student Success Program Director of EKU GURUS. Her online and face-to-face student success retention/collaboration GURU program has received national awards and recognition from First Lady Michelle Obama. As the Director of Ed Tech & ID she worked extensively with Georgia Independent College Association which supports 14 Universities & Colleges in Georgia. Her expansive experience over the years as an adjunct faculty and an online learning consultant, working with students, faculty and administrators combined with student success programs, gives her a unique perspective for ensuring student success both virtually and face to face.

She is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in Adult Life Long Learning with the UofA and serves in the role of Senior Instructional Designer for Professional Workforce and Development with Global Campus at the University of Arkansas.  

Most recent award: 2019 Halls of Excellence Award Gamma Beta Phi Honors Society for Successful First Year Student Instructor for appreciation of scholarship, service, and innovative teaching. - faculty at NWACC.

Speaker Bio: Jennika Smith

Jennika Smith is an educator that helps other rebellious, unorthodox, and academically curious individuals escape the stagnation of the not-so-modern education system. She has over 13 years experience working in higher education with specializations in graphic, editorial, and instructional design. She started as a Blackboard technical support specialist at UA Little Rock and quickly moved into a position creating multimedia for online courses. During that time, she developed skills as an instructional designer and conducted workshops on gamification, flipped learning, and student interaction, engagement, and motivation. She has built her career around creating impactful learning experiences that are learner-centered, data-driven, and forward-thinking. As an instructor in both Arkansas and Illinois, she uses subversive and disruptive pedagogies to help her students overcome academic apathy and expand their critical thinking. She currently serves as an eLearning Workforce Instructional Designer for Professional Workforce and Development with Global Campus at the University of Arkansas.

3:00 - 3:50 PM: How Sources Search and What Happens Next!! - Dean Da Costa, Lockheed Martin

The purpose is to show how sources do what they do and how a candidate can maximize their chances of being found and contacted. The target audience is candidates, sourcers, recruiters, etc. It relates as it is about finding and being found with regards to candidates. People will learn how sources work and think and how candidates can maximize their chances of being contacted. outline-showing tools, showing how to maximize your resume or profile, questions.

Speaker Bio: 

Dean Da Costa ( The Search Authority) is a decorated veteran and recognized sourcing expert with more than 30 years of experience. He writes The Search Authority, one of the most influential blogs in the business. Dean began his career while in the military, connecting the dots from resume writing to making employer contacts for fellow service members who were entering civilian life. Dean is a recognized leader in the areas of recruiting hacking, research and find what cant be found, possessing certifications in OSINT, Ethical Hacking, PM, Programming and more. He has spoken at numerous conferences to include Sourcecon, Talent42, And Recruiting trends. Author of “The Book of recruiting; Da Costa Style” and “OSINT for the Staffing World”. Producer of “the Search Authority” Podcast and the Dean Da Costa You Tube Channel.