1. For more information visit
una.edu/strategicdoing
Strategic Doing Practitioner Conference
May 4—6, 2016

2. Welcome!
Welcome to the Strategic Doing Practitioner Conference!
This is the first international convening of Strategic Doing Practitioners! We are overjoyed with the re-
sponse to have such an event and your participation.
The 2 day event showcases the remarkable results in 5 case studies and includes 7 opportunities for you
to improve your skills using Strategic Doing. We are grateful to all who will lead us over the next two
days.
Time has also been allotted for you to meet each other at meals and breaks with both structured net-
working and open dialog.
The University of North Alabama is honored to be the host for this important gathering.
During your time here please feel free to call on Janyce Fadden, Mary Marshall VanSant or me with any
questions, comments or suggestions.
Greg Carnes
Gregory Carnes, PhD, CPA
Dean, College of Business
Raburn Eminent Scholar of Accounting
Notes

3. Strategic Doing Credo:
We believe we have a responsibility to build a prosperous,
sustainable future for ourselves and future generations. No
individual, organization or place can build that future alone.
Open, honest, focused and caring collaboration among diverse
participants is the path to accomplishing clear, valuable, shared
outcomes. We believe in doing, not just talking – and in behavior
in alignment with our beliefs.
Strategic Doing Design Team
Turkey Run State Park
(Indiana) October 2011
Conference Agenda
Wednesday, May 4: Turtle Point Country Club
6:30 – Welcome dinner
Thursday, May 5: Marriott Conference Center
8:00 – 8:30 Welcome and Introductions
8:30 – 9:15 Strategic Doing Interactive Update
9:15 – 9:30 Break
9:30 – 9:50 Session 1 - Case Study-Regional Development
9:50 – 10:10 Break and Resource Networking Exercise
10:10 – 10:30 Session 2 - Case Study - Pathways Project
10:30 – 11:30 Session 3 - Panel – Community Development
11:30 – 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 2:00 SD Skills Workshop – Designing and Leading
Fantastic Workshops
2:00 – 2:15 Break and Networking Exercise
2:15 – 3:00 SD Skills Workshop - Linking/Leveraging Assets
3:00 – 3:30 SD Skills Workshop - Managing Multiple Initiatives
3:30 – 4:00 Session 4 – Case Study - Large Organization
4:00 Adjourn – Dine around Downtown Florence
Friday, May 6: Marriott Conference Center
8:00 – 8:20 Update on day ahead
8:20 – 8:50 SD Skills Workshop 4– Framing the Question
8:50 – 9:10 Session 5 – Case Study - Cluster and Supply Chain Development
9:10 – 9:30 Break and Networking Exercise
9:30 – 9:50 Session 6 – Case Study -Engaging a Community
9:50 – 10:20 SD Skills Workshop 5– Measuring Results
10:20 – 11:00 Session 7 – Panel - Building a Digital Technology Cluster
11:00 – 12:00 Wrapping up and next steps –
12:00 Adjourn (Box lunches available)
TIMELINE

4. Doug Barrett
Dr. Barrett received a Ph.D. in Statistics with a minor in Management Science from the
University of Alabama in 1995. He has served as a UNA faculty member since 1997,
taught as Professor of Quantitative Methods since 2004, and is the current Chair of the
Department of Economics and Finance. He has served on the Graduate Faculty of the
University of Alabama. Dr. Barrett has completed several economic impact studies for
clients such as the City of Florence, Huntsville Housing Authority, RegionalCare Hospital
Partners, and the University of North Alabama. He has assisted as an instructor for Stra-
tegic Doing workshops. Dr. Barrett is a founding member, first President, and a board
member of the Society of Business, Industry, and Economics
Bob Brown
Bob Brown is a husband and father (his son Desmond is in the 4th grade), is a resident of
the great city of Flint, works as Associate Director of the Center for Community and
Economic Development at Michigan State University, is a Board Member of WOW Out-
reach. Bob is also a core team member of the national Strategic Doing Institute, and
helped to found Neighborhoods Without Borders - a network of Flint folks working to
dismantle systemic and institutional racism. Desmond Tutu said, “A person with Ubuntu
is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others
are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing
that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated
or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.” Bob works to increase Ubuntu in himself and in Flint. With
outstanding community and campus partners he develops action driven partnerships linking science and community
wisdom to work on critical issues in Flint.
Greg Carnes
Dr. Gregory Carnes serves as Dean of the College of Business at UNA. He came to UNA
in 2007 as the Raburn Eminent Scholar of Accounting and also serves as MBA Program
Director. Dr. Carnes is well known as an academic leader at the national level, having
served as President of the Accounting Program Leadership Group. He serves as Presi-
dent of the North Alabama Society of CPAs chapter. He is a contributing author on South
-Western Federal Taxation: Individual Income Taxes, a popular textbook used in under-
graduate taxation courses. He also authors material for Wiley/CPA Excel, one of the
nation’s leading CPA Review courses. He has also provided tax training for national ac-
counting firms and the AICPA. Dr. Carnes has published approximately 30 articles in
leading academic and professional journal.
BIOGRAPHIES
Session 5 Case Study: Using Strategic Doing with Large 8:50 – 9:10
Corporations to Build and Diversify
Supply Chain Collaborations
The New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) is using Strategic Doing to build supply chain
capacity and collaboration in a large corporate context with Lockheed Martin, who is looking for new
ways to create competitive advantage. They have some, but not all, of the capabilities in-house to
make a competitive bid for a major project with the U.S. Navy. Using Strategic Doing, NJII is
facilitating conversations among potential collaborators from small and medium companies to
identify Lockheed Martin’s assets in light of the strategic product direction and through conversation
figure out how to link and leverage those assets in new ways. Tim Schultes, Nancy Franklin
Break and Networking Exercise 9:10 – 9:30
Session 6 Case Study: Engaging a Community 9:30 – 9:50
Seeding a region in Doing when communities experience crises, or when life demands
change, will create change. What do you do, however, when your community has enough natural
assets that you can ignore the mounting deficit – at least for now? What can really be done when
everyday workflows across our communities reflect a common language of doing? Learn from
Florida-based Spark Growth keys to seeding into your community across non-profit, education,
government and business sectors with Strategic Doing principles. Join Sara and Stan to get some
takeaways for your community. Stan Schultes, Sara Hand
SD Skills Workshop 5: Measuring Results 9:50 – 10:20
In this session you will hear ways to report results and the importance of communications.
Hear from session leaders who have reported out and share your practices.
Ed Morrison, Rena Cotsones
Session 7 Panel: Building a Digital Technology 10:20 – 11:00
Cluster in the Shoals
Hear from a panel who is working to build an entirely new cluster in their region, how the
panel built collaborations and how their collaborations change over time. Learn what challenges the
team faced, and what steps they will take going forward. Mary Marshall, Doug Barrett,
Janyce Fadden, Giles McDaniel
Wrapping up and Next Steps 11:00 – 12:00 noon
Adjourn 12:00 noon
Box lunches are available
SESSIONDETAILS

5. SD Skills Workshop 1: Designing and Leading 1:00 – 2:00
Fantastic Workshops
There are many ways to implement SD practices. This session’s panel will show
examples and discuss how you might develop your next workshop. Ed Morrison,
Tim Franklin, Bob Brown
SD Skills Workshop 2: Linking/Leveraging Assets 2:15 - 3:00
Assets are the base of SD. In this session you will learn new tools to help your
participants identify and better utilize their own assets. Scott Hutcheson
SD Skills Workshop 3: Managing Multiple Initiatives 3:00 – 3:30
Being the Chief Doing Officer can be made simpler using the ideas from this session.
Learn ways you can manage your projects. Peggy Hosea
Session 4 Case Study: Large Organization - Strategic Doing 3:30 – 4:00
Discipline at Work within Local Government:
A Comprehensive System-Wide
Approach to Quality Improvement
This workshop is designed to introduce elements of how Strategic Doing can be used
within a large-scale government organization. The session highlights various ways in which
Strategic Doing has been utilized within the District’s primary labor services organization.
Topic areas include: diversity of discipline uses, noteworthy results, challenges, and the
conceptualization of SD as a movement. Lessons learned and best practices will be discussed to
provide a good depiction of the unique characteristics associated with the government model.
This session also focuses on the utilization of the SD discipline in three key areas: Professional
Development, Youth Program Enhancement, and Inter-Agency Collaboration. Michon Hicks
Adjourn 4:00 p.m.
Dine around downtown Florence
Friday, May 6 Marriott Conference Center 8:00 a.m.
SD Skills Workshop 4: Framing the Question – Where to begin? 8:20 – 8:50
What question are we answering? In this session you will learn techniques to improve
the question development that can lead to a more impact in your SD workshop. Janyce Fadden
SESSIONDETAILS
Janyce Fadden
Janyce Fadden is Executive-in-Residence for the College of Business at the
University of North Alabama. Janyce is guiding a leadership team that is imple-
menting pathfinder projects that advance the region’s digital technology com-
petitiveness using Strategic Doing, an asset based collaborative process. Her
role includes leading Strategic Doing, and implementing an innovation pipe-
line strategy to economically enhance the three state region served by the
university. Fadden earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and
Management from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, and her Master
of Business Administration degree from Northern Illinois University.
Rena Cotsones
Rena Cotsones, Ph.D., is Associate Vice President of Engagement and Innovation Part-
nerships for Northern Illinois University. She works with NIU and regional business,
community and government leaders to create and implement collaborative approaches
to advancing economic development, workforce development and innovation initiatives
in the northern Illinois and Chicago region. As head of NIU’s Office of Innovation, Dr.
Cotsones leads the NIU EIGERlab Innovation Network and the Office of Regional En-
gagement-Rockford. Most recently, she worked with leaders of the Chicago-based Digi-
tal Manufacturing & Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) to create a regional chapter
model, ensuring full engagement of small and mid-sized manufacturers in this federal
institute.
Nancy Franklin
Nancy Franklin - Dr. Nancy Franklin, Principal of Franklin Solutions, consults with leaders
of higher education, government, and community on strategic initiatives, innovation,
and change agendas. She has particularly been engaged with higher education-
community partnerships associated with regional development and sustainability, dis-
ruptive innovations in academic affairs associated with technology and multi-institution
partnerships, and community development associated with STEM capacity-building.
She has led strategic initiatives at Virginia Tech, Penn State, and Indiana State Universi-
ty, in addition to private sector marketing experience with IBM and ROLM. Nancy holds
a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s from Virginia Tech, and a
bachelor’s from Bucknell University.
BIOGRAPHIES

6. Tim Franklin
Timothy (Tim) V. Franklin, Ph.D., serves as Associate Vice President for Business and
Economic Development and Special Advisor to the President for New Jersey Institute for
Technology (NJIT). In this role, Franklin leads strategic initiatives, fosters institutional-
scale programs, manages public and private partnerships, and articulates programs to
advance the University’s economic development and research missions. In parallel,
Franklin serves as Vice President and chief operating officer for the New Jersey Innova-
tion Institute (NJII), an NJIT corporation that applies the intellectual and technological
resources of the state’s science and technology university to challenges identified by
industry partners. Franklin contributed substantially to the design and rationale for this
innovative university interface. Prior to coming to NJIT, Franklin founded and led TRE Networks, Inc., a non-profit
organization dedicated to advancing the role of research universities in transformative regional engagement (TRE)
efforts.
Sara Hand
Sara Hand has a diverse business development background across public and private
sector enterprises, which includes early stage investment. Her motto is “Think Big. Keep
it Simple. Make it Happen.” Using Strategic Doing, Sara drives action-focused agendas
and is widely recognized for consistently achieving her goals with grace and confident
skill. An entrepreneur, Sara uses her strengths to find and leverage unique value propo-
sitions and create synergistic partnerships. This has enabled her to become a valuable
leader and asset to her community and has presented opportunities with the State De-
partment, the United Nations and the 2015 Harvard Future-Ready Economies Summit.
Holly Harlan
Holly enjoys collaborating with cross-sector early adopters who are creating new eco-
nomic, community and business development practices that address our most pressing
global challenges. She graduated Iowa State University with a BS in Industrial Engineer-
ing and co-oped with John Deere. Holly worked 7 years in manufacturing and marketing
for GE and 10 years with three economic development organizations in Cleveland:
CAMP(now Magnet), WIRE-Net and Shorebank Cleveland. From 2000-2011 she founded
and led the Entrepreneurs for
Sustainability (E4S), an economic development non-profit and action network of net-
works in Northeast Ohio. Currently Holly lives on Whidbey Island just north of Seattle
where she works with clients on global business and network development projects.
BIOGRAPHIES
Program Sessions
Wednesday, May 4 Turtle Point Country Club
Welcome Dinner 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 5 Marriott Conference Center
Session 1 Case Study: Regional Development at the 9:30 – 9:50
Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia
The Sunshine Coast region is a peri-urban area 100 km north (62 miles) from the
state’s capital Brisbane. It is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia and is well-known
for its sandy and surf beaches, quaint hinterlands, and laid-back lifestyle. In 2017, an A$2bn
400-bed quaternary care teaching hospital will be opening in the region. The University of the
Sunshine Coast, the only university headquartered in the region, supported by the local
council, needed to gain wider community support, encourage small business participation,
gather inputs from the youth, and empower the community leaders to take part of this
exceptional opportunity. Pamela Wardner, Mike Hefferan
Session 2 Case Study: Pathways Project 10:10 – 10:30
Strategic Doing (SD) is not just for universities to help other groups. It can help higher
education address its own issues. This session will highlight an initiative with 50 universities
trying to make their engineering education programs more responsive to student and industry
needs. Teams of administrators and faculty at each school are trained to use Strategic Doing to
draft their transformation plans and 30/30 meetings while other teams help them stay on
track. We’ll talk about what’s working (and what’s not) as well as the next steps for this new
application of Strategic Doing. Liz Nilsen
Session 3 Panel: Community and 10:30 – 11:30
Neighborhood Development
Strategic Doing at the grassroots community level is happening in several
communities. This session includes a panel discussing ways Columbus, OH; Flint, MI; and
Shreveport, LA are using SD for community betterment. Scott Hutcheson, Bob Brown,
Kim Mitchell, Kim Stands
SESSIONDETAILS

7. Kim Stands
Kim has worked in the field of housing and human services with the City of Columbus
since 1982. In his first position with the City, Kim conducted workshops for low income
families on no cost/low cost weatherization techniques, and provided them free
materials to install in their homes. Over 10,000 households were served. Since then Kim
has lead and contributed to many efforts that improve the quality of life for the
residents of Columbus: helping establish Habitat for Humanity of Greater Columbus;
introducing green design to affordable housing in Columbus; fostering collaborative
efforts to address lead paint poisoning. Kim currently serves on the board Stowe Mission
and the Rebuilding Lives Funder.
Mary Marshall VanSant
Marshall VanSant is the Director of Continuing Education and Outreach at the University
of North Alabama. Mary-Marshall is a member of the Shoals Future Tech Pathfinder
team and has completed her Strategic Doing Training Certification. Her background
includes Vice President of Investor Relations and Public Policy at the Shoals Chamber of
Commerce and a career in corporate and pharmaceutical sales. VanSant earned her
Bachelor of Science in Communication from the University of North Alabama.
Pamela Wardner
Pam Wardner is a scholar-practitioner at the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC)
where she is currently developing short-term non-degree courses as a means of
engaging with the wider community. Pam began working at USC since 2003 as an
academic in various teaching, research and corporate roles. She completed her Ph.D. in
2013 in urban economics and economic geography which complements her past
corporate experience in the as an executive in real property development sector. She
has an undergraduate degree is in Finance Economics, a master’s degree in business
management and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is
also a member of the Pacific Rim Real Estate Society.
BIOGRAHPIES
Michon Hicks
A native of the Washington DC Metropolitan area, Michon S Hicks serves as the Train-
ing and Professional Development Officer for the Department of Employment Services
(DOES). Ms. Hicks has an extensive background in academic instruction; training and
development; and project management with government, nonprofit and educational
organizations. Prior to her work at DOES, Ms. Hicks has held key positions in the educa-
tion and law enforcement communities. At Prince George’s Community College, she
led a faculty team that re-designed the entire mass media curricula for the Communica-
tion and Theatre department. A proud graduate of Howard University, Ms. Hicks
earned her B.A. in Speech Communication/TV Production and her MA in Rhetoric and
Political Discourse. She has also completed course requirements for a doctorate in Intercultural Communication also
at Howard University.
Mike Hefferan
Professor Mike Hefferan is currently the Chair of the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast,
a fully owned subsidiary of the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC). He recently re-
tired from his senior executive role at the USC after almost 13 years in academia to
pursue his varied interests. Prior to that Mike had long executive experience across a
number of departments in related areas for the Queensland State Government enhanc-
ing his governance and operations expertise state and local regional and economic
issues. Hence, he continues to consult at a high level to varied departments such as the
Valuer-General of Queensland. Mike has a Ph.D., as Masters by Applied Science and is a
registered rural and urban valuer.
Peggy Hosea
Following a Fortune 500 career in corporate America developing and managing client
relationships, sales teams and training programs, Peggy joined Purdue to help manage
a $15M Department of Labor grant for a 14-county region in Indiana. That effort used
Strategic Doing as the platform to promote Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic
Development(WIRED). The success generated had organizations across the US seeking
help to develop similar collaborations to move their work
forward. For the past ten years, Peggy has been the hub for Strategic Doing activities
and the growing network of practitioners around the globe. She and her husband Mike
live in Kokomo, Indiana.
BIOGRAPHIES

8. Scott Hutcheson
Scott is a faculty member with the Purdue Polytechnic Institute (the former Purdue
University College of Technology) and a senior associate with the Purdue Center for
Regional Development. As a social scientist, focusing on strategy and planning, Scott has
worked with over 400 communities, regions, and organizations across the U.S. and
internationally, helping them design and guide strategies. Scott has a PhD in public
policy, a master’s in public administration, and an undergraduate degree in
communication. Scott lives in the Town of Ulen Indiana with his wife Lisa and their sons
Henry and Oliver.
Giles McDaniel
Giles McDaniel is the Executive Director of the Shoals Entrepreneurial Center (SEC)
based in Florence, Alabama. Mr. McDaniel previously served two other regional
business incubation networks as Executive Director, one in east Alabama and another in
northeast Mississippi. Giles has been a featured presenter for NBIA, ARC, and TVA
conferences as well as serving on the advisory council for the University of North
Alabama School of Business. He has served as a member of the ARC Business Incubation
Steering Committee and is a charter member of Shoals Future Tech, which introduced
strategic doing processes to enhance digital opportunities in the Northwest Alabama
region. Mr. McDaniel also is the General Manager of the Mane Capital Fund, an Angel
Capital Fund for equity investing in local growth companies.
Kim Mitchell
Kim Mitchell officially joined the Community Renewal International (CRI) team as
founding director of the Center for Community Renewal (CCR) February 2014.
Association with CRI since 2002 has grown in him a deep understanding of the CRI
model potential to make the world a better place. Kim earned Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor
of Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees from Louisiana Tech University
where he also pursued extended education in sociology. Projects for which he served as
lead designer and planner for his firm, Morgan Hill Sutton & Mitchell, received over 45
awards from regional and national organizations. Kim currently consults as a member of
a HUD Technical Assistance Team.
BIOGRAHPIES
Liz Nilsen
Liz Nilsen works with Ed and the gang at Purdue and is the project lead for one of their
new projects, Hacking Engineering. Her professional focus is on the development and
growth of innovation and STEM ecosystems. She is a former senior program officer at
VentureWell, where she provided leadership to the Pathways program for the National
Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter), an effort to transform
undergraduate engineering education. Prior to joining VentureWell, she led STEM
initiatives at the Penn State Center - Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania STEM Network, and
the Institute of Advanced Learning & Research.
Ed Morrison
Ed started his professional career in Washington, D.C., serving as a legislative assistant
to an Ohio Congressman, staff attorney in the Federal Trade Commission and staff
counsel in the U.S. Senate. He holds a B.A. degree cum laude with honors from Yale
University and M.B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Virginia. For over 20 years,
he conducted strategy projects with economic and workforce developers in the U.S. and
developed the Strategic Doing discipline to accelerate those efforts. His work
emphasizes the strategic value of focused regional collaborations and open innovation
and network-based models in today's global economy. He won the first Arthur D. Little
Award for excellence in economic development presented by the American Economic
Development Council. Ed Morrison joined Purdue in 2006. He and his wife Bei live in Lafayette, Indiana.
Stan Schultes
Stan Schultes is co-founder of Spark Growth, a social/civic innovation enterprise and an
expert in Strategic Doing, an agile and action-centric protocol for rapid development and
implementation of strategies across organizations and sectors. He has a passion for
creating community engagement between entrepreneurs, investors, and educational
resources, and in helping to create and nurture startups. As an entrepreneur and
professional technologist, he has led teams from the Fortune 200 to stewardship of
several startups. He is certified by InBIA in Business Incubator Management,
internationally recognized as a technology expert, and has earned the coveted Microsoft
MVP award 13 years running.
BIOGRAPHIES