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Keynote Speakers Mark Drabenstott Director RUPRI Center for Regional Competitiveness University of Missouri-Columbia Mark Drabenstott is a seasoned observer of regional development and policy issues whose insights have gained national and international recognition. Mark is a native of Markle, Indiana, where he grew up on his family’s farm and learned agriculture and basketball firsthand. Mark earned his bachelor’s degree from Earlham College and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Iowa State University. Mark was named founding director of RUPRI’s national Center for Regional Competitiveness at the University of Missouri-Columbia in September 2006. The Center helps regions craft world-class development strategies for competing in the global economic race. The Center’s products help regions understand where they stand in that race, diagnose their new competitive advantage, and sustain innovative models of regional governance. The Center is also part of the University of Missouri’s Truman School of Public Affairs. Mark has engaged leading topics related to regional development and related policies throughout his career. He spent 25 years in the Federal Reserve System, and led the creation and development of the Center for the Study of Rural America. He has been a prolific researcher, writing more than 150 articles and editing 10 books. He has shared his economic and policy insights very widely. Throughout his career, Mark has given more than 1,000 presentations to audiences throughout the nation and beyond. He has also been invited to share his policy insights with Congress on numerous occasions. Mark’s is actively involved in global efforts to understand the new frontier of regional competitiveness. He is chairman of the OECD’s Territorial Development Policy Committee, the premier global forum on regional development policy. In 2005 he was selected to chair a U.S. Department of Commerce advisory panel that conducted the first major review of federal economic development in 40 years. He has also advised the World Bank. RUPRI is a multi-state, interdisciplinary public policy institute that is jointly sponsored by Iowa State University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Nebraska. RUPRI has an international public policy portfolio with more than 250 scholars representing 16 different disciplines in 100 universities throughout the United States and 25 other nations.  David D. Kerr Secretary Kansas Department of Commerce As Secretary of the Kansas Department of Commerce, David Kerr leads the state’s lead economic development organization in its mission to empower individuals, businesses and communities to realize prosperity in Kansas. Kerr oversees the state's efforts to create jobs through business recruitment and expansion, agriculture marketing, workforce development, community development, international trade and travel and tourism. Kerr joined Commerce after serving as President of AT&T Kansas from 2003-2007, where he was responsible for all regulatory, legislative, governmental and external affairs activities in the state. Prior to being named President, Kerr served as Vice President and General Manager, Local Interconnection Services, with responsibility for serving competitive local telephone companies. Kerr joined AT&T in Topeka in 1979. In 1981, he moved to St. Louis, where he held positions of increasing responsibility while leading marketing, account and finance teams. He moved to Dallas in 1997 to become Vice President, Access Marketing. Kerr grew up in the western Kansas town of Ness City, graduated from Savior of the World High School in Bonner Springs and attended Fort Hays State University. He earned bachelor’s degrees in both economics and business administration from Avila University in Kansas City and is a former Topeka Jaycee of the Year. A committed volunteer and community leader, Kerr has served as a board member of the Jayhawk Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, United Way of Greater Topeka, Topeka Performing Arts Center, and Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters. He served as Chairman of the Board for the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and was the 2006 Chairman of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce Board. Kerr also served on the Advisory Board for Kansas State University’s College of Business, Kansas University’s School of Engineering Advisory Board, and the Capper Foundation Advisory Council. Kerr currently serves as a board member of the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation, Kansas Energy Council and Kansas Water Authority. Kerr and his wife, Mary, live in Topeka.  Stan Ahlerich President Kansas, Inc. Ahlerich is currently serving as the President of Kansas, Inc. (Kansas, Inc. is a public/private economic development initiative of state government). He assumed the role as President after serving on its Board of Directors since 1996. His professional background has been in the area of agriculture where he owns, manages and operates an agricultural enterprise in south central Kansas. Ahlerich served as President and Chairman of the Board of Kansas Farm Bureau and lead the restructuring of its assets to align with its core mission. Ahlerich has worked in the area of economic development at the local and state level and has multi-level experience with Financial Institutions. Ahlerich has been involved with leadership training, particularly in the area of youth and young professionals, he was a charter board member of the Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership (KARL) program and served as its chairman. Ahlerich is a graduate of Kansas State University with a B.S. in Agricultural Economics. Ahlerich has been recognized nationally for his leadership and innovation and was a recipient of the John J. McCloy Fellowship and recognized by the Kansas State Board of Agriculture with their Service to Agriculture Award. Ahlerich is a native Kansan from Winfield. He and his wife, Molly, have two grown children. |
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