Schedule

Sunday April 6th^th

5:30-8:00pm
Dinner and Opening Session, Social
Begin IU EDP by meeting fellow EDP classmates, Alumni, and the EDP Board of Trustees during our 'meet and greet' social, opening session and welcome dinner.

Opening Session
Inspire Integrity
Join Corey Ciocchetti as he encourages the 2025 EDP participants to chase the truly important things in life such as a solid character, strong personal relationships, and a sense of contentment. These "real rabbits" are compared and contrasted to more fleeting worldly success such as excessive wealth, popularity, and prestige. EDP participants will leave with a better sense of what it takes to develop integrity, set priorities, gain a big-picture perspective, and chase an authentic life. By the end, Corey promises that this will be one of the most powerful and motivational keynotes you have ever heard.

Monday, April 7^th

8:30-11:30am
1st and 2nd Year Students
Parks & Reconomics©
Considered an art and social science, Economics can be an intimidating and difficult subject to comprehend. Principles such as inflation, marginal utility, competition, and others have profound impacts on all of us personally as well as professionally and when we do not understand what they mean, it can lead to confusion and discomfort. Given the economic uncertainty, growth demands, and insatiable community expectations, the importance of understanding basic economic principles and the influence they have on the financial conditions and realities in our organizations and communities cannot be overstated. A collective, profession-wide comprehension of fundamental economic concepts and how to consider and apply them in our work will enable and foster intelligent decision-making and help us better consider the consequences of our actions. This is essential if we are to have a financially sustainable future for parks and recreation. And let it not go unsaid that studying economics can be fun too! Just you wait and see…
Speaker: Jamie Sabbach, Consultant- President & Principal 110% , Inc.

1-4:15pm
1st Year Students
Leading When Promoted from Within
Leadership roles are challenging, whether you come new into an organization or if you are promoted from within. What does it mean to be promoted into a leadership position from within your organization? This leadership session will focus on the unique challenges and opportunities for individuals who are promoted from within while addressing the impact on relationships with colleagues who are no longer peers, drawing appropriate lines with others, holding others responsible, providing clear discernment on what you can give staff and what they need to do for themselves, understanding influential vs position power and more.
Speaker: Jayne Miller, Jayne Miller Consulting

1-4:15pm
2nd Year Students
Be A Leader You Would Follow
We must only look up to behold yet another pitch for leadership training. Yet, we rarely witness effective leaders plying their craft. Why? These trainings tend to focus on buzzwords and abstract theories but ignore the core aspect of leadership — values and character. In this session, participants will explore whether values and character can be taught. For instance, where did you learn to lie or cheat? On the more virtuous end, where did you learn to be kind and thoughtful? This interactive session on leadership begins with a critical question: Do you have the values and character to make you the type of leader that you would follow?
Speaker: Corey Ciocchetti, JD - Bill Daniels Professor of Business Ethics and Legal Studies, University of Denver

Tuesday April 8^th

8:30-11:30am
1^st Year Students
AI and Other Technologies
Creating Parks Superpowers: Learn how to elevate your parks and recreation leadership abilities with broadly available technology and AI. We'll explore how technology-focused strategies can enhance decision-making, audience engagement, creative development, and effective communication using best practices and evolving technologies. This session will equip you with "superpowers" to get more from technology, ensuring your success as a parks leader in the future.
Speaker: Alex Hannah, Chief, Marketing & Creative Services-DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation

8:30-11:30am
2^nd Year Students
Recruitment, Retention and Relevancy: How do we move from best practices to next practices?
Creating a successful talent pipeline in parks and recreation is no easy task. The ability to attract and retain professionals that are committed to the field is becoming increasingly more challenging. Employment rates, demographic shifts, automation, enhanced technology and societal change will impact the current and future ways that we address our hiring practices. This interactive session will address new approaches to recruiting and retaining staff while also addressing the unique opportunities that parks and recreation departments have in building a successful team.
Becky Higgins Recreation Services Director, Parks & Recreation Department-City of Bloomington, IN and Julie Knapp Clinical Assistant Professor and EDP Director- Indiana University

1-4:15pm
1^stYear Students
Shift Keeps Happening
Shift has been happening — and just keeps happening. Economic shifts are dramatic with increased volatility and uncertainty. Demographic shifts have led to more diverse citizenries. Technological shifts make it hard to keep up. Environmental shifts have left few immune to impacts. While these ongoing shifts present us with challenges, do they also present us with an opportunity to revisit what we do and how we do it so that our systems become more resilient and stronger for the citizens of 2050?
Jamie Sabbach, Consultant- President & CEO 110%, Inc.

1-4:15pm
2^ndYear Students
Designing Your Park & Recreation Services and Programs to be Inclusive and Welcoming for ALL!
During this interactive session, participants will engage in role-playing exercises that simulate real-life scenarios where inclusiveness and belonging may be challenged or overlooked. This can help them gain insight into the experiences of individuals from different backgrounds and perspectives. Through these exercises, participants can develop a greater understanding of the barriers that marginalized individuals might face and brainstorm strategies to overcome them. The creation of an action list of items that participants can incorporate into their respective organizations will be created. This list may include tangible steps, policies, or practices that can enhance inclusiveness and belonging. By the end of the session, participants should leave with a renewed commitment to inclusivity and belonging, armed with practical strategies and a clear action plan to implement positive changes within their organizations.
Speaker: Princess M. Darnell, Deputy Director of Access to Justice Office, Indiana Supreme Court