Inclusion Summit: Advancing Workforce and Workplaces

The Inclusion Summit: Advancing Workforce and Workplaces will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 28, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hilton Des Moines Downtown. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore tools and resources that support inclusive economic growth, a stronger workforce and more welcoming workplaces. 

Keynote Speakers:  

Dr. Ian A. Roberts serves as Superintendent of the Des Moines Public Schools, the largest and most culturally, economically, and linguistically diverse school system in the great state of Iowa. He is a pivotal intellectual voice in the K-12 arena offering expertise on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion; Culturally Responsive Instructional Leadership, and School/District improvement through shared accountability, empathy, and Compassion. These tenets he used during his tenure as a school principal and principal-supervisor in Baltimore City, Washington, D.C., and the South Bronx, New York. Prior to becoming a principal, district leader, and leadership trainer. Ian was a world class and Olympic Athlete, competing in track and field at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, and world Championships in Maebashi, Japan and Seville, Spain, was a finalist at the Pan American Games, and gold medalist at the Central American Championships.

Dr. Papia Debroy is Chief Impact Officer at Opportunity@Work, a nonprofit organization sparking a national movement for the 70+ million U.S. workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs), rather than a bachelor’s degree. As Chief Impact Officer, Debroy oversees Opportunity@Work's employer networks, research, data analytics, platform partnerships, and product and tech capabilities. 
A quantitative social scientist by training, Debroy has published research in the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Her expertise on skills and the labor market has been featured in The New York Times and NPR’s Marketplace, among others. She has also delivered Congressional Testimony before the U.S. House and Committee on Education and the Workforce on “Competencies Over Degrees: Transitioning to a Skills-Based Economy.”