AI for Leaders Who Don't Speak Tech: A Practical Workshop
Most AI training for government entities is either too vague to be useful or too technical to be relevant. This fun, hands-on workshop is different. Joelle Kaufman has worked with AI for nearly 30 years — from negotiating the industry’s first seven-figure AI deal in 1996 to helping leaders integrate AI into daily workflows. She understands that parks and recreation leaders don’t need another lecture about “the future of work”; they need practical tools they can use on Monday.
Participants will practice using free or low-cost AI tools for real tasks such as drafting grant language, community communications, and marketing content. Joelle also shows leaders how to prompt AI to write in their own voice and agency tone, spot common failure modes like hallucinations and sycophancy, and decide which choices AI can support versus which must remain human.
The session connects technology to leadership: how to create responsible AI guidelines, bring skeptical teams along, and build trust through change. Drawing on her signature Happiness Tripwires, Joelle helps participants make AI adoption practical, ethical, and human-centered. Attendees leave with a personal AI action plan, a starter policy framework, and confidence to lead the AI conversation in their organization.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to …
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Use AI tools to complete at least three common parks and recreation tasks — grant writing, community communications, and marketing — during the workshop session.
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Identify and correct AI's most common failure modes — hallucinations and sycophancy — and evaluate which decisions benefit from AI assistance versus human judgment.
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Draft the foundation of a responsible, ethical AI use policy appropriate for a public-sector parks and recreation agency.
Speaker: Joelle Kaufman, CEO & Executive Coach, GTMFlow
Communicate to De-Escalate: Managing Conversations with a Polarized Public
It seems society is more divided than ever, and that tumult presents itself in our daily lives. As employees of a public agency, there is often an expectation to “keep the peace”, even in the midst of dealing with difficult personalities. Sometimes, people who feel “wronged” are intent on venting their anger and they direct that towards staff. This can be challenging when one feels personally attacked for something that they may or may not have control over.
This interactive, practical workshop presented by the National Conflict Resolution Center, will leave participants feeling celebrated for the ways they already successfully work with the public, while also adding new strategies to help with challenging situations. A national education partner with NRPA, NCRC has over 5 years of partnering with Parks & Recreation departments all over the US and will pull in real-life examples to work though. Participants are encouraged to ask questions, dialogue about challenges, and bring their own experience into the room. The goal is for everyone to leave feeling more equipped to handle those difficult conversations in effective and efficient ways!
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to …
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See beyond the “complaint” to the underlying need of the other person;
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Think about how to respectfully respond to the emotions of others to achieve better outcomes;
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Utilize an interest-based approach for managing conflicts.
Speaker: Ashley Virtue, Director of External Relations, National Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC)
Mastering Your Memory
The human brain possesses an incredible amount of power to store and recall information. Unfortunately most people are never taught how to fully access this ability. In this fun and highly engaging training, attendees will learn unique and exciting methods to increase their memory skills to extraordinary levels.
Most importantly, this program teaches participants how to use these concepts in daily life. Instantly recalling people’s names, giving presentations without notes, increased focus, and improved mental organization are just a few of the practical benefits of this intriguing program. Tyler delivers this session in energetic fashion with no notes or PowerPoint to encourage maximum audience participation in order to impart as much value as possible to all who attend.
Learning Objectives:
Partcipants will be able to …
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Learn 3 actionable techniques to instantly recall names
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Discover new methods to recall lists in order
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Discover 4 habits to improve cognitive function and focus
Speaker: Tyler Enslin, Professional Speaker/Facilitator, Tyler Enslin International, Inc.
Beyond the Inbox: Smarter Ways to Work with Microsoft Outlook and Gmail
In this engaging, high-energy workshop, Randy Dean, MBA—known as The E-mail Sanity Expert®—shares practical strategies to help busy professionals work more efficiently using the Microsoft tools they rely on every day. Through live demonstrations, Randy addresses common productivity challenges, including managing e-mail overload, organizing multiple projects and tasks, staying focused amid constant interruptions, reducing mental and workspace clutter, tracking commitments, and making better use of calendars and contacts.
Participants will learn practical techniques for getting more out of Microsoft Outlook's core features—including E-mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes—to create a more organized, productive workday. Attendees who use Google Workspace will also gain comparable strategies they can apply to Gmail and related tools.
Rather than relying on slide presentations alone, Randy demonstrates these techniques in live, working versions of the software, creating an interactive learning experience filled with real-world examples and audience questions. Participants will leave with immediately applicable tips and proven workflows that can help them work smarter, stay organized, and accomplish more with the technology they already use every day. Brief references to emerging productivity features, including AI-assisted capabilities available within common workplace software, may be incorporated where appropriate.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to …
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Have a strategy for more effectively dealing with e-mail/input overload, start-of-day routines, and unexpected interruptions to help avoid unnecessary urgency and lost focus.
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Use popular functions in your calendar to schedule and meet commitments, while also building a smart, prioritized daily task list for focused productivity and how to quickly capture new contacts.
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Explain and effectively utilize tips and techniques for using all five key MS Outlook and/or Google Workspace functions: E-mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes.
Speaker: Randell Dean The E-mail Sanity Expert, Randall Dean Consulting & Training, LLC
Feedback That Sticks, Without the Sting
There’s an old saying that “feedback is the breakfast of champions”—and yet many people find giving and receiving feedback to be the hardest task regularly on their to-do list.
This interactive workshop transforms how you approach feedback—whether you’re giving it to a direct report, a peer, a commissioner, or a community member. You'll learn to distinguish feedback from criticism and master the "find it, flip it, elevate it" process and other tools that reduce defensiveness, increase receptivity, and make starting feedback conversations easier.
We'll explore workplace "drama" cycles and learn to interrupt victim thinking and rescuing responses to create more empowered teams. These shifts help us give feedback well and also help us receive it gracefully so we can identify opportunities to learn and contribute to a culture of growth and development.
Through real-world application, park district specific examples, and interactive problem-solving, even reluctant leaders will feel equipped to offer feedback that strengthens relationships and improve outcomes.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to …
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Distinguish between feedback and criticism and deliver feedback that reduces defensiveness and increases receptivity.
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Identify and interrupt workplace drama cycles to move toward empowered team communication.
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Leave with go-to feedback openers that lower the stakes of starting the conversation—so hesitation never gets in the way of an important message.
Speaker: Amber Johnson, CEO, Bright Threads Leadership
What's Your Default? Designing How You Lead
Leadership often happens on instinct. Under pressure, stress, deadlines, and constant decision-making, leaders naturally default to familiar habits, reactions, communication styles, and behaviors. While defaults are not inherently bad, they can unintentionally shape team culture, communication, trust, and performance in ways leaders may not fully recognize.
Through practical reflection activities, leadership scenarios, conversation strategies, and research-backed insights from behavioral science and psychology, participants will explore how habits, assumptions, biases, and automatic responses influence workplace relationships and team dynamics. Participants will explore the power of developmental conversations, value-forward communication, and belonging-centered leadership practices that strengthen trust, accountability, and engagement. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to better align their leadership intentions with the actual experience they create for others.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to …
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Participants will assess personal leadership defaults that may be impacting their leadership.
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Participants will practice developmental leadership conversations using curiosity-driven questions to challenge their current default leadership style.
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Participants will participate in value-forward communication, and reflective listening techniques to better support team growth and performance.
Speaker: Annie Frisoli, Founder & CEO, Creating Community, LLC