Announcing our Keynote Speakers for 2019!

Keynote speakers for Creative Placemaking Summit: Forward Momentum have been announced! 

Join us in welcoming Jun-Li Wang from Springboard for the Arts and Tru Pettigrew from Tru Access to our schedule!

Opening Keynote Speaker

Jun-Li Wang directs the Community Development Program at Springboard for the Arts. She has extensive experience in asset-based community development, community organizing, neighborhood leadership, workshop curriculum design and implementation and training. She created and led Irrigate, a nationally-recognized creative placemaking program designed to train and support local artists to address community challenges.

Jun-Li’s international experience includes five years working in China for The Asia Foundation and Project HOPE. In 2014, she launched Board Repair, a network organized by and for people of color to create a more effective non-profit sector by increasing participation of people of color on boards in the Twin Cities, for which she was awarded a Bush Foundation President’s Innovation Fund grant.

In 2016, Jun-Li received two Knight Foundation grants for Saint Paul Hello, an initiative to welcome and include newcomers more quickly into cool Minnesota. Jun-Li holds a BA from Vassar College and MPS in International Development from Cornell University. 

CREATIVE PEOPLE POWER: A Natural Resource for Building Community Vitality
Community change requires the creativity to imagine what could be and the ability to turn ideas into reality. Art and culture have a unique capacity to bridge differences, build social connections and imagine new futures. To generate creative people power in our communities we need to ensure that our local policies and practices support people’s creativity, sense of agency, and basic well-being and we need to build strong relationships and networks across different parts of the community. Jun-Li Wang will share stories and tools from the work of Springboard for the Arts to illustrate the potential of a creative people power approach to arts and culture.

An economic and community development agency run by and for artists, Springboard provides programs that help artists make a living and a life, and programs that help communities connect to the creative power of artists. Springboard is a nationally recognized leader on artist-led community development, creative placemaking and creative cross-sector collaboration. Springboard’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Stanford Social Innovation Review and The Guardian and directly impacts over 25,000 artists each year in their home state of Minnesota. Through national tools and training Springboard’s programs have been replicated in over 80 communities across the U.S. and internationally.

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"It’s so impressive that Lansing has an ongoing commitment to creative placemaking. Sharing resources, stories, and inspiration is how we work together to make meaningful change. I am excited to share our artist-led practice with you, and know we will grow from the exchange!" Jun-Li Wang, Springboard for the Arts

Closing Keynote Speaker

Tru Pettigrew is a celebrated author, an engaging speaker, a committed community leader, and an award-winning marketing executive with 20 years of experience at the nation’s top advertising & marketing agencies. Tru currently serves as a “Community Bridge Builder” in his role as f​ounder & president of Tru Access.

Tru founded Tru Access to serve as an inspiration and empowerment consultancy to help individuals and organizations bridge gaps across areas that cause division, dysfunction and separation. He is considered one of the country’s top millennial empowerment experts and cross-generational thought leaders.

In addition to connecting brands with consumers and building bridges across generations, Tru has also established a strong reputation for helping organizations build bridges across racial, cultural, social, and relational lines. For more information, go to TruAccess.com

The Art of Inclusion 
The Art of Inclusion is an engaging and interactive discussion that guides attendees on a journey of exploration, entertainment, education, and empowerment on how Diversity & Inclusion are both linked yet still very distinct. This session will help the audience understand what diversity is, why it's such a gift, and the importance of going beyond diversity to experience true inclusion. Through story-telling, engaging dialogue, and interactive participation, attendees will learn how to leverage the gift of diversity that is available to us all, by employing The Art of Inclusion. And when properly applied, this allows you to convert communities, schools, workplaces, and places of worship into beautiful mosaics of purpose-driven citizens empowered by empathy and understanding.​

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