Keynote Speakers

Opening Keynote: Marching off the Map: Empowering Students to Take Charge of their Education 

Dr. Tim Elmore, founder and CEO of Growing Leaders (www.growingleaders.com), an Atlanta‐based non‐profit organization created to develop emerging leaders will kick us off with a thought provoking keynote on how leading 21st century students can feel like an adventure into unexplored lands. The natives of these uncharted territories, those born after the turn of the century, hold vastly different attitudes and behaviors toward learning and authority than prior generations. They communicate in rapidly evolving digital languages. They have very short attention spans (8 seconds). They multitask everything — and many even create and maintain multiple personas on social media. The “old maps” we used successfully in education, leadership and parenting to help guide our students through adolescence are now obsolete. We desperately need new strategies on how to navigate this landscape. Using proven research, image-based learning, real-world methods and practical wisdom, attendees will gain principles that will serve as a compass to them — providing direction as they lead the way in this new territory.

WORKSHOP BREAKOUT SESSION (immediately following): Free-Range Teachers: Transforming the Classroom from Apathy to Action 

As teachers, we want our students to learn as much as possible. The problem is, our classrooms, courses and curriculum often lead today’s students to be less engaged. Out-dated teaching styles promote engagement and ownership (commonly called “metacognition”) in the teachers, not the students. While we work hard to create a great experience, most students sit back and wait for us, their teachers, to simplify the material and make it easy for them to digest it. It’s time for a new strategy, one that encourages action, rather than apathy. In this session, attendees will learn the power of metacognition, and gain practical ideas for how to implement the principles of metacognition in the classroom.

About Dr. Tim Elmore

Dr. Elmore has written several dozen books over the years about the emerging generation, including Generation Z: Unfiltered, Marching off he Map, and The Pandemic Population. The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership. These books unpack the fresh strategies and new mindset required today from a next generation leader. His newest title, A New Kind of Diversity, brings to light one of the most dramatic and disruptive shifts the American workforce has ever seen: the vast diversity if several generations living — and working — together.

Since founding Growing Leaders in 2003, Elmore has spoken to over 500,000 leaders in businesses, universities, athletic teams, and non-profit organizations, including The Home Depot, Coca Cola Bottling Company Consolidated, American Eagle and Chick Fil A as well as the San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ohio State University, Stanford University, and the University of Alabama athletics.

His work grew out of twenty years serving alongside Dr. John C. Maxwell where he focused on leadership for the emerging generations. Elmore has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, Psychology Today and he’s been featured on CNN’s Headline News and Fox and Friends to talk about leading multiple generations in the marketplace.

Tim was listed in the top 100 leadership speakers in America by Inc. magazine. He has written more than 35 books, including the best-selling Habitudes: Images That Form Leadership Habits and Attitudes and his latest book, A New Kind of Diversity: Making the Different Generations on Your Team a Competitive Advantage. Tim and his wife, Pam, have two adult children, Bethany, and Jonathan. He and Pam live outside of Atlanta. You can also find his work at: TimElmore.com.