The Regional Summit
The Regional Summit brings together public, private and nonprofit leaders from the 11-county region to connect, learn and collaborate on forward-thinking solutions. The event programming fosters dialogue and strategies addressing various opportunities and challenges faced by rural, urban and suburban communities, with the goal of advancing Greater Des Moines (DSM) as a top region for economic and talent development.
More information to come on the 2025 Regional Summit.
Programming at the Summit
The 2024 Regional Summit featured an array of topics and focus areas across its programming.
Kat Saunders, Partner and Head of Strategy and Leadership at Economic Leadership, LLC, delivered the keynote address, sharing her expertise on strategic economic leadership. You can view her presentation slides here.
A "Meet the Mayors" panel featured mayors from across the region. The mayors offered insights into their communities’ visions for the future and shared candid thoughts on the issues they face.
The Summit also featured engaging breakout sessions, designed to tackle pressing regional challenges and provide actionable solutions.
Breakout topics included at the 2024 Summit included:
- Housing
- Water quality
- Attracting talent and development
- Capital Crossroads
- Childcare
- Community engagement through arts, culture and philanthropy
- Work-based learning
- Storytelling
2024 Sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors for making the 2024 Regional Summit possible. Their support helped bring together leaders from across the region to tackle key challenges and inspire future growth in the Greater Des Moines region.
Interested in being a 2025 sponsor? Reach out to Kathryn Smith, Director of Community Engagement at The Partnership, at (515) 286-4914 or ksmith@DSMpartnership.com for more information.