NFPA Annual Conference

2024 Annual Conference:

February 27-29, 2024

Orlando, Florida

2023 Conference Speakers

The 2023 NFPA Annual Conference featured industry experts from a variety of areas to help attendees improve their business acumen and more. Learn more about the 2023 conference speakers by clicking on their photographs below.

“A lot of the additional value that you get at the Annual Conference is a lot of the people that they bring in, the speakers themselves. You always leave rejuvenated. They have actual items to bring back to your team and there’s so much.”

– Marisa Sundy, Director of Business Development, Steelhead Composites

Learn About Conference Speakers

Robin Carter-Cooper

DEI Strategies and Implementation

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Robin is the Global Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Talent and at Danfoss Power Solutions.

"My experpence in cultivating welcoming, diverse, and inclusive cultures throughout all aspects of organizations and institutions has provided me with the ability to lead teams to elevate inclusiveness and implement best practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and organizational transformation. Leading organizations through intentional DEI change management has been a proven strategy for me to operationalize equity and sustain the transformation at all levels of the organization.

My experience leading, supporting, and coaching Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for justice within the K-12 and higher education system has provided a foundational lens for culturally responsive teaching and transformative practices to lead with equity and justice at the center of all aspects of the organization. "

Alex Chausovsky

Rethinking How We Recruit and Retain Talent for our Companies

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Alex Chausovsky is a highly experienced market researcher and analyst with more than twenty years of expertise across subjects including economics, industrial manufacturing, automation, and advanced technology trends. For the last two decades, he has consulted and advised companies throughout the US and Canada, Europe, South America, and Asia. Alex has delivered hundreds of keynote presentations and webinars to small businesses, trade associations, and Fortune 500 companies across a spectrum of industries. Alex is currently overseeing a suite of analytics products focused on talent. He is also consulting with companies to help them become better at attracting, hiring, and retaining the impact players in their industry.

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Rachel DeAlto

Relationship Communication - At Work & Home

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Rachel is a communication and relatability expert, media personality, keynote speaker, emcee, and the author of “relatable: How to Connect with Anyone Anywhere (Even if It Scares You)” (Simon & Schuster’s Simon Element, September 2021). She is also the co-founder of The MAGNET Method, an employee retention and engagement consulting firm.

Rachel maintains a law degree, a Master’s in psychology, and an influential social media presence where she shares psychological research updates and practical takeaways to connect and communicate more efficiently.

She has appeared as an expert on Lifetime’s Married at First Sight, TLC’s Kate+Date, and over 200+ national media outlets. Rachel speaks on relationship building, the power of connection, and authenticity with her most recent TEDx, Being Authentic in a Filtered World, featured on TED.com.

https://www.racheldealto.com/meet-rachel

Carl Doeksen

Making Practical Sense of Future Manufacturing Advances

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Carl Doeksen is the Global Robotics & Automation Director at 3M where he leads teams to accelerate full-robotic, and fixed automation, solutions for 3M’s industrial customers around the world. Prior to joining 3M, Carl spent 4 years at Honeywell’s Sensors & Signal Processing Laboratory.

Carl holds BS and MBA degrees from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management

He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) as well as a Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt (DMAIC and DFSS).

He has held multiple International Leadership positions for 3M (located overseas in the UK, DE, CN) and has spent most of his career in international operations.

He’s active in the Robotics Industry, serving on the Board of Directors of the Robotics Industry Association (RIA/A3) and the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) Marcom and Suppliers Committees. In addition, he sits on the Board of Directors of SURCAR Asia.

Carl and his wife Kelly have two daughters and they currently live in Austin, TX USA.

Connor Lokar

The Economic Landscape Ahead

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Connor is a graduate from the University of Michigan and a professional economic consultant at ITR Economics, Business Cycle Consulting in Manchester, New Hampshire. He specializes in applied economic analysis and economic forecasting for both short and long-term strategic business planning, entrepreneurial strategy, and business consulting - primarily with industrial and construction based clients.

Seandra Mitchell

DEI Strategies and Implementation

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Twenty years of experience in higher education. I have worked in areas of college academic advising, college admissions and student affairs. I have worked at Milwaukee School of Engineering for 16 years serving as the Dean of Admissions and in my current role as of Vice President of Student Affairs and Campus inclusion for 2.5 years. I have a Bachelors Degree in Broadcast Journalism from UW-Whitewater, a Masters in Higher Education with an emphasis in Executive Leadership from Georgetown University, and I am in Certified in Diversity and Inclusion through Cornell University. I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Aric Newhouse

Our Changing Regulatory Environment

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Aric Newhouse is the senior vice president of policy and government relations at the National Association of Manufacturers. In addition to serving as the NAM’s lead government relations staff member, he is responsible for the development and implementation of the NAM’s broad policy agenda. Mr. Newhouse graduated from Miami University in Ohio with a bachelor of arts in political science and a bachelor of science in secondary social studies education. He also holds a master’s degree in international affairs from The George Washington University and an MMBA certificate in business administration from Miami University.

Matt Ranen

Placing Strategic Bets in the Face of Uncertainty

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Matt Ranen is a scenario planning and strategy consultant, helping clients develop growth, innovation, and risk management strategies as their industries face significant change and uncertainty. He is also an instructor on this topic at the Kellogg School of Management’s Executive Education program and the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy. Prior to this, he was a senior leader at Global Business Network (GBN), the world’s premiere futures and scenario planning consultancy, a part of the Monitor Group strategy consulting firm. Before that, he spent many years in new product development in the media, advertising, and technology sectors. Matt holds an MBA from the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management and a BA in applied math from Harvard University.

Erica Singleton

DEI Strategies and Implementation

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Tim Warden

Making Practical Sense of Future Manufacturing Advances

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Tim Warden is the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Vertex Manufacturing where he’s responsible for leading all sales efforts in growing the contract manufacturing business with a focus on both traditional and additive manufacturing technologies.

Tim has spent the majority of his career involved in manufacturing from selling raw materials to capital equipment.

He’s considered a metal 3D printing industry veteran having spent the last decade and a half actively involved with all facets of the additive metals markets.

Tim was part of the leadership team at Morris Technologies that was responsible for introducing additive metals to the North American marketing starting in 2003 lead by Greg Morris and was instrumental in introducing additive metals to key industries ranging from medical devices to aerospace engine manufactures.

After the sale of Morris Technologies to GE Aviation, Tim held additional leadership roles at Visser Precision, 3D Material Technologies and GE Additive prior to starting Vertex Manufacturing with co-founders Greg Morris and Steve Rengers.

Peter Zeihan

Global Geopolitics

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Peter is a New York Times bestselling author whose first three books — The Accidental Superpower, The Absent Superpower and Disunited Nations — have been recommended by Mitt Romney, Fareed Zakaria and Ian Bremmer. Peter is also a highly sought after public speaker. With a keen eye toward what will drive tomorrow’s headlines, his irreverent approach transforms topics that are normally dense and heavy into accessible, relevant takeaways for audiences of all types.

NFPA Annual Conference

2024 Annual Conference:

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NFPA Annual Conference

2024 Annual Conference:

2023 Conference Speakers

Learn About Conference Speakers

Annual Conference Quicklinks

Contact NFPA

Additional Resources

Stay Informed