Preparing Yourselft to Hold the Hard Conversations That are Keeping you Stuck

Some conversations feel like landmines—and avoiding them can keep you stuck, both in your personal life and at work. This keynote explores how to identify when a conversation needs to happen, and what makes it a crucial one. You'll also learn practical strategies for preparing yourself, so emotions don’t hijack the moment. Think of it as the emotional version of rocket science—with real-world tools you can actually use.

Crisis Clarity: Mastering Communications During a Cybersecurity Incident

In today’s digital landscape, how you communicate during a cybersecurity incident can define your organization’s reputation, resilience, and recovery. Join us for a tactical, real-world session that unpacks how to prepare, execute, and refine communications during cyber incidents—from internal alerts to public disclosures. You’ll learn strategies used by industry leaders and walk away with practical tools you can apply immediately.

From Connecting to Broadband to SecureSD: Leadership Lessons in South Dakota's Cyber Journey

What does it take to build and sustain cybersecurity teams, especially when purpose, not paychecks, is the driving force? In this session, we’ll explore South Dakota’s SecureSD initiative as a lens through which to examine over 30 years of leadership in state government. From navigating shifting cyber threats to keeping teams engaged despite the lure of higher commercial wages, this talk will highlight the principles, people, and persistence that have shaped South Dakota’s cybersecurity evolution. Attendees will walk away with practical insights into leading with mission, building resilient teams, and finding long-term success through service.

Current Nation State Actor Cybersecurity Threats & Mitigation Strategies

Cybersecurity attacks from foreign adversaries are constant.  This session will explore their goals in these attacks, what methods they apply and how to best mitigate them to protect your organization’s assets.

Cultivating Successful Technology Habits: Time Saving Tips to Streamline Work

Understanding how to build user confidence when learning technology and the habits of successful technology learners provides us with the language and tools to support staff in taking full advantage of Microsoft and Google’s features.

Ignoring available technology leads to inefficiencies, higher costs, and missed opportunities. Studies have shown that information seeking can take up to 30% of time, along with an additional 20% of time spent on recreating information. For example, not using cloud storage can result in lost files and difficulty in collaboration. Embracing tech tools saves time and resources, allowing you to focus on more strategic tasks.

Lunch brought to you by TECHLeadership Presenting Sponsors

Generative AI: Transforming Business Without Breaking the Bank or Blowing Up the World

Generative AI has rapidly evolved from experimental pilots to high-value implementations that are reshaping business operations. This keynote will explore the transformative impact of generative AI on various industries, highlighting lessons learned from early adopters. Attendees will gain insights into successful strategies for integrating agentic LLM processes into their workflows, enhancing operational efficiency and driving innovation. The session will cover practical examples, challenges faced, and solutions implemented by pioneers in the field, providing a roadmap for organizations looking to harness the power of generative AI.

Test your cyber trivia knowledge live on the screen from your smart phone.

Previous cyber jeopardy champions:
2024: Jeff Barnes
2023: Julie Erickson

At our TECHLeadership event, we’ll introduce a Reverse Q&A Forum, where the audience takes on the role of experts and the panelists ask the questions. This engaging format allows for deeper participation from you, the audience, sparking dynamic conversation and diverse perspectives.

Off the Grid: Empowering Teams to Take Control of IT Decommissioning

When devices come off the network, where do they actually go? Who’s tracking them? And what kind of data is still on them? In a lot of organizations, the end of the IT lifecycle is messy, unclear, and loaded with risk. This session breaks down how to clean it up.

We’ll walk through the decommissioning process—from the moment a device is retired to the moment it’s recycled or destroyed—and show how to build systems that protect data, keep you compliant, and make life easier for everyone involved. We’ll talk about common traps like shadow IT, forgotten licenses, unsecured storage, and why the smaller and smarter our tech gets, the harder it is to wipe and destroy it properly. We’ll also hit on key updates like PCI DSS 4.0 and how leadership can play a bigger role in keeping things secure all the way through.

Attendees will leave with real tools to help their teams improve how they handle aging equipment, whether they’re in IT, risk, or leadership. This isn’t just about recycling—it’s about protecting your business and making sure nothing falls through the cracks

Plans are Nothing, Planning is Everything

In an unpredictable world, static plans quickly become obsolete. What truly builds organizational resilience is not the plan itself—but the act of planning. This session explores how continuous planning strengthens your organization’s ability to respond to disruption, adapt to change, and maintain critical services.

Because in the end, it's not the document on the shelf that saves you—it's the shared understanding, alignment, and readiness that comes from purposeful planning.

Communication in Security

The topic of cyber security is often a difficult conversation to navigate when it comes to getting buy-in from your management, other employees and even the rest of the technology team. The question many IT security professionals ask themselves is how can we make this relationship with our peers better, so that we can best protect our infrastructure? Communication in security provides a quick overview on best practices to create an engaging security environment to help security professionals communicate effectively and implement positive change in their environments.

Software That Fits: Knowing When to Build and How to Do It Right

Join us for an informative panel discussion with  Mindy Howard, President and CEO of Highmark Federal Credit Union, Tyler Wainwright, Director of Information Security of Black Hills Works, and Haley Erickson of Black Hills Energy.

What happens after the sessions end and the lanyards come off? We reconnect with past attendees who returned to their organizations inspired and took action. Hear firsthand how ideas from last year’s conference sparked change, influenced strategy, and delivered results in their teams, communities, and companies. This session isn’t just a look back; it’s a celebration of momentum and a roadmap for how you can turn insight into impact after the conference.

We conclude the conference with appreciation and a chance to win exciting giveaways. Thank you for attending and we look forward to seeing you in 2026! 

Join us as we to close out the 2025 TECHLeadership Conference by connecting, celebrating, and reflecting on an inspiring experience.