October Programming – Talent + Hiring

In our October talent + hiring session, join Sam Rikkers, Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) as he leads a panel with organizations from across the state to discuss the unique and innovative ways they are growing their talent pool and pipeline, and tackling the talent shortage. Join us to hear fresh ideas, strategies, and avenues that could benefit hiring departments,  those who lead teams, and others who focus on talent acquisition.

Speaker Bios

Sam Rikkers is deputy secretary and chief operating officer for WEDC. Prior to joining WEDC in November 2019, he served as strategic economic initiatives director at the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

Sam has an extensive background in rural development, both in the U.S. and internationally. He served in the White House from 2013 to 2014 as director on the energy and environment team in the Presidential Personnel Office, then was administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service. Before returning to Wisconsin in 2017, he launched and led the Rural Opportunity Initiative of the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. In Wisconsin, he served as executive director of Tiny Earth, a global initiative based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, harnessing the research of undergraduate students to discover new antibiotics.

Panelists soon to be added