Breakout Speakers

Subject to Change

  • Communications Expert, Motivational Speaker, Podcast Host and Author

    Mike Donahue is a youth specialist, author, speaker, and podcast host who has been speaking to and mentoring young people for over three decades. On a mission to amplify value in every student and help create a positive culture in our schools, Mike Donahue has spoken live to over 1 million students in 2,500 schools on 4 continents.

  • John Stiegelmeier, the winningest football coach in South Dakota State history, built the Jackrabbit program into a yearly contender within the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Football Championship Subdivision, culminating with a national title during his final season in 2022.

  • Terry Nebelsick served as the Huron School South Dakota District #2-2 Superintendent of Schools. He has served as principal, activities director, teacher, coach, sportscaster and announcer and athletic director.

    Nebelsick received his Ed.S – School District Administration from the University of South Dakota, his MA – Secondary School Administration – University of South Dakota and a BA – Communication / Theater – Dakota Wesleyan University.

  • Jared McEntaffer is the CEO of the Dakota Institute. McEntaffer is a South Dakota native with years of experience in analyzing and communicating about the South Dakota economy. McEntaffer earned his bachelor’s degree at South Dakota State University and his PhD at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He began his career teaching Economics at Big 10 Universities but returned to South Dakota in 2017 to lead Benchmark Data Labs, an innovative data consulting and outreach organization. Now McEntaffer brings his experience and expertise to the Dakota Institute for Business and Economic Analysis. His research fields include economic impact modeling, economic forecasting, regional labor market assessments, and treatment effect estimation.