Leadership and Innovation at the State Level: A Conversation with Republican Governors
This event is at capacity. If space allows, tickets will be released at the door.
Featuring Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, and Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, in conversation with Dr. Carol Adelman, former top foreign aid official in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. The governors will share how they are leading and making progress in their respective states.
Live event, Greenwald Pavilion
While attendance at the events is free and open to everyone, registration is required, and capacity is established on a first-come, first-served basis.
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Eric J. Holcomb, 51st Governor of the State of Indiana, is a lifelong Hoosier and veteran of the U.S. Navy. Elected by his fellow Hoosiers to a second term in 2020, he received the most votes for governor in Indiana history. During Holcomb’s terms, Indiana employees and employers are enjoying consecutive record-breaking years of job commitments. In 2022, companies committed a record-breaking $22.2 billion in capital investment. In 2023, Forbes ranked Indiana the number one best state in the U.S. to start a business. Actively seeking to build global relationships and attract investments in Indiana’s economic growth, Holcomb has made 14 international trips as governor, visiting more than 20 nations. Holcomb serves on the Executive Committee of the Republican Governors Association and previously served as its policy chairman. In 2018, The Hill named him one of ten governors shaping the future of politics. An article in Governing magazine read, “Indiana’s governor doesn’t scream, doesn’t threaten, and doesn’t even complain. He just wins.” Holcomb and his wife, Janet, live with their Miniature Schnauzer, Henry, and cat, Topper, in the Governor’s Residence in Indianapolis.
On November 8, 2022, Governor Brian P. Kemp was re-elected to serve a second term as Georgia’s 83rd governor. A native of Athens, Georgia, Brian Kemp started his first small business over 35 years ago with a pickup truck and a shovel. Throughout his term, Georgia has broken economic records with jobs and investment coming to every corner of the state. Under his leadership, Georgia’s unemployment rate is at its lowest point in state history and Georgia has been named the Top State for Business for an unprecedented nine consecutive years. Governor Kemp championed legislation to crack down on crime, end human trafficking, enact historic tax cuts, and ensure Georgia’s K-12 education system puts parents and students at the forefront. Governor Kemp, First Lady Marty Kemp, and their three daughters live on their family farm in Athens and are committed to building a safer, stronger Georgia.
Michael L. Parson was sworn in as Missouri’s 57th Governor on June 1, 2018. Governor Parson came into the role of Governor with a lifelong commitment to serving others and over 30 years of experience in public service. He previously served as the 47th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 2017–2018. Governor Parson also served six years in the U.S. Army and as the Sheriff of Polk County from 1993–2005. He served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 2005–2011 and in the Missouri Senate from 2011–2017. While in office, Governor Parson has received several awards and honors. In 2017, as lieutenant governor, he was inducted into the Missouri Farmers Care Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was named Biz 417 Person of the Year and named on Ingram’s 50 Missourians You Should Know list. In 2019, he received the Missouri Chamber of Commerce Man in the Area Award. Governor Parson was also awarded the Order of the Marechaussee, one of the most prestigious honors bestowed upon members of the Military Police Corps Regiment, in 2021. Governor Parson and First Lady Teresa Parson live in Bolivar. Together, they have two grown children and six grandchildren. He was raised on a farm in Hickory County and graduated from Wheatland High School in Wheatland, Missouri. He is a small business owner and a third-generation farmer who currently owns and operates a cow-calf operation near Bolivar.
Governor Jim Pillen was sworn in as Nebraska’s 41st Governor on January 5, 2023. He enters office with the goal of protecting, training, and keeping our kids in Nebraska, cutting taxes, growing agriculture, and defending our commonsense, conservative values. Governor Pillen grew up on a farm in Platte County, Nebraska and raised pigs with his father, Dale. He graduated from Lakeview High School. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science from UNL, and married Suzanne Shreve. Governor Pillen then earned a doctor of veterinary medicine from Kansas State. In 1983, he returned to Nebraska and opened a small animal practice and swine consulting practice. Governor Pillen and his father, Dale, partnered together, raising 60 sows and 1,200 market hogs on a dirt lot on their home farm. In 1993, Jim started Pillen Family Farms. In 2003, he added DNA Genetics. In 2010, his two oldest children, Sarah and Brock, joined the business. Pillen Family Farms and DNA Genetics are now a multigenerational family-run business, composed of over 1,100 team members. The family business operates by some basic core beliefs—do what is right, do the best you can, and treat others the way you want to be treated. Jim and wife, Suzanne, have four children, Sarah, Brock, Polly and Izic, and seven grandchildren, William, Halle, Eloise, Henry, Harrison, Ava, and Thomas.
Dr. Carol Adelman, president of an executive leadership training program, teaches at Wharton Business School, other non-profits, and corporations. She serves on the executive committee of the board of Freedom House and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. At the Hudson Institute, she directed the Center for Global Prosperity and produced ground-breaking publications on global philanthropy. A Visiting Professor at Indiana University, her research and publications are now replicated throughout the world. She was a career foreign service officer and presidential appointee at the U.S. Agency for International Development, heading a $3 billion aid program when the Wall fell in 1989. Author of a book, articles in the NYT, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and WSJ, she holds a Masters in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and Doctorate and Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
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