The AIM Institute Speakers Bureau features our staff members with expertise in information technology, talent recruitment, workforce development, and career exploration. Please contact Dee Studt at
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to arrange a speaker:
 Tim Erickson
Business Development Director
Presentation: Workforce Crisis – Silk Purse
There is an impending workforce shortage on the horizon and working through the options left to business and other entities will not be easy. What best practices are being used in the area and the nation to deal with those challenges? Consider the alternatives in an interesting and open presentation of the problem of workforce crisis, what may be causing it, the effects it may have on your business, and what solutions are available and tested for business. Learn from the best practices noticed around the state and nation as well as new solutions that may not have been considered.
As the Business Development Director for the AIM Institute, Tim Erickson's responsibilities include research of public policy and business development issues as well as assistance with strategic partnerships including business, government, education, and communities, especially in Nebraska and the surrounding area. He is also responsible for coordinating development of Business tools for outstate areas and assists with project management in several of our grants. Erickson is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and has a law degree from Creighton Law School. He has 15 years of experience in information technology businesses and government, where he has worked for Governors and the Legislature.
Additional Topics: Entrepreneurship, IT & Education, Legal Issues in IT, Government and IT, IT Implementation in Business, Communities and IT.
 Adam Haeder
Vice President of Information Technology
Presentation: What Can Open Source Do for You?
Open Source software has been part of the IT landscape for many years.
But have you explored the benefits of using open source in your
organization? Learn from Adam Haeder's experience in implementing and using
software that's free or low-cost but most importantly open to modification. Haeder will identify open source software designed to handle basic business functions common to every organization.
As the Vice President of Information Technology for AIM, Haeder's
responsibilities include management of the IT department and all
related technology ventures. He has been the lead instructor in AIM's
Cisco Regional Networking Academy and is the Vice President of the
Omaha Linux Users Group. Haeder has written books about the IT job market
and Linux certification. He serves on the technology advisory councils
of Omaha Public Schools, Millard Public Schools, the University of
Nebraska Lincoln and Omaha campuses, and the Linux Professional
Institute. Haeder has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science
from the University of South Dakota.
Additional Topics: Networking, Linux, and Cyber Security
 Marie Hiykel
Educational Grants Manager
Presentation: Using an Online Career Center
Learn how jobseekers and students use the AIM Virtual Career Center to discover exciting career fields, assess their individual strengths, determine their salary potential, and learn about job-search strategies, techniques, and resume writing. The Virtual Career Center also provides access to information about universities and organizations that helps jobseekers and students acquire the education they need in order to qualify for the career of their choice.
Marie Hiykel has served at the AIM Institute since 1999 as a TRIO Grant Manager for Educational Talent Search. Hiykel is responsible for staff supervision, curriculum development and budget management with emphasis on coordination of student academic programming and staff development. She enjoys the opportunity of bringing curriculum, technology and research together for 21st-century teaching and learning. Hiykel received both her Master of Science (2003) and Bachelor of Science (2000) degrees in Elementary Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She received an endorsement in Instructional Technology at UNO in 2008.
 John Jeanetta
Vice President of Organizational Development
Presentation: Out-of-School Youth – Can IT Serve as a Motivating Force?
In the four-state area of Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and
North Dakota, roughly 100,000 youth between the ages of 16 and 24 are
high school dropouts. In today’s information economy, career prospects
for these youth are greatly diminished. Statistics show that each of
these youth on average will lose $260,000 in lifetime wages and will
pay $98,000 less in tax revenue. Could information technology serve as
a motivating force to bring these young people back onto a brighter
path? John Jeanetta has spent the last year researching this dilemma as
part of a W. K. Kellogg Foundation Initiative and has developed a
prototype business plan, designed to prepare out-of-school youth for
work or further education via an information technology career pathway.
Jeanetta will highlight both the challenges and the key components of a
business where youth are the “employee owners,” who will learn by doing
from the first day they are “hired.”
As the Vice President of Organizational Development for AIM, Jeanetta
has worked with colleges and universities across the region to develop
and implement programs and services that prepare students for careers
in the information technology industry. Previously, he served as the
Director of Development for Metropolitan Community College. Jeanetta
has also served as the Community Relations Coordinator for the
University of Nebraska Medical Center and has worked as a community
development officer for the United States Peace Corps, serving in
Belize, Central America. Jeanetta received an MBA in Executive
Leadership from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln/Gallup University in
2007 and an M.S. in Social Work from New York City’s Columbia
University in 1991. He received his B.S. in Social Work from the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Additional Topic: Leadership Development
 Dr. Robert Sweeney
AIM President & CEO Emeritus
Presentation: Trends in IT Management Functions and Strategies
Anyone associated with information technology over the last few
decades has witnessed incredible changes both in technology and in the
structure of the IT organization. The last decade has brought an
explosion of web-based technologies leading to previously unimagined
strategic opportunities but accompanied by major IT management issues. AIM's latest research explores how Nebraska IT departments are
responding to this challenge through their technology platforms and the
role and breadth of their responsibilities.
Robert Sweeney, Ph.D., is President & CEO Emeritus for the AIM Institute. Sweeney began with AIM as the Executive Director in April 1992 and retired as President & CEO in October 2006. He has more than 30 years of professional experience as an educator, manager and economist. Sweeney has been a catalyst for growth within AIM and has provided leadership for the information technology community. Sweeney holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Georgia State University, an M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Louisiana State University and a B.S. in Farm Operations from Iowa State University.
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