LM Sept2022hi

Passion, Purpose and Perspective At the President AbrahamLincoln Hotel and the BOS Center Gather with your peers—build your network! This conference is packedwith engaging learning opportunities and speakerswho will inspire and challenge you to grow in your leadership capacity. Register Today!

DamonWest

How would you describe your speaking style? Dynamic. I naturally have a high energy level. I have been told I could make a cup of coffee nervous from the energy I put out. What are you looking forward to the most when you present at the IASA Annual Conference? My goal for every presentation is for my message to reach one person in the room to potentially encourage them to make a life change that starts a brand-new, positive trajectory in their life path. I look forward to inspiring any attendee who comes to the conference in need of my message whether they know if they need it or not. What’s one thing about you that people should know before your keynote presentation? I will use my life story as a backdrop for a presentation of overcoming adversity through the coffee bean message. This presentation is for motivation. The bulk of my presentation is centered on “How I became a Coffee Bean” in the pot of boiling water called prison. Can you share a piece of leadership advice for superintendents? The secret to life is servant leadership. The ability to lead is inside each of us—just like the power is inside the coffee bean. All you have to do to be a servant leader is see someone in need and help them meet that need. If you see yourself as this kind of leader and view life through the lens of service, you will see there are opportunities all around you to live out your life’s purpose. You don’t have to be great to serve—but you have to serve others to be great.

West is the best-selling author of The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change . West will be the Keynote Speaker for the Second General Session, Thursday at 9:15 a.m.

Was there an educator in your life who helped you become the person you are today? This is an easy one, Mr. Jehlen. He was my seventh grade history teacher who helped me to become the person I am today. He wrote to me in prison, and he told me I should share my message once I turned my life around and got out of prison. He said those four words so often said by teachers and coaches: I believe in you!

Second General Session Sponsored by:

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LM September 2022