GLENN BOWERS Rotary District 5960 Governor
Friday, April 17 - Opening Session
Glenn Bowers, Ph.D., is District Governor of Rotary District 5960 and has been a Rotarian since 1986. With a background in plant pathology and plant breeding, he has worked in academia, multinational companies, and ag-biotech startups. Glenn has served multiple Rotary clubs as president and held numerous district leadership roles, including Assistant Governor, District Trainer, and chairing committees such as GSE and Peace Scholar. He and his wife Pam are Major Donors and Legacy Society members. Glenn enjoys travel, wine, cooking, birdwatching, and hiking.
ALEX KRAFTT Lead Trainer with Narrative 4
Friday, April 17 - Lunch Plenary
Narrative 4
Alex Krafft is the Midwest Regional Manager for Narrative 4, where she leads trainings, supports school partnerships, and advances the organization’s mission of building empathy through storytelling. She previously spent nine years with the Pitch In mentoring program in Chicago, specializing in SEL-based curriculum and student support. Alex holds a BA from DePaul University and lives in Michigan.
Friday, April 17 - Dinner Plenary
We Are Water: What Flows Forward
Joseph Barisonzi Co-Chair, Year of Water 2026–27
Joseph Barisonzi is a civic leader, educator, and systems thinker working at the intersection of community, conservation, and leadership. He serves as Co-Chair of Minnesota’s Year of Water (2026–27) and President of the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District, where he focuses on aligning policy, people, and practice to restore and protect shared water systems.
With a background in creative entrepreneurship and public engagement, Joseph teaches at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, helping emerging leaders design solutions that are both innovative and grounded in real-world systems. His work is rooted in a simple belief: lasting change happens when we build structures that support people—and people who are ready to lead within them.
Hannah Barisonzi Co-Founder Green Crew
Hannah Barisonzi is a youth conservation leader and co-founder of Green Crew, a nationally recognized, youth-led environmental service program based in Minnesota. Through Green Crew, she has helped mobilize young people to lead hands-on conservation, scientific research, and community-based environmental initiatives.
An Eagle Scout and emerging voice in youth leadership, Hannah brings a perspective grounded in action, responsibility, and optimism. Her work focuses on bridging generations—ensuring that young people are not just participants in the future, but active leaders shaping it today. Hannah is a senior at the Blake School.
Water is more than a resource—it is a connection between people, places, and generations.
In this compelling father–daughter presentation, Joseph Barisonzi, co-leader of the Year of Water initiative and President of the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District, and Hannah Barisonzi, founder and co-president of the nationally recognized Green Crew youth program, explore how today’s decisions shape tomorrow’s reality.
Blending lived experience, civic leadership, and youth-driven action, they present a clear message: protecting water is not just about systems—it’s about people, partnership, and preparing the next generation to lead.
Because lasting solutions don’t just fix problems— they build the people who will carry the work forward.
HENRY EMMONS, MD Psychiatrist & New York Times bestselling author
Saturday, April 18 - Breakfast Plenary
Supporting Resilience, Boosting Wellbeing
How to Sustain a Healthy Mind and Mood Through Challenging Times
Our collective well-being is seriously challenged these days. While stress is nothing new, anxiety, depression and burnout are at epidemic levels. Maintaining a healthy brain and a vital mind have never been more important.
Yet stress itself is not the problem. There are good stresses, like a Rotary year abroad, that can make one stronger and healthier. This talk will bring together lessons from neuroscience, cognitive therapy and positive psychology to explore how to protect oneself from the many faces of stress, build resilience and promote growth no matter what the challenge.
As an integrative psychiatrist, Henry has been at the forefront of holistic mental health throughout his career. Author of The Chemistry of Joy and The Chemistry of Calm, he has created practical, accessible programs including A Year of Living Mindfully, The Inner Life of Healers, Resilience Training, and Pathways to Joy, and has spoken to and trained health professionals around the world. Currently he hosts the Joy Lab Podcast with his colleague, Aimee Prasek, PhD.
JOE CAVANAUGH Founder, Youth Frontiers
Saturday, April 18 - Lunch Plenary
Youth Frontiers
Joe Cavanaugh is a nationally renowned speaker who inspires audiences of all ages with a powerful, timeless message: character matters. Whether addressing the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, delivering a commencement address, speaking to business leaders, or engaging a room of teenagers, Joe’s message resonates with authenticity, hope, and purpose. His work is guided by the belief that character is the thread that can reweave the frayed fabric of our society.
In 1987, Joe founded Youth Frontiers, a Minnesota-based nonprofit dedicated to inspiring character, civility, and community. Since its founding, Youth Frontiers has impacted more than 2 million youth, educators, and community members nationwide, earning national recognition for its transformative programs. Joe also leads Leadership Frontiers, Youth Frontiers’ newest division, which focuses on developing character-driven leaders across all sectors.
Joe has been featured on local, regional, and national media, including a 90-minute PBS television special, Respectfully, Joe Cavanaugh. He has also been recognized by the late General Colin Powell of America’s Promise as “a leader in our nation’s effort to rescue America’s young people.”
A graduate of Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, Joe earned a B.A. in Humanities and received an Honorary Doctorate in 2016. He was also named Social Entrepreneur of the Year by Saint John’s University in 2012.
Joe and his wife, Jane, live in Edina, Minnesota. Their daughter, Tess, attends the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
Join us for an inspiring keynote that will challenge, motivate, and remind us why character-driven leadership is more important than ever.
