Keynote Speaker
Opening General Session: Lead Yourself First: Lessons in Adversity & Resilience
Keynote Speaker: Mike Erwin
Monday, July 25
10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Sponsored by:
Army combat veteran, social entrepreneur, author, and homesteader, Mike Erwin, will keynote the 2022 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo.
In the military, VUCA is a phrase that describes the ‘fog of war’. It's also an accurate way of characterizing the world since March 2020—volatile, unpredictable, chaotic, and ambiguous. A VUCA environment creates relentless challenges, but also opportunities. Mike will share insights, experiences, and strategies to grow more resilient in the face of stress and adversity.
Mike will draw on experiences from Iraq and Afghanistan, and from researching his first book, and share why people must lead themselves first. He will focus on just how to do that in today’s digital environment. When we lead ourselves first in times of high stress, we can prevent burn-out and address other challenges that arise for our teams, our families, and our organizations.
Join Mike and the IPMI community on the journey to greater resiliency at the Opening General Session at #IPMI2022.
Mike Erwin is an enthusiastic, grateful, and optimistic leader who was born and raised in Syracuse, NY. He has dedicated his life to serving the nation and empowering people to build positive relationships—and become more resilient.
Founder and CEO of
The Character & Leadership Center, Mike has worked with companies including Amazon, BD, PWC, and NetApp; Special Forces units; and professional sports teams including the Boston Celtics and the NJ Devils. He is co-author of
LEAD YOURSELF FIRST, which focuses on how solitude strengthens people’s character—and their ability to lead with clarity, balance, and conviction. He is also co-author of
LEADERSHIP IS A RELATIONSHIP which details why leaders who prioritize relationships are more effective.
A graduate of The U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, Mike was commissioned as an Intelligence Officer, serving in three combat tours with the First Cavalry Division and 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).
Following his third deployment, Mike attended the University of Michigan where he earned a Master’s degree in positive psychology and leadership under the tutelage of the co-founder of positive psychology, Dr. Chris Peterson. While a graduate student, he founded
Team Red, White & Blue (Team RWB), a non-profit forging America’s leading health and wellness community for veterans and the organization’s 232,000 members.
Mike co-founded the
Positivity Project in 2015, an organization with the mission to empower America’s youth to build positive relationships and become their best selves. With 745 partner schools, the organization reaches over 400,000 children daily. He served as CEO for four years and remains involved as a strategic advisor.
Mike continues to proudly serve the nation as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, assigned to the Pentagon in support of the Army Chief of Operations’ office, led by Lieutenant General Jim Rainey. Mike lives on a 32-acre homestead outside Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with his wife Genevieve and their five children; Eli, Adelaide, Therese, Matthias, and Zelie.
