Conference Schedule

The schedule below is subject to change. All events are located at St. Louis Union Station unless otherwise indicated.*

  1. Mar 7- Mar 9, 2022
  2. Monday, March 7
  3. Tuesday, March 8
  4. Wednesday, March 9
12 - 7 p.m. Registration Depot Registration
4 - 5:15 p.m. First Time Attendee Orientation Midway 5
6 - 9 p.m. Reception/Culinary Challenge Midway East
7 a.m. - 6 p.m. Registration Depot Registration
8 - 9 a.m. Breakfast Grand F
9 - 9:15 a.m. Culinary Challenge Announcement Grand DE
9:15 - 10:15 a.m. General Session - Re-Energize and Inspire a Better You!
Chad Porter
Grand DE
10:15 - 10:30 a.m. Break Foyer
10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Five Key Solutions for Special Dietary Needs Grand A
10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Living Our Mission of Sustainability Grand B
11:30 - 12:30 p.m. Campus Dining Programs: Sensitivity & Inclusivity to Disordered Eating & Eating Disorders Grand A
11:30 - 12:30 p.m. Leveraging Technology to Offset Labor Shortages Grand B
12:45 - 3:45 p.m. Showcase Midway West
4 - 5:15 p.m. Roundtable Topic: Human Resources/Setting Employee Work Schedule Midway 5
4 - 5:15 p.m. Roundtable Topic: Marketing/Technology & Innovation/Mobile Ordering Midway 6
4 - 5:15 p.m. Roundtable Topic: Nutrition & Wellness/Culinary Midway 7 & 8
6 - 7 p.m. Industry Reception Grand Hall
7 a.m. - 12 p.m. Registration Depot Registration
8 - 9 a.m. Breakfast Grand F
9 - 10:00 a.m. Supporting Students Through Ramadan Grand A
9 - 10:00 a.m. Building a Quality Assurance Program: Past, Present, and Future Grand B
9 - 10:00 a.m. Leadership Now Part 1 - The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center Grand C
10 - 10:15 a.m. Break Foyer
10:15 - 11:15 a.m. Managing Stress for a Better Work Life Balance Grand A
10:15 - 11:15 a.m. Leveraging Technology to Enhance Efficiency & Guest Experience Grand B
10:15 - 11:15 a.m. Leadership Now Part 2 - The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center Grand C
11:15 - 11:30 a.m. Break Foyer
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Technology, People, and Coffee Excellence Grand A
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Building a Mealshare Program Grand B
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Leadership Now Part 3 - The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center Grand C
12:30 - 1:45 p.m. Lunch/Business Meeting Grand F
1:45 - 2:45 p.m. Content Expert to Teacher - How To Become a Great Facilitator Grand A
1:45 - 2:45 p.m. Indiana University IMU Renovation Grand B
2:45 - 3 p.m. Break Foyer
3 - 4:15 p.m. Closing General Session: Be An Influencer On Campus - Chad Porter Grand DE
6 - 9 p.m. Closing Event *Missouri History Museum
 
 

The Learning Sessions for the NACUFS 2022 Midwest Regional Conference will focus on delivering content in the domains aligned with the NACUFS Collegiate Dining Body of Knowledge™ . Additional details on the domains can be found at the bottom of the page.

Learning Session Details

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 Learning Sessions

Re-Energize and Inspire a Better You
Chad Porter

Sometimes the obstacles of life get in the way and we need the encouragement and inspiring words to give us hope in our challenges! Experience how a young boy overcomes a horrific tragedy to not only survive, but to defy all odds and turn, what most would find insurmountable, into a life that inspires people across the globe. Chad will inspire as he recounts the obstacles faced and then provide us with an uplifting message about perseverance, self-esteem, and accomplishing goals. Chad will challenge attendees to be better team players and help unlock leadership skills to produce measurable results within collegiate dining. Chad combines his life experiences with the time tested Zig Ziglar principals to help create an amazing combination of goals guaranteed to give you the tools to be a difference maker at your university.


Five Key Solutions for Special Dietary Needs
Betsy Craig, chief executive officer,MenuTrinfo®, LLC

When you have students with allergies, the food they love may not love them back. During this session, Betsy will bring her experience to the table and provide you with five key takeaways to implement on campus immediately and how to sustain them into the future. This interactive session will include small group discussions to learn best-in-class solutions for food allergy success on any campus.


Living Our Mission of Sustainability
Keith Soster, director of sustainability and student and community engagement, Michigan Dining, University of Michigan
Steve Giardini, senior associate director, Residential Dining, Michigan Dining, University of Michigan

Sustainability on any campus can be an intimidating, constantly moving target. Layer on the mission and values for dining with the mission and values for the University, and suddenly there is a lot of work. How do you put it all together in an organized fashion and “live into” everything? During this session, Keith and Steve will share how they developed a program that aligns campus cultures, missions, and strategies while engaging students and creating excitement.


Campus Dining Programs: Sensitivity & Inclusivity to Disordered Eating & Eating Disorders
Rebecca Miller, MPH, RDN, CSSD, LD, assistant director nutrition and dietary wellness, Washington University in St. Louis

We are considerate and compassionate to meeting the personal nutrition, dietary needs, and preferences from a food allergy, cultural, religious, and lifestyle perspective. But are we implementing a dining program that is also sensitive to those with disordered eating behaviors and eating disorders? Join Rebecca as she shares insight on the language, marketing, educational materials, and possible campus partner collaborations that can impact those with disordered eating behaviors and eating disorders.


Leveraging Technology to Offset Labor Shortages
Cathy Ness, consultant, CBORD
Joie Schoonover, director of business development, CBORD

As foodservice operators face labor shortages and the demand to do more with fewer resources, it has never been a better time to implement labor savings technology. Join our industry professionals to discuss the latest technology trends that are providing real solutions to ongoing staffing shortages.


Wednesday, March 9, 2022 Learning Sessions


The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center
Leadership Now - Engaging Employees in an Ever-Changing Work Environment

  • Ethics and Emotional Intelligence: Emphasizing ethics, trust, and emotional intelligence as the foundation to authentic and introspective leadership.
  • Cultivating Trust: Cultivating trust by respecting and valuing employees will lead to a workforce that is more invested in helping your organization improve and grow.
  • Leadership Toolkit: Providing leaders with the tools they need to inspire top talent, build high-performing teams, and achieve organizational goals.
  • Ways to Engage and Motivate: Educating on ways to engage and motivate employees to continuously innovate and improve the organization for long-term success.


Supporting Students Through Ramadan
Andrew Watling, associate director of dining, Washington University in St. Louis

With the observance of Ramadan moving into the traditional academic year, our dining programs must find innovative ways to provide service and enable students to fully express themselves through their dining options. Join WashU Dining Services to explore innovative ways to serve students and continue to create a space that all students can call home.


Building a Quality Assurance Program: Past, Present, and Future
Alex Thomas, quality assurance specialist I, Iowa State University Dining, Iowa State University
Alexias Townsend, student assistant manager, Iowa State University Dining, Iowa State University

In 2018, Iowa State University Dining Services began building a centralized Quality Assurance program to provide managerial support and enhance the guest experience at its 26 dining facilities. Since its inception, the Quality Assurance program has grown and evolved to fit the ever-changing needs of Iowa State University (ISU) students and dining facilities. Join two ISU Dining Quality Assurance team members as they reflect on the programs' inception, describe where the program is now, what they hope to accomplish in the future, and share some of what the team has learned along the way.


Managing Stress for Better Work Life Balance
Claudia Martin-Ayoade, registered dietitian, Johnson County Community College

Managing stress should not be stressful. Stress is a part of our everyday life, and how we manage it determines the quality of life we live. For most people, stress levels have climbed to new heights in the last two years. Stress can be positive or negative, and people react differently to the same stressors. Learning to manage stress can go a long way to improving the quality of life in and out of the workplace.


Utilizing Technology to Enhance Efficiency & Guest Experience
Ben Anderson, director, Grubhub Campus

Get an in-depth look at leading foodservice programs across the country and how they use technology to increase efficiency and enhance the guest experience. Take a deep dive into their implementation of delivery robots, lockers, and other technology solutions to meet customers where they are while optimizing for the evolving labor environment. Understand the critical considerations driving innovation across campus and the foodservice industry as a whole.


Technology, People, and Coffee Excellence
Kiersten Little, business development and wholesale training leader, Kaldi's Coffee
Lyndsey Patel, sales and business development, Kaldi's Coffee
Karalynn McDermott, executive growth consultant, Eversys

Join Kaldi’s Coffee, a specialty coffee roastery based in St. Louis, for a dynamic conversation into the current trends in specialty coffee, staffing evolution, and a look ahead to the future of fully automatic machines to support your current operational realities. Kaldi’s Coffee will present with our partners Washington University in St. Louis and Karalynn McDermott from Eversys Supertradition Coffee Machines on the learnings of our partnerships. You will have the opportunity to try some of the best coffees in the world, demo one of the leading super-automatic machines in person with a campus payment system, and learn more about programs and learnings that can streamline your coffee program.


Building a Mealshare Program
Claudia Martin-Ayoade, registered dietician, Johnson County Community College

College students have been hit hard by the increasing national food insecurity trend, and students enrolled at two-year schools are more likely to be food insecure. Some figures have claimed as much as 60% of community college students nationwide do not know where their next meal is coming from. In an effort to address the growing food insecurity in Johnson County, Kansas, Johnson County Community College Dining Services created a program to provide free meals to students, which gives them access to healthy, quality food on days they are on campus.


Content Expert to Teacher - How to Become a Great Facilitator
Gina Mouch, senior training specialist, Michigan Dining, University of Michigan
Ashley Smith, student training and development specialist, Michigan Dining, University of Michigan

Do you have a fear of public speaking? Not sure where to start when preparing a presentation? Does silence when facilitating a discussion make you nervous? These will be discussed and more during this interactive session on facilitation training. You’ll walk away knowing how to build, present and facilitate training for any topic, build your confidence in your own presenting, and learn a format to teach your colleagues to be rock star presenters too!


Indiana University IMU Renovation
Rahul Shrivastav, executive director, Indiana University
Scott Reitano, principal, Reitano Design Group

Join in on this session as Rahul and Scott share their insights from the recent renovation at Indiana Memorial Union. From capital planning and strategy to project management and programming. Find out how they incorporated students and stakeholders into the process, created operational efficiencies within a large historic building while providing a cohesive guest experience, and how budget constraints and external factors influenced the process.


Be An Influencer on Campus
Chad Porter

Chad will close the conference by combining life experiences, goal-making strategies, and time-tested Zig Ziglar principles. Attendees will leave inspired to create goals that enable teams to be difference-makers on campus.

 
Learning Domains
 

Business Administration Domain

Sessions in this domain focus on planning, systems, and business functions required to operate, enhance, and fund a campus-valued dining program

Talent Management Domain

Sessions in this domain focus on recruitment and selection, development, and engagement of personnel (including student employees) in order to operate a successful collegiate dining operation.

Guest Experience Domain

Sessions in this domain focus on providing an exceptional collegiate dining guest experience.

Campus & Community Engagement Domain

Sessions in this domain focus on collaborative alignment with campus culture, mission, and strategies (including student engagement) as well as developing successful brand recognition through effective marketing.

Professional Intelligence Domain

Sessions in this domain focus on driving an ethical, organized environment that promotes high standards of integrity and inclusivity, effectively modeling responsible stewardship of campus resources, and leading and promoting organization initiatives and change.