Michael Berkery on Newfields, the State Fairgrounds, and Leading Through Transformation

Michael Berkery on Newfields, the State Fairgrounds, and Leading Through Transformation

Michael Berkery built his career from directing parking lot traffic to leading one of Indianapolis's most storied cultural campuses. Now serving as Chief Operating Officer of Newfields, Berkery reflects on the operational philosophy, mentors, and defining life experiences that shaped his leadership. Berkery traces his path from the south suburbs of Chicago through a decade with Live Nation Entertainment, where he managed concert venues in the Chicago area and Washington, D.C., to 11 years rising to COO at the Indiana State Fair Commission. He discusses what drew him to Newfields, a 152-acre cultural campus that includes a world-class art museum, historic garden, and free public nature park, and why he believes the institution is entering one of its most transformative periods yet. He also opens up about growing up with an older brother who had cerebral palsy, how that experience shaped his work ethic and empathy, and why he believes opportunity is most often found in the work nobody else wants to do. From a $9 million garden restoration to the future of Newfields' physical campus, Berkery offers a candid look at what it takes to steward a complex, mission-driven institution. Talent Scout with Dave Neff features conversations with Indiana leaders making a difference in business, community, and civic life. Sponsored by JDA Worldwide - jdaworldwide.com.

Morgan Snyder of Visit Indy on Selling Indianapolis to the World

Morgan Snyder has spent 15 years helping shape how the world sees Indianapolis, and her work is entering its most consequential chapter yet. As Vice President of Communications and Community Relations at Visit Indy, Snyder oversees the messaging strategy behind a city in the middle of a $3 billion tourism infrastructure boom, a Michelin guide expansion into the Midwest, and the arrival of the American Society of Association Executives convention, what she calls the Super Bowl of the conventions world. Snyder traces her path from Oldham County, Kentucky, to Butler University, where a brochure promising "one of the country's most romantic campuses" sparked a career rooted in hospitality, place-making, and civic pride. She reflects on her time at the Conrad Indianapolis, where luxury service principles shaped her professional philosophy, and on the years she spent navigating the national fallout from Indiana's 2015 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, one of the most challenging communications crises Indianapolis has faced in recent memory. She also discusses mentorship, the value of treating every internship like a job interview, and why success, to her, means uplifting the people around you as you rise.

Olivia West: From 4H to Indiana Fever MC to Keynote Speaker

Olivia West turned a $5 Fever ticket and a cold approach to team leadership into a career as one of Indianapolis's most visible emcees and keynote speakers. The Purdue University alumna and partner at Driven Content Marketing traces a path from raising hogs in LaPorte, Indiana, to MCing Indiana Fever and Indiana Pacers games, hosting the 2024 NBA All-Star events, and now speaking nationally on competitive advantage, communication, and talent development. West details the moment she spotted Dr. Allison Barber at a near-empty Fever game and asked for a role before one existed, the "audition" that turned out to be a live season opener, and how a single email from Pacers and Fever VP Ebony Armstrong connected her to one of the world's top production agencies. She also discusses leaving corporate life, the data she analyzed before betting on herself full-time, and why she now hosts monthly office hours for the eight to 10 students who contact her each week seeking career advice. West is a keynote speaker and partner at Driven Content Marketing, based in Indianapolis. Learn more at OliviaWestSpeaks.com. Talent Scout is hosted by Dave Neff, CEO of the 500 Festival. Learn more about the show and its sponsor, Prolific, at prolifichq.com.

Jason Vansickle on the IMS Museum's $60M Transformation

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum's $60 million renovation changed how 115 years of racing history gets told, and Jason Vansickle helped make it happen from the inside. Vansickle, Vice President of Curation and Education at the IMS Museum, traces the museum's origins to a 1956 tribute to three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and Speedway president Wilbur Shaw, through the 1976 building that stood for decades, to the sweeping renovation that reopened in April 2025. He explains how a collection of 200 vehicles and 55,000 artifacts gets curated, restored, and selectively displayed, including a recent acquisition of 14 Chip Ganassi Racing cars that filled a critical gap in the museum's modern racing history. Vansickle also details the museum's expanding education programs, from iRacing simulators and a dissected IndyCar to STEAM classrooms and summer camps developed in partnership with BorgWarner. He previews a planned 72,000-square-foot restoration and event center on Polco Street that will open public access to nearly 150 vehicles and allow visitors to watch the restoration team at work. His own story mirrors the institution's growth. He started as a volunteer docent in 2011 while studying history at Indiana University Indianapolis, joined the full-time staff in 2015, and has built the curation, restoration, and education departments into what they are today. His advice for early-career professionals centers on one consistent theme: build real relationships and ask for advice often.

Michael Kaltenmark on Marketing the Indy 500 to a Sellout

Michael Kaltenmark, Vice President of Marketing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has helped transform the Indianapolis 500 into a perennial sellout, drawing 350,000 fans and 8.5 million television viewers to one of sport's most iconic events. Here he explains how strategic marketing, the Snake Pit EDM stage, and a generation of experience-hungry young fans drove that growth. Kaltenmark traces a career that began with a journalism degree from Butler University, an early pass on motor sports job offers from CART and Walker Racing, and nearly two decades building Butler's live mascot program through back-to-back Final Four runs in 2010 and 2011. He also shares how a Crohn's disease diagnosis and a kidney transplant from his brother shaped the empathy and resilience that define his leadership approach. On the professional side, Kaltenmark breaks down the vision behind positioning the Indy 500 alongside the Super Bowl, the Masters, and Wimbledon on every sports fan's bucket list. He previews what the 110th running on May 24, 2026 has in store, including a patriotic pre-race production tied to the nation's semiquincentennial, the return of Black Hawk helicopters and the Wienermobile, Zedd headlining the Snake Pit, and Counting Crows and Switchfoot on Carb Day. He also reflects on the mentors who shaped his path and why relationships, not applications, have driven every career opportunity he has ever received.