About

The Innovate to Motivate® Story

Dedicated to Reinventing PAC and Grassroots Professional Development

In the summer of 2000, an experienced group of political involvement professionals encouraged Peter Kennerdell, Amy Showalter and Tony Kramer to design a learning opportunity that would go beyond introductory “show and tell” sessions and squarely meet the special needs of experienced PAC and grassroots practitioners. Amy, Peter and Tony accepted the challenge.

With the early and enthusiastic support of public affairs service provider firms, and input from an Advisory Committee comprised of veteran political involvement professionals, they created a conference experience that includes a rigorous curriculum that recognizes the challenges of today’s PAC and grassroots professionals.

I2M was the first conference of its kind to integrate professional development and scientific influence courses into the existing PAC and grassroots curriculum. All workshops are also designed for maximum participant interaction —”crowd sourcing” is nothing new to us, and this high quality interaction is a hallmark of all I2M gatherings.

The Innovate to Motivate Story

Amy Showalter (center) with I2M Co-Founders Peter Kennerdell (L) and Tony Kramer (R) during the inaugural 2002 conference.

In addition, I2M is the only conference of its kind to incorporate charitable fundraising and / or community service as a part of the conference. We helped rebuild homes in New Orleans through the Beacon of Hope, raised money for the USO, and most recently, raised funds for Pets for Patriots.

Today, the I2M philosophy lives on through the dedication of our Advisory Committee, Sponsor Organizations as well as I2M Co-Founder and Producer Amy Showalter.