Extension Professionals Lead Everywhere. Often Without the Title.
Chris Sund is a keynote speaker and workshop leader for cooperative extension conferences. Extension professionals lead volunteers, 4-H families, community partners and local boards, usually without anyone reporting to them. Chris’s leadership workshop is built for exactly that kind of influence.
Booked: Nebraska Cooperative Extension Association
Chris is bringing the You Are Capable of More: Leadership workshop to the annual conference of the Nebraska Cooperative Extension Association, the professional organization for University of Nebraska Extension faculty and staff. The conference is at the Divots Conference Center in Norfolk, Nebraska, on November 18, 2026.
Where Extension Professionals Gather
Extension professionals meet at several levels. State associations like the NCEA hold annual conferences for their members. Nationally, the National Association of County Agricultural Agents holds its Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference (the 2026 AM/PIC was in Denver, July 8 to 12, per the April 2026 County Agent magazine), and the Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP) runs the Extension Leadership Conference and Public Issues Leadership Development conference, as announced on Extension Connect. Some states also hold a combined JCEP conference, such as JCEP Wisconsin’s annual conference.
State Extension Association Conferences
Annual conferences for extension faculty and staff, where a keynote or workshop sets the tone for the year.
Extension Leadership Conferences
Gatherings for association officers and emerging leaders who want to grow their influence.
Specialty Association Meetings
Meetings for county agents, 4-H youth development, family and consumer sciences, and community development professionals.
Extension All-Staff & In-Service Days
Statewide or district training days for extension teams. See leadership workshop facilitation.
Why the Workshop Fits Extension
Most leadership training assumes the leader has authority. Extension professionals rarely do. They move projects forward through volunteers, partners and community boards, and keep doing it county by county, year after year.
The You Are Capable of More: Leadership workshop is built on the ten principles in Chris’s book. It covers how leaders take ownership of outcomes, unlock the people around them, and build teams people want to stay on, shaped for professionals whose influence reaches well beyond their own office.
- Ownership: why the leaders people follow own the outcome first
- Leading without the title: influence with volunteers, partners and boards
- Unlocking the capable person who is holding back
- The everyday moments that decide whether good people stay
- One ownership habit to start the next working day
- A framework to keep using with teams and volunteers after the conference
How Extension Groups Book Chris
Chris works with program committees to fit the session to the agenda.
Opening Keynote
A keynote for the full conference that sets a theme the rest of the program can build on.
Leadership Workshop
A half-day or full-day working session where attendees talk, reflect and commit to something specific.
Breakout
A deeper session for a smaller room, often paired with a keynote earlier in the program.
Leadership Track
A session for association officers and emerging leaders on growing influence across the organization.
Proof: Workshops That Get People Talking
Chris’s interactive sessions put the room to work. He led the Leadership Exchange for the Greater Omaha Chamber and for the WSHMMA annual conference, and he is booked for the Nebraska Cooperative Extension Association in Norfolk.
At our Leadership Exchange workshop, Chris was able to energize the room, spark conversations, and encourage connections throughout the event. Attendees spoke of how impactful their conversations were, reinforcing just how powerful these moments of connection can be. We are incredibly grateful for Chris and the lasting impact he is making on our community’s future leaders.
Chris brought exactly the kind of energy and engagement we wanted for our WSHMMA Annual Conference. Speaking to more than 200 healthcare supply chain professionals with a wide range of experience levels, he connected with the entire room. He didn’t simply stand on stage and talk about leadership — he created an experience. His Leadership Exchange had attendees talking, laughing, reflecting, and learning from one another. He knows how to read a room and turn a traditional conference session into something people actually participate in and remember.
Programs for Extension Conferences
Each one can be delivered as a keynote, a breakout, or a half-day or full-day workshop.
You Are Capable of More: Leadership
The workshop booked for the NCEA conference. Ownership, influence and teams people stay with.
You Are Capable of More
A keynote on closing the gap between where people are and what they are capable of.
The Power of Small Moments
The CARE framework for the small interactions that build trust with volunteers, families and partners.
Your Team Is Capable of More
For extension teams and districts that want to work better together.
Who Books an Extension Conference Speaker
Related pages: Nebraska Cooperative Extension Association · Agriculture Keynote Speaker · University Speaker · State Association & Chapter Conference Speaker · Keynote Speaker in Norfolk, NE
What Extension Conference Planners Ask
Has Chris worked with an extension association?
Yes. Chris is booked to lead the You Are Capable of More: Leadership workshop at the Nebraska Cooperative Extension Association annual conference at the Divots Conference Center in Norfolk, Nebraska, on November 18, 2026.
What leadership topics fit extension professionals?
Leading without formal authority, taking ownership of outcomes, unlocking the people around you, and building teams and volunteer groups people want to stay with. Those are the core of the leadership workshop.
Can the session be a workshop instead of a keynote?
Yes. Chris offers a keynote, a breakout, or a half-day or full-day workshop. The interactive workshop is built so attendees leave with something on paper.
Does Chris speak at national extension conferences?
Chris speaks for state and national associations. National extension groups such as NACAA and JCEP hold their own conferences, and program committees can reach Chris through the contact page to check fit and availability.
Can attendees get the book?
Yes. Copies of You Are Capable of More can be bundled for attendees, and Chris can sign books after the session. See bulk book orders.
You Are Capable of More
The bestselling, award-winning book behind the talk: an Amazon Bestseller and the 2026 Paris Book Festival winner in the How-To category. It is built on one idea, that most people have far more in them than they are using right now.
The book includes a playbook readers keep using after the session, which makes it a natural follow-through for extension teams. Chris can sign copies after the program.
A Nebraska Leader Who Builds Teams
Chris lives in Fremont, Nebraska. Bringing a leadership workshop to the people who serve communities across the state is close to home.
Chris is President & COO of Uniti Med and GQR Healthcare and COO of Nebula. He helped grow Uniti Med 10x in revenue in two years, earning #3 on the Inc. Regionals list of the fastest-growing companies in the Midwest. The company was named to Fortune Best Workplaces and has earned Best Places to Work recognition across multiple programs.
He is the bestselling, award-winning author of You Are Capable of More, an Amazon Bestseller and the 2026 Paris Book Festival How-To winner, and he writes for Forbes and Inc. Audiences have also seen him on WOWT, 10/11, WFLA’s Bloom, KXAN, KCTV5, WOI and Dakota News Now.
Stages I Have Spoken On
Where Chris Has Led Rooms Like Yours
Association conferences, community leadership programs and statewide events.
Nebraska Cooperative Extension AssociationNorfolk, NE · Nov 2026Greater Omaha ChamberLeadership Exchange
Rural Health Association of UtahRural Health ConferenceYP SummitYoung ProfessionalsemPower Breakfast LincolnLincoln, NEPOWER ConferenceOmaha, NEAlso: Agriculture Keynote Speaker · Nebraska Keynote Speaker · National Association Conference Keynote Speaker · See all speaking engagements →
Bring Chris to Your Extension Conference
Tell Chris your dates, your audience and the theme of your conference. You’ll get a fast, straight answer on fit and availability.
Check AvailabilityResponse within one business day · Speaker kit, bio & headshots