Nebraska entrepreneur announced as 2026 Energize conference keynote

Craig Schroeder

BROOKINGS, S.D. – South Dakota State University Extension is pleased to announce Nebraska Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame member Craig Schroeder as the 2026 Energize conference keynote speaker.

Schroeder is the board president of the Heartland Center for Leadership Development, a nonprofit organization that researches small towns and rural communities and helps to develop local leadership through training and community planning.

Peggy Schlechter, SDSU Extension Community Vitality Program Director, said she has heard Schroeder speak and praised his experience in both research and community development.

“Craig works to help rural communities create more prosperous futures by implementing effective youth engagement and entrepreneurship strategies,” Schlechter said. “Craig also helps rural communities set attainable goals for addressing youth out-migration and population loss. These are issues that our rural communities face, and he can help them discover strategies to address those issues.”

As a rural entrepreneur who specializes in youth development and recruitment, Schroeder is well acquainted with the challenges many small, rural communities face. In his keynote, Schroeder will outline proven strategies to attract young people to rural South Dakota; he will also lead two breakout sessions.

Schroeder grew up on his family’s farm in southwestern Nebraska and earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Lincoln-Nebraska. After a brief career in international agricultural trade, Schroeder and his wife returned to his hometown of 223 people, where he has dedicated himself to rural development. He was inducted into the Nebraska Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 2017.

“Craig has his own story about what it is like to leave a very rural community in western Nebraska, move to the big city, and then back to his hometown,” Schlechter said. “I’m excited to have him join us because his research demonstrates the youth who live in rural areas are interested returning to their hometowns as adults.”

His experience has also included working as a local economic developer, rural telecommunications policy leader, executive director of the Nebraska Rural Development Commission, senior fellow with the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship and serving on several state and national rural development boards and commissions.

Schroeder’s work extends across 47 states and multiple countries, involving over 70,000 youth and hundreds of rural communities, helping community leaders, educators and economic development professionals implement effective youth engagement, civic leadership, workforce development and entrepreneurship strategies. In Nebraska, he created the Youth Attraction Formula to help rural communities in the Great Plains set attainable goals for addressing chronic out-migration and population loss.

This year’s Energize conference is May 6-7, 2026, in Wall. In addition to the keynote, this two-day conference includes interactive breakout sessions with rural community leaders and entrepreneurs, a young entrepreneur panel, introductions with various regional resource partners, a pre-conference session with Aberdeen-based attorney Julie Johnson and several networking opportunities.

Registration is required by April 20 and is $60 for anyone under 21. For age 21 and up, registration is $99 before April 1 or $125 from April 2-20. Discounts are available to groups of three or more from the same community. To register, visit the SDSU Extension Events page and search “energize”.

The event is hosted by SDSU Extension and supported in part by platinum sponsors Golden West Telecommunications and West River Electric Association. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Emily Kluin, SDSU Extension Community Vitality Field Specialist.

For more information, visit the SDSU Extension Energize page.