Featured Speakers

State Rep. Carey Hamilton, Indiana House of Representatives, District 87

State Representative Carey Hamilton was first elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 2016 to represent Indiana House District 87. She serves as assistant Democratic whip in the Indiana House of Representatives. Hamilton is the ranking minority member of the Financial Institutions Committee. She also serves on the Environmental Affairs and Ways and Means committees, and is an alternate member of the Indiana State Budget Committee.

Hamilton has served as a nonprofit executive and has worked in the environmental field for more than 20 years. During that time, she has managed various policy development initiatives and public outreach programs.

Hamilton was the executive director of the Indiana Recycling Coalition (IRC) for nine years, beginning in September 2008. Under her leadership, the IRC won two national awards recognizing it as a leader among state recycling organizations.

Prior to serving in this post, Hamilton owned an environmental consulting firm. Earlier in her career, she served as a program manager for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and as the first leader of Indiana’s Greening the Government Program.

Additionally, Hamilton co-led environmental programs for the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee, and is a board member of both Keep America Beautiful and the National Recycling Coalition. She is a 2011 graduate of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Program, a 2013 graduate of the Institute for Conservation Leadership’s Executive Leadership Program, and was named one of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty under 40 up-and-coming leaders in 2010.

Hamilton is a graduate of Pike High School in Indianapolis and has a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University-Bloomington. She is married to Derek and has two children.

State Rep. David A. Wolkins, Indiana House of Representatives, District 18

State Representative David Wolkins has had a constant focus on eminent domain since 2003. He has been devoted to creating legislation that would clarify the law and protect property owners' rights. During the 2006 legislative session, he authored House Enrolled Act 1010 (HEA 1010), which makes it more difficult for the government to seize property through eminent domain laws by more clearly defining requirements of property acquisition.

Rep. Wolkins received his Bachelor of Science from Greenville College and his Masters from St. Francis College. After completing his formal education, he was a school teacher from 1965 to 1977. He was a very active teacher, who coached cross country and the track team. In 1977, Wolkins decided to go into business for himself and opened the Case Farm Tractor Dealership, his business selling farm equipment until 1981. Then he became the Vice President of ABC Travel Inc, where he worked until 1988, when he was elected to the State Legislature. Even with his busy schedule and many careers, he managed to dedicate 18 years to the Winona Lake Town Board. During his tenure on the town board, he served as President and Vice President.

Currently, the Wolkins family resides in Warsaw, Indiana. Rep. Wolkins is married to Candace Wolkins and they have a son named Matthew. The family attends the Free Methodist Church.


 

Karl Berron, Chief Executive Officer, Indiana Association of Realtors

Karl Berron has been CEO of the Indiana Association of Realtors since for 12 years. Prior to that, he spent 18 years as the association's VP of Government Relations.

 

 

Lynne Petersen, CAE, President/CEO, Indiana Apartment Association

Lynne Petersen is president of the Indiana Apartment Association, a state trade association representing owners of more than 230,000 apartment homes across Indiana. She began her career in association management in 1986 and has been with the Indiana Apartment Association for over 28 years.

Lynne has been intricately involved in multifamily housing issues. She is responsible for the overall management of the Indiana Apartment Association including advising leadership on strategic initiatives, advocacy  efforts and  fiscal management. She represents the association with external constituencies and is a registered lobbyist for IAA.

Lynne has bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University and is a Certified Association Executive, a designation she earned from the American Society of Association Executives. She is the past president of the Indiana Society of Association Executives, a member of the Governmental Affairs Society of Indiana. She currently serves on the Legislative Committee of the National Apartment Association and has served as the Program Administrative Chairperson for the National Apartment Association Education Institute. She also is an Executive Committee member of the Ball State Residential Property Management Advisory Board.

Rick Wajda, CEO, Indiana Builders Association

Rick Wajda is the CEO for the Indiana Builders Association, a trade association representing over 3,000 member companies across the state. The Indiana Builders Association is the state affiliate of the National Association of Home Builders, based in Washington, DC. Rick joined the Indiana Builders Association for the second time in 2005 after a two year stint as the Associate Director of the Indiana Petroleum Council and Ohio Petroleum Council, trade organizations that represent the major oil companies with assets in Indiana & Ohio. As the IBA’s chief lobbyist, Rick works with members of the Indiana General Assembly and Indiana’s regulatory agencies to insure housing affordability is taken into consideration when policy makers craft laws and regulations for Indiana’s citizens. Rick is also the Chairman of the Association to Build a Better Indiana, IBA’s political action committee and serves as a spokesperson for the industry on housing related issues. Rick previously worked for the Indiana Builders Association for six years as the Association Services Director and Governmental Affairs Director. Mr. Wajda is a past President of the Governmental Affairs Society of Indiana and currently serves on the Board for Habitat for Humanity of Indiana. Rick is a graduate of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing.

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