Allen Lecture Series

Allen Lecture Series name graphic

This series brings outstanding local, regional or nationally recognized entrepreneurs who have liberal arts backgrounds to engage with students, faculty and the community.

Allen Lecture featuring Thatcher and Shannon Davis

April 3, 2023

Thatcher and Shannon Davis

Thatcher and Shannon Davis are co-owners of Selamat Designs and Woven. Thatcher Davis graduated from Nebraska in 1990, and both attended the University of Washington—Thatcher Davis earned an MBA, and Shannon Davis earned a Master of Public Policy.

Watch their talk

Read more of their story

Previous Speakers

April 2022

After graduating from the University of Nebraska, Janna Ronert set her sights on a career in the skincare industry. Unable to find a skincare line without parabens or chemicals to solve her rosacea, she created a company out of her apartment. Today, Image Skincare has over 25,000 customers in more than 60 countries. Janna is also is the co-founder of Hush & Hush, a line of luxury beauty supplements, which launched in 2019.

Allen Lecture poster featuring Janna Ronert

Allen Lecture poster featuring Peter Zandbergen

April 2020

Peter Zandbergen, Executive Vice President at Union Bank and Trust.

Peter has 40 years of experience in banking and management including corporate banking, commercial lending, private banking, wealth management and strategic planning. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska, majoring in ethnography/anthropology and a degree from the University of Colorado Graduate School of Banking. He is active involved in the community.


September 2018

Michael Zimm, Digital Media Manager at Digital Surgeons. He specializes in search engine optimization and search engine marketing.

Video of the talk is available here.

Prior to transitioning into the tech world, Michael received his PhD in Classics from Yale University. He has published articles on the value of the liberal arts and higher education in the Wall Street Journal, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, VentureBeat, and Quartz.

Digital Surgeons' clients include:

Arccos logo         Camelbak logo         LEGO logo         Sperry logo
Allen Lecture featuring Michael Zimm