“Why all our values are making us sick”

Midwesterners place on values and the often unspoken challenges that come when we face conflicts in acting on those values. While values play a central role in communities globally, ‘Midwest values’ is a set of expectations that can be difficult in times of conflicting values, causing inauthenticity and consequently, impact our health and mental well-being.

About

Shane is a Brand Storysharing Strategist based in North Carolina. After decades of award-winning creative communications work for global brands, he now leads A Great Idea (agreatidea.com)—an agency delivering digital and print creative design and content solutions nationwide to grow, empower and activate advocates for purpose-driven nonprofit, healthcare, and education partners since 2015. In addition to being a public speaker, he is a lifelong harm reduction organizer, queer liberation activist, and author named “Designer for Good” by Graphic Design USA. Catch him as part of the Power Beyond Pride (powerbeyondpride.com) podcast host team and look for his upcoming business book The Advocate Advantage in late 2026. shanelukas.com