In The CIW 5, we ask you to tell us the five CIW events that cannot be missed. Today’s subject: Kathryn Troutman, our Director of Communications & The Co-op, who is certain that Wildcard is going to be a wild ride.

CIW Director of Communications & The Co-op Kathryn Troutman will see you at Cultural Icons and Wildcard.

1. The Talk You’d Skip Work to See

Easy. Cultural Icons (Wednesday, October 14, 4 – 5:30pm). Freddie Mercury, David Carr, Marvin Gaye and Hunter S. Thompson are all brilliant. I cannot wait to hear stories about the lives they lived behind the curtain.

2. The Evening Talk You Plan to Invite All of Your Friends To

Wildcard (Wednesday, October 14, 7 – 8:30pm). This concept itself is wild to me—get it? OK, moving on…All I can say is have faith and come to this talk. Presenters for this Talk have been on the cover of TIME, the cover of Vogue—you name a magazine, they’ve probably been featured.

3. The Conversation You’re Anxious to Be a Part of

Of all the Conversations, the subject nearest to my heart is The State of Mental Health in America (Saturday, October 18, 11am – 12pm). I have friends and family members who suffer from mental illness, and it is a subject I would like to be more educated on. With former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, National Institute of Mental Health Director Thomas Insel and Cook County Department of Corrections Executive Director Nneka Jones Tapia, I know I’ll get unique personal and professional insights into mental health today that I would never get anywhere else.

4. The Lab That You Can’t Wait to Explore

Chicago is a food town; we have some of the best restaurants in the world and beyond. If I could attend a lab, it would hands down be the Pie Making 101 with Bang Bang Pie Shop (Wednesday, October 14, 6 – 9pm). Michael Ciapciak is a genius, and to say I’m jealous of the lab attendees would be an understatement. Every time I try to make pie crust they always turn out to be a huge fail (I blame Pinterest). Whoever is attending this lab please feel free to bake me a (cherry) pie. Oh, and given that one is sold out, I highly recommend any of our other food (and beverage!)–focused Labs.

5. The Speaker Whose Ideas Absolutely Fascinate You

Obsessed with Jason Carter Mayden (Edison Talks, Friday, October 16, 10am – 5pm) and everything his brilliant mind touches. I’ve told my bud Tanner Woodford, the executive director of the Chicago Design Museum, this, but in my next life, I’d like to be a designer. So, I cannot wait to hear what Mayden shares on stage.