Panel Schedules & Descriptions
8:45 AM - 9:30 AM: Welcome & Opening Panel
Leadership, Unscripted - Grand Ballroom, 2nd Floor
Session Description: An opening conversation that grounds the day in shared purpose, truth, and the many ways we lead. This dialogue brings together visionary leaders who have shaped communities through courage, creativity, and conviction. Together, they’ll explore what leadership feels like in this moment—its challenges, its hope, and its evolving meaning across generations and sectors.
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM: Concurrent Panels
Leadership Through Disruption - University Room, 2nd Floor
Session Description: What does it take to lead through crisis, change, and uncertainty? This session explores how leaders adapt, communicate, and sustain their teams when disruption becomes the new normal. Panelists will share lessons from moments of profound change—how they stayed grounded in their values, rebuilt trust, and transformed obstacles into opportunities for growth.
Leadership in Education, Capitol B Room - 2nd Floor
Session Description: Explore the evolving role of leadership in education and the impact on student success and institutional change. This conversation brings together educators and administrators working across systems to discuss how leadership can bridge divides, center equity, and inspire meaningful transformation in learning environments.
Emotional Intelligence for Leaders, Senate Room - 1st Floor
Session Description: Leadership requires more than strategy—it demands self-awareness, empathy, and the ability to navigate human dynamics with care. This session explores how emotional intelligence empowers leaders to manage conflict, build trust, and strengthen relationships. Panelists will share practical frameworks for self-reflection, emotional regulation, and authentic connection that help leaders create supportive, resilient teams.
Unlocking Capitol, Assembly Room - 1st Floor
Session Description: Access to capital remains a critical barrier for many professionals and entrepreneurs—especially those from historically excluded communities. This panel explores how financial, social, and institutional capital can be leveraged to open doors, scale ventures, and advance careers. Panelists will share practical insights on building trust with lenders, attracting investors, and fostering relationships that support inclusive economic growth.
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM: Concurrent Panels
Emerging Voices: The Next Generation of Leadership - University Room, 2nd Floor
Session Description: Rising leaders are redefining what leadership looks like—rooted in authenticity, purpose, and community impact. This session highlights voices who are reimagining leadership, challenging norms, and setting bold visions for the future. Through their work in civic engagement, social entrepreneurship, and community development, these emerging leaders are shaping a new era of leadership that is collaborative, creative, and unapologetically inclusive.
Nonprofit Leadership in the 2020s - Capitol B, 2nd Floor
Session Description: Nonprofit leaders are adapting to meet the demands of this decade while centering community, equity, and sustainability. This session highlights strategies in fundraising, governance, and leadership that strengthen trust, balance mission with impact, and build resilience for the future. Panelists will share how their organizations are evolving to meet new challenges—through innovation, collaboration, and a deep commitment to the people they serve.
Cultivating Healthy Workplaces: Strategies for Fair and Effective Systems - Senate Room, 1st Floor
Session Description: Explore how organizational systems shape workplace climate—and how to design for trust, fairness, and impact at scale. Learn how to assess, redesign, and lead culture change through policy, structure, and values. Panelists will discuss how they’ve worked to build systems that support inclusion, accountability, and well-being—offering practical insights for leaders committed to cultivating healthy and equitable workplaces.
Scaling Impact: Leadership Lessons from Small Business & Entrepreneurship - Assembly Room, 1st Floor
Session Description: Entrepreneurs share how they’ve grown their ventures and influence while staying deeply connected to their communities. This panel explores how leaders scale their impact without losing sight of mission, values, or purpose. Panelists will reflect on the balance between growth and authenticity, lessons from building sustainable businesses, and strategies for aligning entrepreneurship with long-term community benefit.
1:15 PM - 2:15 AM: Concurrent Panels
Intergenerational Power Exchange: Leadership Across Generations - University Room, 2nd Floor
Session Description: This conversation bridges generations of leaders to explore how experience, innovation, and shared purpose intersect. From seasoned changemakers to emerging visionaries, panelists will reflect on lessons learned, tensions faced, and opportunities for collaboration across age, background, and leadership style. Together, they’ll discuss how to build leadership ecosystems that honor legacy while embracing new ideas, approaches, and voices.
First 100 Days - Capitol B Room, 2nd Floor
Session Description: The first 100 days in a new leadership role can define credibility, culture, and long-term impact. This session explores how leaders navigate early decisions, build trust, and set priorities that reflect both purpose and organizational goals. Panelists will share lessons learned from their own leadership transitions and offer strategies for aligning values, vision, and action in those pivotal first months.
The Public Relations Rules: Six Principals to Get Your Story in the News - Senate Room, 1st Floor
Session Description: You have a story to tell -- but how can you get a journalist or news organization interested in telling it? And how can you be sure they'll tell your story in a way that's beneficial? In this session, longtime public relations professional and journalist Robert Chappell will share the six rules to get your story in the news.
Economic Mobility: Workforce Leadership to Retain Local Talent- Assembly Room, 1st Floor
Session Description: Economic mobility is essential for thriving communities—and local leadership plays a critical role in making it possible. This session explores strategies to develop and retain local talent, strengthen workforce pipelines, and promote upward mobility across industries and regions. Panelists will discuss how partnerships between education, business, and community organizations can expand access to opportunity and drive long-term economic sustainability.
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM: Concurrent Panels
The Future of Work: AI and Workforce Equity - Capitol B Room, 2nd Floor
Session Description: Artificial intelligence and automation are rapidly reshaping the way we live, work, and lead. As organizations adapt to new technologies, leaders must also reimagine equity, opportunity, and the human experience in the workplace. This panel explores how innovation and inclusion can coexist—ensuring that technology expands, rather than limits, access and belonging in the workforce. Panelists will share perspectives on preparing talent, redesigning systems, and building leadership models that meet the future with intention and care.
Leadership Legacy & Succession - Senate Room, 1st Floor
Session Description: Leadership transitions shape the future of every organization. This panel explores how leaders prepare future generations, honor the legacies that came before them, and ensure a lasting impact through intentional succession planning and knowledge transfer. Panelists will share how they’ve mentored others, built sustainable systems, and balanced innovation with continuity—ensuring leadership that endures beyond any one person or moment.
Pathways of Power: Civic Leadership for Systemic Access, Assembly - 1st Floor
Session Description: From local government to state agencies, civic leaders are reshaping systems to expand opportunity and public access. This panel explores how leadership within the public sector can transform institutions to be more equitable, transparent, and community-centered. Panelists will share lessons from navigating policy, advocacy, and public service—offering insight into how civic leadership can create pathways of access that drive lasting systemic change.
3:45 PM - 4:45 PM: Concurrent Panels
Leadership Blueprint: Crafting Your Leadership Identity - Capitol B, 2nd Floor
Session Description: Explore how leaders develop a personal leadership identity rooted in values, vision, and authenticity. This panel will share insights and practical tools for defining leadership purpose and style through self-reflection, storytelling, and lived experience. Panelists will discuss how authenticity shapes decision-making, how identity influences influence, and how leaders evolve over time while staying grounded in purpose.
Beyond the Game: Leadership Lessons from the Field - Senate Room, 1st Floor
Session Description: Athletes, coaches, and sports leaders know that leadership extends far beyond the scoreboard. This session explores how the discipline, teamwork, and resilience developed in sports translate into effective leadership in business, education, and community life. Panelists will share stories about navigating pressure, building culture, and leading with integrity—showing how lessons from the field inspire lasting impact off the field.
Sustaining Leadership - Assembly Room, 1st Floor
Session Description: Sustaining leadership requires more than skill—it demands balance, reflection, and care. This panel explores how leaders maintain energy, integrity, and purpose over the long haul. Panelists will share practical strategies for avoiding burnout, fostering resilience, and creating rhythms of rest and renewal. Together, they’ll discuss how to sustain both impact and well-being while leading through changing times.