2026 Conference

Goodwill has always been one of America’s most powerful innovation stories, turning donated goods into jobs, careers and hope long before the term ‘social enterprise’ ever existed. Explore how to position innovation as a leadership responsibility, not a department or committee. An innovation culture starts and must be led and fed by senior leadership.

As organizations confront increasing uncertainty and disruption, resilience has become a central strategic priority. Yet resilience is often pursued through structural and operational solutions, while the well-being of organizational members, one of the most critical drivers of adaptive capacity, remains treated as a peripheral initiative rather than a strategic organizational resource.

In this session, you will gain a framework for understanding different aspects of inclusive leadership, helping participants figure out which aspects are most helpful for them and their organizations.

This presentation will examine how leaders can build organizations that are flexible, innovative and better able to respond to rapid change. In a business environment shaped by new technologies, shifting customer expectations and constant disruption, resilience depends on the ability to constantly adapt, learn and move quickly. The talk will explore how organizations can respond to technological change more effectively, encourage innovation across teams and manage the tension between delivering results in the present and preparing for the future. It will also consider how leaders can create structures and processes that support learning, better decision-making and sustained growth. The overall focus will be on practical ideas for helping organizations remain competitive, adaptable and strong in uncertain times.

In a moment defined by volatility and rapid disruption — from shifting political landscapes to economic uncertainty to accelerating climate impacts — effective leadership demands more than reaction. It requires adaptability, grounded perspective and a willingness to see challenge as opportunity. Moderated by Ryan McPherson, this session brings together leaders from finance, clean energy and sustainability to explore how today’s changemakers are advancing climate and sustainability solutions amid unprecedented complexity. These leaders will share how institutions are sustaining momentum on decarbonization, resilience and equitable growth while navigating disruption, reframing obstacles and staying anchored. Panelists will also reflect on how adaptive leadership, disciplined optimism and playing the long game are essential to sustaining progress, mobilizing institutions and delivering the climate and resilience outcomes our communities and economies urgently need. This session will offer candid insights on leading with purpose when conditions are uncertain (and even hostile) — and why moments of disruption may be precisely where the greatest opportunities for impact lie.

A candid conversation on what it takes to lead effectively in a rapidly changing world. This session explores how the UN can navigate global uncertainty, accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals and strengthen multilateral cooperation. Participants will gain insight into the mindsets, lessons and innovations shaping the future of leadership across the UN system.

Employee well-being has grown increasingly critical as a priority for organizations. This presentation describes a 30-day field experiment conducted at a large financial services organization assessing the effects of self-, leader- and group-driven approaches to supporting employee well-being.

AI is quickly showing up in coaching and leadership development, but the way professionals are actually using it is far more nuanced than the hype suggests. This session shares early insights from conversations with more than 30 coaches, coaching educators and organizational leaders about how they are experimenting with AI in real coaching and leadership development work. Participants discuss what’s working, what feels useful, where they feel uneasy and the boundaries they are actively setting around trust, confidentiality and professional judgment. Rather than focusing on tools or trends alone, the presentation surfaces patterns in how practitioners are making sense of AI in deeply human, relationship-driven work and what these early choices may mean for the future of coaching, leadership development and professional education.

A fast‑paced discussion on how AI and other emerging technologies are transforming learning, work and leadership. Panelists will explore the opportunities, disruptions and new capabilities defining the future, and what it takes to stay adaptive in a tech‑driven world.

Leadership development programs often emphasize individual capacity-building, yet their potential to spark lasting global partnerships and institutional innovation is less explored. This presentation examines how two scholar-administrators from Africa and the Caribbean transformed participation in a global leadership initiative at the University at Buffalo into an enduring professional collaboration. By engaging in joint research, peer coaching and knowledge exchange, their partnership illustrates how leadership programs can foster relationships that endure well beyond the virtual classrooms. It also highlights the crucial role of academic institutions, such as the UB School of Management, in creating avenues for cross-continental collaboration and engagement to flourish. The case highlights the value of cross-regional academic collaboration in fostering resilient leadership and advancing sustainable, inclusive innovation within higher education. 

Dive into UB’s Leadership Coaching program and learn how AI tools are actively helping develop future leaders. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at what we’ve integrated, how it’s changing coaching practices and what lessons we’re learning.

Large language models inherit the goals of their creators and the ideologies expressed in the data on which they are trained. These goals and ideologies are not necessarily conducive to using these or other machine learning tools to build global community. Kenny Joseph will provide some thoughts and examples of how to address these challenges with the end goal of building technologies that foster human-centered innovation and community.

A conversation on how AI can be developed and deployed responsibly while still driving meaningful social impact. Panelists will explore the opportunities AI creates for solving global challenges, the trade‑offs that come with rapid innovation, and the principles needed to ensure AI advances serve the public good.

Through the lens of a shared global service experience, this moderated panel highlights how different academic disciplines contributed to collective success. Faculty and students will discuss how their distinct roles came together to support communities abroad, offering reflections on teamwork, systems thinking and the value of interdisciplinary learning.

Resilience is often defined as the ability to bounce back from adversity. But in leadership, and in life, simply returning to where we were before may be aiming too low.

In this engaging and interactive keynote, Positive Mindshift author Don Sandel introduces the concept of Positive Resilience, the ability to not only recover from setbacks, but to grow stronger because of them. Through insights from neuroscience, positive psychology and real-world leadership experiences, Don shows how challenges can become powerful opportunities for learning, perspective and progress.

Because the goal isn’t just to bounce back. It’s to bounce back better.