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DAY ONE SPEAKER LINEUP NOVEMBER 5
DAY TWO SPEAKER LINEUP NOVEMBER 6
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Who Will Build the Future Workforce? The Changing Roles of Employers, Career Centers, and Policymakers
November 5, 2026
9:00 AM PST/12:0OPM EST
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Humanoid Robotics Entering the Workforce
November 5, 2026
1:00 PM PST/4:0OPM EST
Yaad Oren, SAP Labs Global (US)
This panel focuses on employer and industry representatives who can speak to how technology is reshaping employer relations, recruiting, and engagement. This could include AI, automation, VR/AR, lead generation, CRMS, ATSs, contact intelligence, employer-relations platforms, or other technologies that are changing how organizations connect with talent and partners. This should be a forward-looking and engaging conversation about what is possible, aiming to help our audience of career services professionals and employers modernize while thinking towards what is coming next.
AI is Disruptive, But Not In The Way Most Think
November 5, 2026
9:00 AM PST/12:0OPM EST
Jeffrey Moss, Parker Dewey
The debate over AI in recruiting is dominated by screening tools, candidate cheating, application overload, and automation. But while early-career teams wrestle with those issues, the questions increasingly reaching the C-suite are more fundamental: How is AI changing the work itself, which skills will create value, and what does that mean for the talent organizations need? This session will challenge attendees to look beyond the current AI debate and leave with practical ways to help their teams respond to these changes, demonstrate greater strategic impact, and better connect early-career programs to the questions business leaders are already asking.
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Supporting Student Career Readiness Through Candidate Screening and Employer Ready Referrals
November 5, 2026
10:00 AM PST/1:0OPM EST
Beth Lee, Cal Poly Pomona
Hear about our pilot efforts in developing campus services based on systemic processes that connect employers with career-ready talent through a screening and curated referral process. This process aims to save candidates and employers time, expand employment pipelines, and strengthen hiring outcomes.
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Industry-Faculty Collaboration
November 6, 2026
9:00 AM PST/12:0OPM EST
Prashanth Asuri,
Santa Clara University
Moving Beyond Tradition: Performance Goals, Skills Marketing, and Outcome-Driven Career Services
November 5, 2026
10:00 AM PST/1:0OPM EST
Dawn Mikalatos & Jennifer Katz, Purdue Global
Traditional career service models often stop at advising, but moving the industry forward requires bold, outcome-driven action. This session explores how Purdue Global’s model "breaks the box" by establishing performance goals directly tied to cohort assignments, performance-based goals on employer relations, and actively referring qualified candidates to employers. Learn how to structure caseloads and empower staff to act as true talent partners for employers and students, bridging the gap between higher education and hiring outcomes.
Building a High-Impact Internship Conference
November 5, 2026
10:00 AM PST/1:0OPM EST
Sydney Steffen, Washburn University
Internships are more than a summer job. Internships are one of the most effective ways to develop talent, strengthen your workforce pipeline, and identify future employees. Washburn University Career Engagement partnered with GO Topeka to host a day-long interactive workshop for employers and workforce leaders focused on designing meaningful internship experiences that benefit both students and businesses. Employers learned strategies for recruiting, onboarding, engaging, and retaining interns, heard best practices from local employers, and left with practical tools they could use to strengthen their internship program immediately. Attend this session to learn more about this conference and the feedback that was received from attendees.
Fuel Your Future with Data
November 6, 2026
10:00 AM PST/1:0OPM EST
Tom Hogan,
Pennsylvania State University
Equip yourself with actionable insights to transform student outcomes, optimize employer partnerships, and elevate strategic impact. Designed specifically for higher ed leaders, this session turns complex campus data into clear, forward-thinking strategies that inform real institutional growth.
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Untapped Talent
November 5, 2026
10:00 AM PST/1:0OPM EST
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Benjamin Baldonado,
Utah Department of Workforce Services
Leverage an untapped, high-potential workforce to gain a strategic business advantage. Through a dual-customer lens, this session equips employers, career service leaders, and community partners with the tools to foster an accessible culture, leading to measurable outcomes like higher retention, greater adaptability, and improved organizational performance.
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Faculty-Employer Talent
Connect Initiative
November 6, 2026
10:00 AM PST/1:0OPM EST
Laurel Draudt,
University of Michigan-Dearborn
This session introduces a pilot initiative that brings faculty and employers together to strengthen the talent pipeline and expand referral networks. By connecting groups that often operate independently, the initiative aims to foster lasting partnership, create shared opportunities, and build a stronger employment community that benefits employers, students, and university organizations.
AI, emerging technology, workforce
November 5, 2026
11:00 AM PST/2:0OPM EST
Saif Al Hakeem, RISEOne
Leverage an untapped, high-potential workforce to gain a strategic business advantage. Through a dual-customer lens, this session equips employers, career service leaders, and community partners with the tools to foster an accessible culture, leading to measurable outcomes like higher retention, greater adaptability, and improved organizational performance.
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From Outreach to Interview: Rethinking How We Attract
and Assess Talent
November 6, 2026
10:00 AM PST/1:0OPM EST
Joyce Tyse, Genesys
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The Agentic Campus Recruiting Revolution
November 6, 2026
11:00 AM PST/2:0OPM EST
Tom Hogan,
Pennsylvania State University
Agentic AI is rapidly transforming how organizations source, recruit, assess, hire, onboard, engage, and develop early-career talent. While much attention has focused on recruiter productivity, a more profound question is emerging: How will AI reshape the relationship between employers, universities, career centers, and the students entering the workforce? Drawing on his experience as a former AT&T talent acquisition executive and his current role as a scholar-practitioner and AI thought leader, Dr. Hogan will host and facilitate this interactive discussion and sharing session on emerging use cases, potential opportunities and risks, potential risk mitigation practices, and strategic implications of deploying Agentic AI across the early-career talent lifecycle. Participants will explore how employers and university partners can prepare for a future in which both recruiters and candidates are supported by increasingly autonomous AI systems. To encourage participant engagement and sharing, registrants will be provided with a brief article to read and a number of reflective questions prior to the session.
Beyond the Career Fair:
Creating Meaningful Employer-Student Connections Through Spotlight Events
November 5, 2026
11:00 AM PST/2:0OPM EST
Amanda Blazka & Tiffany Fontaine-Helm, Brown University
What happens when career services move beyond the traditional career fair to create more intentional, high-impact employer-student connections? This presentation showcases an Employer Spotlight model developed across 2 university career services offices - one serving undergraduate students and the other serving master’s students - and explores how thoughtful event design, targeted employer engagement, and structured networking can create a more meaningful experience for both students and employers.
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The Executive Perspective: What Makes a Career Center a Powerful Workforce Partner
November 6, 2026
12:00 PM PST/3:0OPM EST
Speakers to be announced...
Career-Connected Classrooms: Bringing Employer Perspectives into College Courses
November 5, 2026
11:00 AM PST/2:0OPM EST
Abby Senuty, Dr. Brittany Knutson,
Skagit Valley College
This session focuses on strategies for bringing employer perspectives into classroom settings to support career readiness and help students connect their learning to future goals. Grounded in an emerging collaboration at Skagit Valley College between Communication Studies faculty and the Career Resources team, the session will explore: 1) Partnering with faculty in career readiness efforts 2) Strengthening course relevance for career-motivated learners 3) Developing customizable frameworks for engaging employers in classroom content Join us to examine efforts to infuse employer insights into general education courses for professional/technical students, including the opportunity to ask questions and share feedback on this project under development.
Sponsors
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