Agenda for 2025 Salt Lake City, UT

 1:30 - 4:30 pm MDT (UTC-6)

 Leadership Incubator
 Sponsored by:  Doxy.me

Stronger Together: Practical Strategies to Elevate Board Effectiveness

Facilitator: Craig Deao MHA, Managing Director, of Huron Group; and Pam Knecht, President & CEO, of Accord Limited

Join us to explore practical approaches to building more effective boards—drawing on national best practices in governance and the experience of fellow behavioral  health leaders. Using a framework grounded in competency-based recruitment, role clarity, and a healthy board culture, participants will assess current challenges and exchange ideas  with peers to cultivate engaged, well-structured boards that serve as strategic assets. Come prepared to reflect, compare, and walk away with actionable steps to strengthen your board relationships and governance practices.

 5:00 - 6:30 pm MDT (UTC-6) 

 Welcome Reception
 Sponsored by: MHRRG & Negley Associates

All attendees and their travel companions are invited to join us for drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

 7:30 - 8:30 am MDT (UTC-6)

 8:30 - 10:00 am MDT (UTC-6)

 Welcome & General Session
 Sponsored by: Eleos Health

Achieving Peak Leadership Performance through High-Power Habits

Presenter: Kristel Bauer, Author and Corporate Wellness & Performance Expert

Learn methods to effectively manage stress and support peak performance while promoting a vibrant and successful company culture. You will learn the best times of day  for peak productivity, data driven effective time blocking and break taking strategies as well as research backed ways to overcome procrastination. You will discover why many  people fail when they are looking to create a new habit as well as key evidence-based actionable strategies to optimize productivity and performance while supporting happiness and  well-being.

 Morning Break
 Sponsorship Available!

 10:30 - Noon MDT (UTC-6)

 General Session
 Sponsored by:  Martyn Family Foundation

Growth Mindsets & Realistic Optimism for Leaders & Teams  

Presenter: Amer Kaissi PhD, Professor of Healthcare Administration, at Texas's Trinity University

Amidst unrelenting organizational pressures, leaders may hesitate to push for growth while dealing with numerous external and internal challenges. Amer argues that the  best leaders are those that adopt a growth mindset and build teams based on growth cultures. They also tend to lead with realistic optimism: they acknowledge challenges and  continue to inspire hope and change. Drawing on the latest research and examples from his coaching practice, he shares how leaders can build growth-oriented teams and  organizations.

 Noon - 1:30 am MDT (UTC-6) 

 Grab Lunch with a Few of Your mhca Peers

 Noon - 1:30 am MDT (UTC-6)

 Orientation Lunch for New & Prospective mhca Member CEOs (by invitation only)
 Sponsored by:  INCITE Consulting Solutions

 1:30 - 3:00 pm MDT (UTC-6)

 Breakout Sessions

Applying Growth Mindsets & Realistic Optimism for Leaders & Teams

Presenter: Amer Kaissi PhD, Professor of Healthcare Administration, at Texas's Trinity University 

This interactive workshop will invite leaders to apply the concepts of growth mindset and realistic optimism to themselves, their teams and their organizations. The  leaders participating in the workshop will work on interactive case studies, table discussions, and personal reflections to transform their mindsets and optimism.

Power in Partnership: Growing Behavioral Health Access Together 

Facilitator: Genoa Healthcare

In today’s evolving behavioral health landscape, collaboration is more essential than ever. Join Genoa Healthcare and fellow industry leaders for a panel exploring how strategic partnerships are breaking down barriers and expanding access to care.

Key insights:

• Explore strategies for sustaining partnerships through shared goals, funding alignments and collaborative leadership.
• Hear success stories and lessons learned from clinics and organizations that have scaled access.
• Gain actionable ideas to apply in your own clinic or organization, even with limited resources.

 Afternoon Break
 Sponsored by:  Genoa Healthcare

 3:30 - 5:00 pm MDT (UTC-6)

 Breakout Sessions

Effectively Manage Stress and Learn How to Do the Work-Life Tango

Presenter: Kristel Bauer, Author and Corporate Wellness & Performance Expert

Receive hands-on practice with multiple stress management techniques that can easily be incorporated into your day. Kristel will share some key takeaways from her  book, Work-Life Tango: Finding Happiness, Harmony and Peak Performance Wherever You Work, and you will do some activities from the book to support you in finding your own  unique version of work-life harmony.

Evidence in Action: Care Innovations that Will Change the Face of Behavioral Health

Presenter: Dennis P. Morrison PhD, Chief Clinical Officer, of Eleos Health

This session will provide a strategic roadmap for executives seeking to lead their organizations into the next era of care.  Dr. Morrison will unpack the top clinical and  technological innovations organizational leaders should pay attention to - from integrated and value-based care models to AI-enabled workflows, immersive treatment technologies,  and precision psychiatry - and contextualize these emerging solutions within broader system-level shifts: evolving payer expectations, ongoing workforce shortages, and the changing  policy and funding environment. Attendees will gain clear-eyed, research-based insights into the opportunities and risks facing behavioral health organizations - and the leadership  strategies required to adapt and thrive.

 Reception
 Sponsorship Available! 

All attendees and their travel companions are invited to join us for a casual reception.

 7:30 - 8:30 am MDT (UTC-6) 

 Registration & Continental Breakfast
 Sponsorship Available!

 General Session
 Sponsored by: Martyn Family Foundation

From Crisis to Catalyst: Addressing a National Problem with Shared Local and State Solutions to Build the Behavioral Health Workforce of the Future 

Presenter: Teresa Garate PhD, Managing Director - BH Practice, of HMA

A call to action to transform current workforce challenges into opportunities for innovation. We will present what is happening at the national level address the BH  workforce challenges and highlight local innovative solutions based on previous work done aligning over 400 recommendations around seven levers of change.

 10:00 - 10:30 am MDT (UTC-6)

 Morning Break
 Sponsorship Available!

 Innovation Expo!

Innovation Expo!

Come hear about a variety of innovative initiatives your mhca peers are involved in! Each presentation will be 20 minutes long.

1. Monarch: "Technology-Enabled Supports"
   Presenters: Christy Shaver MHA, Executive VP & Chief Operations Officer; and Debbie Staton-Stehling, VP of Operations - Long-Term Services & Supports
   For people with intellectual/developmental disabilities and mental health diagnoses, technology can change the most ordinary activities of daily living from the impossible to the possible. Through the use of assistive technology providers and families can more appropriately support people to live to their fullest and best live. These settings can include their homes, community, place of employment, etc. Not only does technology allow a greater level of independence, but it also empowers individuals to do things beyond their imagination.
   
   
2. Chimes: "Beyond Government Funding"
   Presenter: Stephen A. DaRe MBA, President & CEO
   Hear about traditional and alternative strategies for diversifying your organization’s funding streams and how Chimes employed a combination of strategies including: venture capital impact investing, early stage direct investing, for profit subsidiaries and a network affiliation model. Come with questions, leave with answers!
   
   
3. High Plains Mental Health Center: "Transforming Mental Health: The Life-Changing Impact of TMS"
   Presenter: Craig A. Poe MSML SPHR, CEO
   Learn how one community mental health center is using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to bring new hope to individuals with treatment-resistant depression. This session will explore clinical outcomes, the expansion to multiple machines, and real stories of lives changed.
   
   
4. Hope Network: "Hope Transformed. Our Transformation and Innovation Journey."
   Presenter: Robert Von Kaenel, President & CEO
   Hope Network, one of Michigan’s largest non-profit organizations, believes that we are all equally human, and by providing life-changing care and services across mental health, neurodiversity, developmental disabilities, education, affordable housing, transportation and more – we are building a world where everyone can thrive. The presentation will focus on the transformation of Hope Network, an established 60-year-old organization employing over 2,000 passionate professionals and their innovation journey utilizing human-centered design, portfolio management and strategic partnerships.

 Noon - 1:30 pm MDT (UTC-6)

 Grab Lunch with a Few of Your mhca Peers

 Noon - 1:15 pm MDT (UTC-6)

 Networking Lunch (mhca Members only)
 Sponsored by: Greenspace Health

Topic: TBD

 1:30 - 3:00 pm MDT (UTC-6)

 General Session

Licensure, Leadership, and Leverage: A Policy-to-Practice Workshop

Presenters: Paul Fleissner, Managing Principal - MN Office, of HMA; and Teresa Garate PhD, Managing Director - BH Practice, of HMA

Bridging advocacy and operational strategy—what leaders can do to influence change on the ground. This interactive workshop will allow participants to gain a deeper  understanding of the Workforce Solutions Partnerships, a collaboration between HMA, CBHL (College of Behavioral Health Leadership) and the National Council, and apply practical  solutions for the various levers of change. The 90 minutes session will include a 20 minute introduction of the Call to Action framework, participation into two 25 minute sessions for  difference levers of change focused on solutions, and 20 minute wrap-up with actionable steps for their local community needs.

 3:30 - 5:00 pm MDT (UTC-6)

 COi Reimagined

Join your peers for the first in a series of dynamic roundtable discussions focused on innovation in integrated care. This interactive session will spark critical conversations designed to shape future mhca programming and influence the evolution of behavioral healthcare delivery. Be part of reimagining what’s possible in integrated care.

 3:30 - 5:00 pm MDT (UTC-6)

 mhca Board of Directors Meeting
 Chair:  Kelly Phillips-Henry PsyD MBA

 5:00 - 6:30 pm MDT (UTC-6)

 The After Party!
 Sponsorship Available!  

Contact Gena ASAP to secure this opportunity to make a splash with mhca members and keep your brand top of mind all quarter.

All attendees and their travel companions are invited to join us for drinks and hors d’oeuvres.