Plenary Sessions

OPENING PLENARY SESSION

Vision 2030: Human Scale Innovation

Sunday, March 18 | 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

Mike Walsh
Futurist and Bestselling Author; CEO, Tomorrow

Mike Walsh is CEO of Tomorrow, a global consultancy on designing business for the 21st century. He advises leaders on how to thrive in this era of disruptive technological change. Rather than focusing on the distant future, Mr. Walsh takes an anthropological approach—scanning the near horizon for emerging technologies and disruptive shifts in human behavior, then translating these into pragmatic plans for business transformation. A prolific writer and commentator, his views have appeared in a wide range of international publications, including Businessweek, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. Constantly traveling the world for the best ideas, Mr. Walsh interviews innovators, entrepreneurs and corporate revolutionaries to provide his clients and audiences with a fresh and compelling vision of tomorrow’s opportunities. Previously he founded Jupiter Research in Australia, and has also held senior strategy roles at News Corporation in the Asia Pacific Region.

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"IN THE MIX" SERIES

Inclusion, Excellence and Dental Education

Sunday, March 18 | 5:00 – 6:15 p.m.

Alexia Antczak-Bouckoms D.M.D., Sc.D., M.P.H., M.S.

I’m back on my feet, but just not walking.

"In the Mix" returns to deliver an evening of engaging thought and conversation around the issues of diversity and inclusion in all its forms. The reception provides a relaxed environment and is structured to provide ample opportunity for candid discussion and meaningful networking, allowing the audience to truly be “in the mix.” This year’s featured speaker is a fellow dental educator, Dr. Antczak-Bouckoms, who will share her personal experiences as a person with a physical disability. Audience questions and conversations will follow the presentation. Note: This is a ticketed event.

Dr. Antczak-Bouckoms is a dentist with a particular interest in Public Health Policy, especially Decision Analysis and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. She graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health, followed by a year spent growing anaerobes in the Alps and studying the underlying biological basis of dental caries and periodontal disease. She has taught and performed research at the Harvard Schools of Public Health and Dental Medicine. Since 1996, when a tree fell on the car she was driving, resulting in a complete spinal cord injury, her life has taken on new challenges. Always the optimist, she believes one day medical research will find a way for her to literally get back on her feet. Until that time, she continues to work from a seated position.  

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POLITICAL SPOTLIGHT

What Does It All Mean?

Monday, March 19 | 8:30 – 9:45 a.m.

Mary C. Curtis and Patricia Murphy Columnists at Roll Call

The first year of a new presidential administration saw robust discussions on a range of issues that included travel bans, changes in health care choice and competition, and tax reform. 2018 will provide Americans another opportunity to push forward with the current administration’s policies or stymie them by electing more democrats during the mid-term election cycle. This year’s political spotlight will entertain and inform audiences with honest and unbiased analysis of American politics and policies affecting academic dentistry and the dental profession.

Mary C. Curtis has worked at The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Charlotte Observer and as National Correspondent for Politics Daily. 

Patricia Murphy covers national politics for The Daily Beast. Previously, she was the Capitol Hill Bureau Chief for Politics Daily and Founder and Editor of Citizen Jane Politics. 

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CLOSING PLENARY SESSION

Vision 2030: Unlocking the Strategies for a Workplace That Thrives

Tuesday, March 20 | 10:00 – 11:15 a.m.

Nataly Kogan
Founder of Happier 

The CEO and Founder of Happier—an award-winning global technology and learning platform enabling users to discover new methods of pursuing emotional well-being—Ms. Kogan is a leading expert on how people and organizations can transform their individual and team cultures to thrive. Having helped more than a million people and employees dramatically improve their emotional health and resilience by cultivating her Five Core Happier Skills, Ms. Kogan demonstrates that happiness is not just a feeling, but a skill that can be learned and improved through practice, which boosts creativity, productivity and profits. Eighty percent of American employees report being stressed at work and more than 50% say they are close to burnout. Beyond the human costs, this results in more than $400 billion in lost productivity, missed work, and health care costs. While the future offers an endless stream of fast-paced innovation and excitement, change can also be overwhelming. But there is room for optimism: Research shows that empowering employees with simple, scientifically based skills to improve their emotional health and resilience, and cultivating a culture of collaboration and trust, has a dramatic impact not just on employee well-being, but on the organization. In this engaging and practical talk, Ms. Kogan shares techniques to help employees improve their emotional health, increase resilience, and fuel positive energy and the sense of meaning they find through their work. She will highlight the data-driven research that reveals how employee well-being and resilience creates innovative, productive and profitable workplaces.

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