2026 GEN Virtual Summit Agenda

The 2026 Virtual Summit brought forward what's next.

This isn’t a replay of familiar ERG conversations. You’ll encounter frameworks for navigating AI transformation, grief-informed leadership care, founder’s mindset strategy, and nonprofit partnership models that redistribute effort without diluting impact. Sessions position ERGs as intelligence systems, leadership pipelines, and retention infrastructure—moving well beyond community building into enterprise strategy.

The format reflects how work actually happens now. Sessions are distributed across three days and designed for global participation: short enough to attend live between meetings, substantial enough to apply immediately, and available on replay so nothing is lost to conflicting priorities or time zones.

You decide what to join live, what to watch later, and who to bring along. No artificial urgency. No marathon days that drain more than they deliver. Just clarity, practical tools, and direct access to leaders solving the problems you’re facing right now.

This is ERG strategy for 2026—built for the workforce you have, not the one you wish existed.

Event Themes
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Tuesday, March 24

9:00 – 10:00 am

Opening Session and GEN IMPACT Awards Ask-Me-Anything

Speaker: Anna Ettin

Join us to kickoff the Virtual Summit! In addition to having some fun to start our time together, we’ll answer all your questions about this year’s GEN IMPACT Awards.

We’ll dive into what strong submissions look like, how impact is evaluated, and where organizations often miss the mark. Whether you’re planning to apply or simply want a clearer lens on what high-impact work looks like across organizations, you’ll leave with sharper insight and practical direction.

12:00 – 1:00 pm

Keynote – Energizing Your ERG Members—and YOU

Speaker: heresa M. Welbourne, PhD

ERG leadership has always been a volunteer marathon, but today’s landscape is harder than ever. Between “volunteer burnout” and new pushback on the mission of ERGs, how do you keep the momentum alive?

Join Theresa M. Welbourne, PhD, for a data-driven session that flips the script on ERG fatigue. Drawing on over 20 years of research, Theresa will demonstrate how optimizing employee energy drives firm performance, survival, and—most importantly—individual success.

In this session, you will learn:

Measure & Optimize: Practical tools to track the “energy tank” of your members.
The Productivity Paradox: See the data proving that ERG work actually improves personal energy and performance in “day jobs”;
Sustainable Impact: Strategies to ensure ERG work feeds your career rather than draining your schedule.

5:00 – 6:00 pm

Holding Yourself While Holding Others: Grief-Informed Care for Community Leaders

Speaker: Alica Forneret

This is leadership sustainability and wellbeing: protecting our volunteer leaders while they hold space for others. We’ll examine how to translate personal and communal experience into community care infrastructure.

ERGs Drive Business Outcomes with a Founder’s Mindset

Speaker: Brian Fishbone

The founder’s mindset speaks directly to ownership, strategic thinking, and driving measurable outcomes—core for individual growth, and creating sustainable engagement that produces results.

6:00 – 6:30 pm

Networking & Closing Message

Speaker: Alica Forneret

This is leadership sustainability and wellbeing—protecting volunteer leaders while they hold space for others. Also translates personal and communal experience into community care infrastructure.

Wednesday, March 25

9:00 – 10:00 am

Metrics That Matter: Moving from Activity to Impact

Speaker: Willis Jensen

Get practical and tactical about how to link human experiences and ERG activity to business metrics and the employee lifecycle – you’ll leave with new knowledge and a game plan.

Stronger Together: Leveraging Nonprofit Partnerships to Grow ERG Impact

Speaker: Jacquelyn (Jackie) Londo

Strong nonprofit partnerships can expand capacity, provide ready-made engagement opportunities, and significantly increase impact. Learn how to tap in and make a big impact, without carrying the full planning burden.

12:00 – 1:00 pm

Leading with Impact: Personal Branding for ERG Leaders

Speaker: Ashley France

ERG leaders need visibility to support their influence and impact. Learn how to align your unique strengths with organizational goals, leverage networking strategically, and position yourself as a thought leader to influence culture and business outcomes while growing your own your career.

TO BE announced

Speaker: Jacquelyn (Jackie) Londo

Building engagement infrastructure can distribute effort and create sustainable momentum, while reducing planning burden on volunteer leaders. Strategic partnerships become a force multiplier for impact without exhausting the people driving it.

5:00 – 6:00 pm

ERG Leaders as a Leadership Pipeline: How to Protect, Develop, and Scale Your Most Engaged Talent

Speaker: Ciera Chancellor

Organizations claim they lack leadership bench strength, yet ERG leaders build and demonstrate those exact skills daily. You’ll get examples of how to embed volunteer leadership into talent systems, maximizing your leadership pipelines and preventing high-potential attrition.

Experience Culture Live With Unexpected Virtual Tours

Session is from 5:00 – 5:30 pm

Speakers: UVTT Team

We’re bringing Unexpected Virtual Tours & Training to GEN for a team-building experience unlike anything you’ve tried before. Learn how community shaped a movement and discover key figures who helped build the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in this immersive 30-minute experience. Plus, visit the Birth Home and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Park LIVE and hear takeaway stories to discuss and explore further after the event.

A certified minority-owned and women-owned business, UVTT has spent over a decade producing radically creative experiences for organizations around the world. If you’re looking to spark real engagement, energize your remote or hybrid team, and bring people together through creativity, storytelling, and interaction, this is a session you won’t want to miss!

6:00 – 6:30 pm

networking & Closing Message

Speaker: Alica Forneret

This is leadership sustainability and wellbeing—protecting volunteer leaders while they hold space for others. Also translates personal and communal experience into community care infrastructure.

Thursday, March 26

9:00 – 10:00 am

ERG Leadership as Career Capital

Speaker: Anna Ettin

ERG leaders influence across functions, manage stakeholders, navigate conflict, and deliver outcomes with limited resources – invaluable and transferable leadership skills. You’ll get insights and tools to convert these experiences into career momentum.

ERGs as Champions of AI-Enabled Culture Change: The Strategic Partnership HR Needs Now

Speaker: Gena Pirtle

Learn how to position your ERG as a strategic enabler of AI adoption, employee experience, and organizational resilience. You’ll be equipped to demonstrate measurable impact, secure executive sponsorship, and transform your ERG from affinity group to strategic business partner.

12:00 – 1:00 pm

Engagement Anywhere: Lessons from Podcast Storytellers on Reaching Employees You Never See In Person

Moderator: Anna Ettin

Panelists: John Blakley, Bridgette McCullough, Melissa Forziat

Storytelling is an age-old and powerful tool in human connections, learning, and growth. We’re gathering ideas from podcasters on how to tell compelling stories that reach across time zones and shifts, sites, and regions to connect people around the world.

ERGs as Champions of AI-Enabled Culture Change: The Strategic Partnership HR Needs Now

Speaker: Gena Pirtle

Understanding human experience (trust, resistance, readiness) during technological disruption and shifts supports stronger organizational outcomes.

5:00 – 6:00 pm

GEN Insights Report: Ask Me Anything — From Insight to Action

Speakers: Anna Ettin and Monica Brunache

The closing session dives into the GEN Insights Report connecting the ideas and opportunities presented throughout the Summit with the key challenges leaders are facing. In true “Ask Me Anything” form, attendees are encouraged to bring questions and current scenarios to discuss leading practices across the industry and member organizations with our GEN co-owners. The Summit concludes with guided action planning, so attendees leave informed and oriented toward execution, collaboration, and impact beyond the event.

ERGs as Champions of AI-Enabled Culture Change: The Strategic Partnership HR Needs Now

Speaker: Gena Pirtle

Understanding human experience (trust, resistance, readiness) during technological disruption and shifts supports stronger organizational outcomes.

6:00 – 6:15 pm

Closing Message

Speaker: Alica Forneret

This is leadership sustainability and wellbeing—protecting volunteer leaders while they hold space for others. Also translates personal and communal experience into community care infrastructure.