Networking - SHSMD Connections 2026

Select Your Networking Topic

Make the most of your SHSMD Connections 2026 experience by attending a "Catalyst Conversation" tailored to your interests and professional focus. These informal, topic-specific sessions offer a unique opportunity to connect with peers facing similar challenges, exchange ideas, and collaborate on solutions. Whether you're a strategic planner, marketer, communicator, or early-career professional, there's a meet-up designed for you. Choose the one that best aligns with your role or goals and join the conversation!

Join your peers for an interactive Catalyst Conversation tailored specifically for leaders in strategic planning and business development. As the healthcare landscape undergoes rapid transformation, our session will focus on actionable strategies to navigate current pressures while positioning our organizations for long-term resilience.

This discussion will serve as a collaborative space to exchange insights, share real-world challenges, and explore innovative approaches to the most pressing issues facing our field today.

Discussion Questions

How are you integrating AI and generative technologies into your clinical strategy to offset workforce shortages?
As horizons shift toward 18-month and 5-year targets (2031), how has your planning process evolved to remain agile against rapid policy and financial shifts?
What criteria or data points do you use to identify service lines that are no longer core to your mission or financial sustainability?
What is the single most important investment a health system can make in the next 3 years to remain competitive?

We look forward to a robust exchange of ideas. Please come prepared to share your perspectives and learn from the collective expertise of your colleagues.

Facilitators:

Bobby Siporin, Strategic Planner, VA Detroit Planning and Analytics Team, U.S Department of Veterans Affairs
Kirsten Jones, Senior Planning Analyst, Northside Hospital
Jon Law, District Chief Strategy Officer, University Medical Center of El Paso
Cynthia Khan, SVP Strategic Planning, Northwell Health

Special thanks to our session sponsor, Doctivity Health

Join your fellow marketing leaders for an exclusive, candid discussion focused on navigating the complexities of modern healthcare marketing. This session is designed to move beyond theory, offering a space to share practical strategies for maintaining focus, optimizing resources, and bridging the gap between brand promise and clinical delivery.

Discussion Questions

What governance structures (committees, intake processes) have worked to keep efforts aligned with strategy rather than becoming reactive to one-off requests?
How are you using AI or other tools to help with results and efficiency (especially in the face of budget cuts)?
Where are you in the process of developing AI policies? Are you seeing a shift toward organizations building internal “closed” platforms to maintain control over HIPAA and the patient experience?
How do marketers effectively influence patient experience to help ensure the brand promise matches the clinical reality?

Join us to share your experiences, learn from real-world successes, and leave with actionable insights to elevate your marketing strategy.

Facilitators:

Amy Stevens, VP and CMO, Tidelands Health
Patrick Moody, Director of Marketing, Public Relations and Community Engagement, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital
Ellis Dean, Manager, Marketing and Communication, CommonSpirit Health
Kathleen Montgomery, Marketing Specialist, Samaritan Medical Center
Rebecca Larson, Director of Marketing, Onvida Health

Special thanks to our session sponsor, Amsive Health

Join us for an engaging session designed for communication and public relations professionals to discuss the complexities of high-stakes messaging and reputation management. In this Catalyst Conversation, we will move beyond theoretical best practices to explore the realities of navigating volatile environments, evolving public opinion, and the pressure of maintaining organizational integrity during times of uncertainty.

This session serves as a space to share practical experiences and glean insights from peers who are actively managing similar communication challenges.

Discussion Questions

What are your organization's "hard-earned" do’s and don’ts when it comes to influencing community perspective during a contract standoff?
Beyond having a plan on paper, what is one "lesson learned" from a recent crisis where implementation differed from the manual?
How do we maintain local credibility and trust when national guidance (e.g., CDC) shifts or becomes politically polarized?

Whether you are seeking new strategies or simply looking to share your own expertise, your perspective will be invaluable to this collaborative dialogue. We look forward to a productive exchange as we navigate the nuances of modern public relations together.

Lead:

Lynne Bruton, Manager, Marketing and Public Relations, Hendrick Medical Center

Facilitators:

Karie Robinson, Chief Communications & Experience Officer, One Community Health
Bonnie Ward, CommonSpirit Health
Mari Considine, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Acenda Integrated Health
Tara Trower, Deputy CEO and Chief Strategy Officer, CommUnityCare
Angela Jones, AVP, Media and Marketing Communications, West Virginia University Health System

Join us for this focused Catalyst Conversation, where we will explore the evolving landscape of pediatric healthcare. As children's hospitals navigate increasing demands and shifting care models, it is essential to discuss how we can balance acute care excellence with proactive, community-based health strategies.

This session is designed to facilitate a high-level exchange on how organizations are balancing capacity management with the broader goal of pediatric wellness.

Discussion Questions

We look forward to a collaborative discussion on the following topics:

What proactive prevention programs or child safety initiatives is your organization implementing to keep children healthy and out of the hospital entirely?
What innovative strategies or clinical models is your hospital using to manage urgent care and emergency department growth, particularly around optimizing patient throughput and capacity?
How is your organization evolving its partnership strategies with community providers, schools, and rural outreach networks to maintain strong subspecialty referral pipelines?

Whether you aim to refine your current operations or contribute unique insights, your participation is vital to this collaborative dialogue. We look forward to a productive exchange as we navigate the nuances of modern pediatric healthcare together.

Facilitators:

Tiffanie Hiibner, VP, Integrated Marketing & Brand Advancement, Nationwide Children's Hospital
Jennifer Anderson, Marketing & Communications Director, Shriners Hospitals for Children
Sarah Brownell, Strategic Growth Director, HDR Architecture, Inc.
Sergio Orozco, Dir. Strategic Planning and Project Management, Children's Nebraska

Special thanks to our session sponsor, BackPocket Agency

Come on down and network with small and rural peers who do more with limited resources! Contestants who attend will assemble in teams to play a fun, interactive game show with categories covering common marketing and growth challenges.

What you’ll walk away with:

Connections with peers from CAHs, FQHCs, RHCs, rural PPS/community hospitals, rural-focused solutions providers and more.
Practical knowledge you can apply post-conference.
Points worth bragging rights for correct answers.

Leads:

Julia Yoder, Marketing & PR Director at Brookings Health System
Terri Flood, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development at Wayne HealthCare
Mark Crow, President at Tenth Crow Creative

Facilitators:

Khrista Boster, Chief Marketing Officer, Woodlawn Health
Rachel Lott, Senior Strategist at Endeavor Management
Sara Meyer, Director of Marketing, Business Development & Call Center, Wood County Hospital
Abby Savich, Marketing Manager, San Bernardino Mountains Community Hospital
Katie Donald, PR Specialist/ Risk Management, Punxsutawney Area Hospital
Brittney Strum, Olmsted Medical Center
Katie Engling, Marketing Manager, Johnson County Healthcare Center

Special thanks to our session sponsor, Tenth Crow Creative

Join us for an engaging Young Professionals Catalyst Conversation, designed to spark candid dialogue, foster connection, and challenge our perspectives on work and development.

In a landscape defined by rapid technological advancement and shifting organizational structures, we are stepping back to discuss what truly matters in our professional journeys. This session is an opportunity to look beyond the day-to-day grind and reflect on the human side of our careers, our personal resilience, and how we define success on our own terms.

Discussion Questions

We will be facilitating our conversation around the following key questions:

What is one "irreplaceable human element" of your daily work that you believe AI could never fully replicate?
In your own words, what does "professional resilience" mean in today’s health care environment? Is it about bouncing back from feedback, or navigating organizational change?
How do you define career success for yourself if you look beyond traditional upward titles (like Manager or Director)?

We look forward to a thoughtful and engaging conversation. Bring your perspective and get ready to connect!

Lead:

Kristina Schiller Chaki, Director, Content Strategy, Sheppard Pratt

Facilitator:

Camille Strickland, Senior Vice President, BVK
Ashley Martin, Director, Core Market Growth & Business Development, Advocate Health
Conan Dickson, Associate Practice Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Networking Opportunities

Join an exclusive gathering with fellow C-Suite leaders and past SHSMD Board members in a collaborative setting designed for high-level exchange. It’s an opportunity to share candid perspectives on today's pressing challenges and explore the emerging opportunities ahead of us.

Catalyst Conversation: Strategic Planners & Business Developers

This discussion will serve as a collaborative space to exchange insights, share real-world challenges, and explore innovative approaches to the most pressing issues facing our field today.

Discussion Questions

We look forward to a robust exchange of ideas. Please come prepared to share your perspectives and learn from the collective expertise of your colleagues.

Special thanks to our session sponsor, Doctivity Health

Catalyst Conversation: Marketers

Discussion Questions

Join us to share your experiences, learn from real-world successes, and leave with actionable insights to elevate your marketing strategy.

Catalyst Conversation: Communicators and Public Relations

This session serves as a space to share practical experiences and glean insights from peers who are actively managing similar communication challenges.

Discussion Questions

Whether you are seeking new strategies or simply looking to share your own expertise, your perspective will be invaluable to this collaborative dialogue. We look forward to a productive exchange as we navigate the nuances of modern public relations together.

Catalyst Conversation: Children's Hospitals

This session is designed to facilitate a high-level exchange on how organizations are balancing capacity management with the broader goal of pediatric wellness.

Discussion Questions

We look forward to a collaborative discussion on the following topics:

Whether you aim to refine your current operations or contribute unique insights, your participation is vital to this collaborative dialogue. We look forward to a productive exchange as we navigate the nuances of modern pediatric healthcare together.

Catalyst Conversation: Small or Rural Organization

Come on down and network with small and rural peers who do more with limited resources! Contestants who attend will assemble in teams to play a fun, interactive game show with categories covering common marketing and growth challenges.

What you’ll walk away with:

Leads:

Special thanks to our session sponsor, Tenth Crow Creative

Catalyst Conversation: Young Professionals

Join us for an engaging Young Professionals Catalyst Conversation, designed to spark candid dialogue, foster connection, and challenge our perspectives on work and development.

Discussion Questions

We will be facilitating our conversation around the following key questions:

We look forward to a thoughtful and engaging conversation. Bring your perspective and get ready to connect!