Educational Sessions with Special Requirements
The following education sessions have limited capacity or serve as a pre-requisite for another session. If you wish to attend, you must select as part of the initial conference registration process, or you can add later through your attendee portal.
Sessions
Leading Change Management: Introduction to Theory and Application
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Dr. Victoria M. Grady, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Assistant Department Chair of Management, Costello College of Business at George Mason University
Track: Workplace Performance & Culture
This session is a pre-requisite for the “Wallbreakerz Simulation: Understanding Organizational Change” workshop.
Rapid and unprecedented change has transformed how people engage with work, reshaping expectations around purpose, success and balance. From career pivots and values-driven leadership to accelerating technological capability, today’s environment requires organizations to approach change with adaptability, creativity and strategic insight.
This interactive session provides a systems-based understanding of how organizational transformation occurs. Drawing on classic and contemporary change theories, participants will explore practical tools for diagnosing, designing and managing effective change in complex, evolving workplaces. Through facilitated discussion, analysis and experiential learning—including the Wallbreakerz change simulation for workshop participants—the session connects theory to real-world application.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
- Understand key drivers reshaping how individuals and organizations experience change
- Apply systems-based and evidence-informed change management frameworks
- Diagnose organizational readiness and barriers to change
- Practice strategies for leading and sustaining change in dynamic work environment
Wallbreakerz Simulation: Understanding Organizational Change
Thursday, April 30, 2026
10:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Dr. Victoria M. Grady, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Assistant Department Chair of Management, Costello College of Business at George Mason University
Track: Workplace Performance & Culture
You must have attended the “Leading Change Management: Introduction to Theory and Application” session in order to attend this workshop. This session has limited capacity and registration is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Wallbreakers® is an interactive leadership and change management simulation designed to help participants practice decision-making, challenge assumptions and evaluate the real-time impact of their choices on organizational change strategies. In a dynamic, risk-free learning environment, participants strengthen their change leadership capabilities while engaging in guided reflection and peer discussion.
This 90-minute workshop begins with a very brief overview of foundational change management principles, models and theory. Participants are then introduced to the Wallbreakers® simulation and engage in facilitated gameplay that connects theory to practice through experiential learning.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
- Apply core change management principles in a simulated organizational environment
- Evaluate the impact of leadership decisions on change outcomes in real time
- Identify and challenge assumptions that influence change strategy
- Reflect on and strengthen their personal change leadership approach
Mapping in Motion (Tuesday)
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Jordan Partlow, Director, Blood Hound, LLC
Nick Fulton, Geospatial Manager, Blood Hound, LLC
Track: Mobile Classroom
This session has limited capacity and registration is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
A mobile classroom for subsurface discovery.
Outdoor segment of the session will be a demo focused on ground penetrating radar. Attendees will have an opportunity to operate GPR and see underground utilities identified on a screen. Indoor segment will entail sharing of data gathered in advance at the location of the outdoor demo, a brief overview and video on geospatial services and technologies Blood Hound utilizes for utility mapping, and Q&A.
Mapping in Motion (Thursday)
Thursday, April 30, 2026
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Rich Ferguson, Director of Field Support, USIC
Track: Mobile Classroom
This session has limited capacity and registration is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
A mobile classroom for subsurface discovery.
The outdoor segment will be a demo of a locate performed utilizing LOCATE360, USIC’s AI-enabled, mobile application and multi-dimensional platform that has improved ticket workload management, enhanced communication between field ops and our customers, maximized accuracy of locate time and distance allocation, integrated guided compliance, and improved efficiency. Indoor segment will include a deeper dive with a brief overview and video of LOCATE360 and Q&A.