8:00 AM–5:30 PM
Registration

Location: The Evergreen • 618 SE Alder Street, Portland, OR 97214

8:00–8:45 AM
Breakfast

8:50–9:00 AM
Welcome & Opening Remarks

9:00–9:50 AM
Navigating Life’s Seasons Without Losing Yourself

Life doesn’t pause for our careers. At some point, we all experience seasons where “our human is showing.” Whether you’re starting a family, caring for aging parents, or breaking free from workaholic tendencies, these inevitable shifts come with challenges but also silver linings.

In this session, we’ll explore strategies to navigate these transitions while maintaining creativity, preventing burnout, and fostering resilience in both ourselves and our teams. I’ll share personal leadership rules that have helped me recognize and recover from burnout while creating space for sustainable success. We’ll wrap up with an honest discussion about reconciling career ambitions with life’s unpredictable demands—because thriving in both isn’t just possible, it’s necessary.

10:00–10:50 AM
Strength in Vulnerability: An Honest Conversation About Burnout and Renewal

"It's hard to admit I hit my breaking point. I wanted to be seen as a superhero, not a broken leader. But maintaining that image took energy I needed for healing..."

This powerful, internal struggle–the tension between the perceived need for invulnerability and the reality of human limitations–is at the core of this profoundly honest session. Join us for a candid conversation with an agency leader who experienced burnout firsthand, and emerged with valuable lessons to share. Expect candid insights into what worked–including therapy, coaching, new habits, and even an unexpected source of self-reflection–and what didn’t. We'll also address the controversy surrounding AI in mental health, acknowledging the concerns, while exploring how it proved, in this case, to be a surprising tool for clarity and support. Learn how this leader navigated grief, family challenges, business issues and a personal health crisis to transform their life and promote an agency culture that actively combats burnout.

11:00–11:50 AM
Fear is Normal. Stuck is a Choice.

Chaos isn’t coming. It’s already here.

Leaders don’t get to sit this one out. In a world that’s messy, loud, and constantly shifting, the only real choice is to move. In this talk, Nancy Lyons dishes out no-fluff truths about leading without certainty, choosing action over perfection, and showing up when everything feels sideways. Leadership in hard times doesn’t require magic. It requires guts, clarity, and a willingness to go first. 

Read more…

12:00–1:00 PM
Breakout Sessions

1:00–2:30 PM
Lunch

2:30–3:20 PM
Built It. Loved It. Left It.

A candid reflection on the decision to step away from the company I helped build—why it was the right move for the business, my family, and myself.

Co-founding Parallax was one of the proudest moves of my career. Leaving it was one of the hardest—and ultimately, one of the most important. In this talk, I’ll share what led to that decision, the signals I couldn’t ignore (personally and professionally), and what I’ve learned about leadership, identity, and building something that lasts beyond you.

Read more…

3:30–4:20 PM
Love First, _____ Second

A heartfelt look at the biggest lessons learned over five decades of life, three decades in the agency world, and 25 years of marriage—reminding us what really matters, both in business and beyond.

4:30–5:20 PM
Brave Enough to Fail: The Art of Reinventing Yourself

Reinvention isn’t just for those seeking a fresh start—it’s a necessary skill for anyone navigating life’s inevitable twists and turns. In this talk, we’ll explore the courage it takes to embrace change, the hidden costs of staying in your comfort zone, and how failure can become your greatest teacher. Through personal stories and hard-earned lessons, we’ll uncover the core principles of living a brave, creative life—one where taking the leap, even without a safety net, leads to unexpected growth and fulfillment.

5:20–5:30 PM
Closing Remarks

7:30–9:30 PM
Social Event

Location: TBD

8:00–8:45 AM
Breakfast

8:50–9:00 AM
Welcome Day 2

9:00–9:50 AM
Leading with Heart: The Power (and Peril) of Vulnerability

Great leaders know that vulnerability can build trust, strengthen teams, and drive meaningful connections. But where’s the line between openness and oversharing? This session explores how to balance authenticity with responsibility—ensuring your leadership style fosters confidence rather than stress.

10:00–10:50 AM
The Value of Purpose

Purpose often gets relegated to strategic planning sessions and stuck on a plan that sits on your shelf gathering dust. It doesn't have to. In fact, a purpose can galvanize your entire organization to achieve great things and hurdle over obstacles that have been holding you back. It only takes connecting your purpose with your people.

11:00–11:50 AM
Repairing Relationships and Transforming Conflict to Rebuild Employee Trust and Morale

In an era of chaos and uncertainty, many workplaces are stuck in survival mode. When we operate from a survival mindset rather than a cognitive one, trust erodes, tensions rise, and our ability to connect with colleagues and leaders diminishes. But humans are wired for connection; we crave relational repair and authentic interactions.

This talk explores how to rebuild trust, strengthen relationships, and create resilient work communities. By understanding the impact of stress on workplace dynamics and embracing strategies for relational repair, we can foster a culture of connection that supports both organizational longevity and individual well-being.

12:00–1:00 PM
Breakout Sessions

1:00–2:30 PM
Lunch

2:30–3:20 PM
Change Making for Dummies: why people, teams, and companies get stuck in bad habits and how to fix it.

Change is hard, and yet it’s the one constant in our lives. We will explore evidence based behavioral science techniques used to create effective change at a personal and organizational level. While there are many approaches to change, only a handful are backed by decades of scientific research. Learn the stages of change and the methods to support each phase of the change process.

1. Learn about how to use the Diffusions of innovations theory to understand how change is adopted. 

2. Explore the Trans Theoretical Model and the Stages of Change to assess organizational and personal readiness for change.

3. Learn specific actions you can take to shepherd your org through these stages.

3:30–4:20 PM
No One’s Coming to Save You: Leading Through Reinvention

What happens when you’ve built a successful career, but something still feels off? What do you do when the playbook no longer works, the roles are blurry, and the job you once loved doesn’t seem to fit anymore?

In this talk, Brett Harned shares the deeply personal and surprisingly universal story of how he rebuilt his career—and his identity—by embracing honesty, imperfection, and reinvention. From walking away from a high-profile role, to losing 100 pounds, to telling the truth that changed everything, Brett will take you behind the scenes of a moment that sparked a professional reawakening, and a viral LinkedIn post.

Read more…

4:30–5:20 PM
I “Exited” My Agency Without Selling – What I Learned

After 18 years of leading Barrel, co-founders Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim made the bold decision to step away from day-to-day operations, entrusting the agency to a new leader while retaining ownership. In this session, Peter will share how they navigated this transition, the challenges they faced, and the key strategies that made it a win-win for everyone involved. Whether you’re considering your own exit strategy or just want to build a more self-sufficient business, this talk will provide valuable insights into structuring a leadership transition that works.

5:20–5:30 PM
Closing Remarks