AI, Predictive Analytics, Cybersecurity & The Future Of PACE Headline OPEN MINDS Core Executive Sessions At The 2026 Technology & Analytics Institute
Gettysburg, Pa. (August 29, 2026) – With margins tightening, health and human service executives are increasingly asking what their technology investments are producing: Which consumers are getting better? What has changed operationally? And are those investments improving cost and performance? OPEN MINDS announced the keynote and core executive session lineup for The 2026 OPEN MINDS Technology & Analytics Institute, taking place October 27 to 29, 2026, at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. The curriculum brings together executives and technology leaders sharing what they have learned from putting new technologies, analytics, and operating models into practice.
This year’s core curriculum focuses on the technology and data decisions driving organizational performance, from executive dashboards and predictive analytics to AI, cybersecurity, integrated care finance, and the digital consumer experience. Sessions will feature executives sharing lessons from technologies and strategies already implemented within their organizations.
Keynotes
Paul Soczynski, MBA, Senior Vice President of Healthcare at Volunteers of America National Services, opens day two with Past, Present & Future: The Status Of PACE Programs In Serving Dual Eligible Consumers. Mr. Soczynski oversees seven PACE organizations operated by VOANS and serves on the board of the National PACE Association. His keynote will examine the future of PACE as organizations look to expand access and improve care for dual eligible consumers.
On day three, Nebeyou Abebe, Senior Vice President of Social Health at Highmark Health, presents Health Care Beyond Medicine: How Highmark Is Reducing The Total Cost Of Care Through Its Social Care Network. Mr. Abebe will examine how Highmark is integrating housing, transportation, social supports, and community-based services into its broader care strategy, including Highmark’s reported reductions in avoidable inpatient and emergency department utilization.
Monica E. Oss, Chief Executive Officer of OPEN MINDS, will close the Institute with Accelerating Performance Through Your Technology Strategy, examining how executives can translate the lessons from the Institute into technology investment priorities that improve organizational performance.
Core Executive Sessions
Knowing What Data You Need To Collect & What To Avoid, will feature Kevin Eccleston, MPA, Chief Executive Officer of Touchstone Health Services, and Yisroel Len, Data Analyst at Pesach Tikvah. The session will focus on distinguishing the operational, financial, and compliance measures that actually drive executive decisions from the data that creates noise without improving performance.
Daniel Lakin, Ph.D., Director of Outcomes & Evaluation at Pacific Clinics, will present Innovative Dashboards & Predictive Analytics To Make Your Data Work For You, including a predictive model designed to identify high-risk consumers and inform recommended treatment pathways.
In The Data Analytics Needed For Effective Integrated Care, Thomas Grant, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer of Woods System of Care, will examine how organizations can align clinical, operational, and financial data into a single view of the consumer journey across behavioral health, primary care, and social supports.
Cody Thomas, Chief Information Officer at Thompson, will lead AI In Analytics: What It Can Do Now, focused on predictive modeling, automated reporting, and the ethical and regulatory boundaries of AI-driven analytics.
Chris Pallitto, Director of Technology at Cenikor Foundation, will lead Protecting What Matters: How To Know If Your Organization Is Cyber Secure, examining vulnerabilities across clinical systems, EHRs, third-party vendors, and remote work, along with the governance and incident response structures needed to reduce risk.
Rachel Steinmetz, Executive Vice President & Chief Creative Officer at OPEN MINDS, will lead First Impressions Are Everything: Managing Your Digital Front Door, examining how website design, mobile access, scheduling, intake automation, and consumer communication shape the first interaction consumers have with an organization.
Karen Johnson, MSW, LCSW, Senior Director of Change in Mind at Social Current, will close the core curriculum with The Intersection of Trauma-Informed Approaches & Quality Improvement, focused on how organizations can move beyond implementation measures to evaluate whether trauma-informed practices are producing measurable improvements in quality and outcomes.
Also On The Agenda
Two half-day executive seminars sponsored by Core Solutions open the Institute: Finding An EHR For Your Future: The 2026 OPEN MINDS Best Practices Seminar On EHR Selection, Implementation & Optimization and Creating A Winning Tech Strategy: The 2026 OPEN MINDS Seminar On Building A Digital Transformation Roadmap.
The CEO Tech & AI Summit, sponsored by Qualifacts, will feature case study presentations examining what technology investments have produced in growth, efficiency, and quality of care. The Addiction & SUD Summit,sponsored by Cantata Health Solutions, will examine changing reimbursement expectations in addiction treatment and the performance capabilities organizations will need to demonstrate.
The fourth annual OPEN MINDS Smart Home Expo sponsored by ShiftAbility and Heylo, features back-to-back 30-minute demonstrations of technologies designed to support independent living for older adults and people with disabilities.
“The executives presenting this year have already made their technology decisions and can tell you what those decisions produced,” said Monica E. Oss, Chief Executive Officer of OPEN MINDS. “That is the insight executives can use. We built this agenda around leaders who can answer the harder question of what they would do differently, because that is what shortens the learning curve for everyone else in the room.”
OPEN MINDS Circle Members who attend these sessions are eligible to receive credits towards the Leadership & Management Certificate Program.
The full agenda for The 2026 OPEN MINDS Technology & Analytics Institute is available at technology.openminds.com/agenda.
Registration is now open for the Institute, taking place October 27 to 29, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Attendance is included for OPEN MINDS Circle Market Intelligence Service subscribers; non-members can register at openminds.com/register-now-tai2.
For more information on any of OPEN MINDS‘ educational programs, upcoming sponsorship opportunities, or media inquiries, contact the Executive Education Events team at events@openminds.com or 717-334-1329.
Premier Partners & Exhibitors
OPEN MINDS institutes are made possible by OPEN MINDS premier partners, Alera Health, Cantata Health Solutions, Core Solutions, Netsmart, PayerTrends, Qualifacts, RECADEMY, Spectrum Healthcare, and Trillium Health Resources.
Featured exhibitors for the 2026 Technology & Analytics Institute include 5eAnalytics, Abacus Healthcare, Altruix, Cantata, CCNY Inc., Clinical Notes AI, Continuity Consulting, ContinuumCloud, Core Solutions, Custom Computer Specialists, Eleos Health, FEI Systems, Genoa Healthcare, GrandCare, iCAREManager, MedSuite, MedTrainer, Mend, Netsmart, NextGen, Oddity, PracticeQ, Proven Software, Qualifacts, Radicle Health, Sigmund Software, SimiTree, Soulside AI, Streamline Healthcare, The BI Collaborative, Therap Services, Triad, and VersaBadge.
About OPEN MINDS
OPEN MINDS is a national market intelligence, management consulting, and marketing services firm specializing exclusively in the high-needs consumer market: mental health, addiction treatment, cognitive disabilities, chronic health conditions, elder services, health-related social needs, and adjacent markets within the health and human service field. The OPEN MINDS mission is to provide payers, service provider organizations, pharmaceutical, technology, and scientific firms that serve these consumers with the market and management knowledge needed to improve their organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Learn more at openminds.com.