More Than 300 Executives Gathered For The 2026 OPEN MINDS Executive Leadership Retreat To Examine Payer Partnerships, Workforce Development & Financial Strategy
GETTYSBURG, PA (October 17, 2026) – More than 300 health and human service executives gathered for The 2026 OPEN MINDS Executive Leadership Retreat, held September 29 through October 1, 2026, at the Hotel Gettysburg in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The three-day event focused on the leadership strategies needed to navigate changing markets, strengthen organizational performance, and prepare executive teams for emerging challenges.
Through executive case studies, strategic discussions, and leadership development sessions, attendees examined how provider organizations are strengthening payer partnerships, developing leadership capacity across a multigenerational workforce, and making financial and operational investments to support long-term sustainability.
A keynote presentation by Tad Gary, Chief Executive Officer of Mercy Care, Whole Person Care In Action: Mercy Care’s Blueprint For The Future Of Integrated Care, examined how payer-provider partnerships and community-based services can improve care coordination for consumers with complex needs. Mr. Gary shared Mercy Care’s approach to integrating clinical services with housing and other social supports, highlighting the role of partnerships in advancing whole person care.
Workforce development was another focus of the Retreat. During The 2026 OPEN MINDS Health & Human Services Workforce Best Practices Summit, sponsored by Qualifacts, Sterling Haukom Anderson, LPC, Vice President, Learning & Development at Thresholds, presented Building Leadership That Lasts: Designing Scalable Development Programs For A Multigenerational Workforce With Thresholds. The case study explored how Thresholds is developing scalable leadership training programs that support emerging leaders and address the different learning and development needs of a multigenerational workforce.
Financial leadership and technology transformation were featured during The 2026 OPEN MINDS CFO Summit, sponsored by Netsmart. Adam B. Shuster, CPA, CIA, MBA, Chief Financial Officer at Incompass Human Services, presented The CFO As System Architect: Rebuilding Finance Operations Around A New ERP. Drawing on Incompass Human Services’ experience implementing a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, Mr. Shuster examined the financial and operational considerations involved in replacing legacy technology, including building the investment case for governing boards, managing implementation staffing, and restoring finance department capacity following implementation.
The Retreat also featured Gettysburg-based leadership experiences, including walking and battlefield tours that examined decisions made by Abraham Lincoln and military leaders during the Civil War – providing a framework for discussing strategic decision-making, leadership judgment, and organizational adaptability.
“These challenges require an agile leadership approach that ensures strategy evolves as the market moves,” wrote Monica E. Oss, Chief Executive Officer of OPEN MINDS, in her October 7 executive briefing The Margin Mindset: Best Of The 2026 OPEN MINDS Executive Leadership Retreat.
The 2027 OPEN MINDS Executive Leadership Retreat will be held September 21 through September 23, 2027, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
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.
The retreat’s published exhibitor list named Concurrence, Clinically AI, Dedicated IT, and MedTrainer.
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.