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The 2026 OPEN MINDS CEO Tech & AI Summit


The CEO’s Guide For Tech & AI: Driving Growth, Efficiency & Better Care

Uncover the cutting-edge Technology and AI strategies your organization needs to address the most pressing challenges keeping health and human services CEOs awake at night.

This summit is designed specifically for CEOs and is dedicated to empowering organizations to enhance performance and improve the quality of care through the latest advances in technology and AI. ​Learn from industry leaders through in-depth case study sessions dedicated to advances in clinical service delivery with AI, including using tech for better analytics, tech for an enhanced consumer experience, updates on privacy and cybersecurity, and using tech to battle workforce shortages and increased demand. ​

Paul Duck
Summit Chair & Chief Strategy Officer,
OPEN MINDS

2026 Summit Agenda

9:45 am – 11:15 am ET

From Cost Center To Growth Engine: How CEOs Are Using Technology To Drive Revenue

CEO Tech & AI Summit

In today’s margin-constrained environment, technology is no longer just an operational tool—it’s a core driver of financial performance. This session explores how leading behavioral health organizations are leveraging data to unlock new revenue streams, optimize payer and value-based payment relationships, and improve service line profitability. From real-time analytics to smarter utilization management, executives will gain practical strategies to move beyond retrospective reporting and toward predictive, revenue-focused decision-making. Learn how to align your tech strategy with growth goals—and turn insights into measurable financial outcomes.

Attendees will take away:

  • The use of data to improve rate negotiation and payer relationships
  • The right technology and analytics to support value-based payment models
  • The data-driven strategies to help create new service line development and organizational growth

Brian Koll

Leadership & Management Certificate Program Course | Domain: Financial Management | Credit Hours: 1.5

11:30 am – 12:45 pm ET

AI That Pays Off: Where CEOs Are Seeing Real ROI & Where They’re Not

CEO Tech & AI Summit

Artificial intelligence is everywhere—but where does it actually deliver value? This candid session cuts through the hype to examine real-world AI use cases in behavioral health, highlighting what’s working, what’s not and why. From clinical documentation and workflow automation to predictive modeling and patient engagement, we’ll assess where organizations are seeing measurable ROI—and where investments are falling short.

Attendees will walk away with:

  • A framework for evaluating AI opportunities and prioritizing initiatives that deliver both operational efficiency and clinical impact.
  • Benchmarks and real-world case study examples of what ROI was expected in an AI investment vs. what was actually realized
  • A clearer picture of what AI tools are actually delivering value

Jeremy Brown, LPC

Jeremy S. Brown, LPC, is Vice President of Technology and Impact at Talbert House, a multi-program nonprofit behavioral health provider in Cincinnati, Ohio that serves mental health, addiction treatment, and child and family populations. He brings more than two decades of behavioral health experience to the role, with a career that has progressed from direct clinical and case management work to residential program leadership and hospital administration, including service as Assistant Chief Executive Officer at Summit Behavioral Health. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Miami University and a master’s degree in clinical counseling from Xavier University.

In his current role, Jeremy leads Talbert House’s work to turn everyday technology into operational capacity without adding headcount, pairing tools already inside the agency’s Microsoft 365 license with AI built in Microsoft Copilot Studio. At the 2026 Technology and Analytics Institute, he presents “AI That Pays Off: Where CEOs Are Seeing Real ROI and Where They’re Not.”

Melissa Fox, MHA, FACMPE,  FACHE

Melissa Fox is a nationally recognized healthcare executive and systems strategist leading the transformation of community-based health systems through innovation, data, and emerging technologies. As Chief Operating Officer of Acenda Integrated Health, she oversees enterprise-wide operations spanning more than 150 programs across the state of New Jersey, including child welfare, behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, crisis services, supportive housing, and population health initiatives designed to address the social drivers of health.

Fox is widely recognized for building nimble leadership structures that align operational strategy with value-based care, health equity, and financial sustainability. Throughout her career, she has led complex organizational redesigns across various healthcare disciplines, launched integrated care models to expand services for vulnerable populations, and implemented data-driven performance systems to improve outcomes while strengthening organizational resilience.

A recognized national voice on healthcare transformation, Fox has advised and presented for organizations including Open Minds, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the American Public Health Association, and the USDA among others. She has contributed to initiatives addressing the opioid epidemic as a public health crisis, and advanced conversations on telehealth equity and violence prevention, including framing gun violence as a public health issue through science-driven community engagement. She serves on multiple advisory and academic boards, including the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy External Advisory Committee and the Peirce College Human Services Advisory Board. Additionally, she serves as the Chair for the Healthy NJ 2030 Access to Quality Care action team, and the Chair of the Board for the Center for Health Equity & Wellbeing, New Jersey’s first public health institute.

Her work focuses on helping healthcare organizations redesign care delivery through operational innovation, advanced analytics, and emerging technologies that improve access, strengthen financial sustainability, and produce measurable outcomes. She is a leading advocate for viewing artificial intelligence as organizational infrastructure rather than simply another technology investment, helping healthcare leaders build AI-enabled systems that augment workforce and processes while preserving the human relationships at the center of care.

Leadership & Management Certificate Program Course | Domain: Leadership Strategy & Governance | Credit Hours: 1.25

12:45 pm – 2:00 pm ET

Smarter Operations, Stronger Care: How Behavioral Health Leaders Can Leverage AI Responsibly To Drive Performance

CEO Tech & AI Summit Lunch & Learn

Behavioral health leaders are being asked to do more with less—without compromising quality, compliance, or staff well-being. This session will examine how organizations can responsibly leverage AI to reduce administrative burden, improve operational efficiency, and deliver better outcomes. We’ll walk through practical use cases that support the tasks teams do most—clinical documentation, onboarding, and scheduling—and demonstrate how AI can reinforce human-centered care by giving staff more time to focus on clients. 

Leadership & Management Certificate Program Course | Domain: Organizational Performance Optimization | Credit Hours: 1.25

2:15 pm – 3:45 pm ET

The CEO Playbook For Digital Transformation: Why Most Fail & How To Get It Right

CEO Tech & AI Summit

Digital transformation is on every leader’s mind, and most systems will fail not because of the technology but the lack of direction. In this session, executives will share how they are navigating the complexity by setting vision, aligning stakeholders, and driving enterprise-wide change in an increasingly digital ecosystem.

Explore the critical decisions that define successful transformation efforts—from technology investment and governance to culture change and workforce readiness. This executive-level discussion will focus on the speed of technological advancements versus the risk of adoption, the pros and cons of centralized versus decentralized decision-making, and keeping up with the pace of accelerating innovation while balancing the stability that comes with being operationally streamlined and disciplined.

Leadership & Management Certificate Program Course | Domain: Leadership Strategy & Governance | Credit Hours: 1.5

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm ET

From EHR To Ecosystem: Building The Tech Stack For What’s Next

CEO Tech & AI Summit

As the pace of innovation accelerates, behavioral health organizations must rethink the foundation of their technology infrastructure. This session dives into what a modern, future-ready tech stack looks like—from interoperable EHRs and data platforms to AI-enabled tools and patient engagement solutions. Hear how forward-thinking organizations are moving beyond fragmented systems to create integrated, scalable systems that support growth, improve outcomes, and enhance consumer experience. Gain insights into how to evaluate, prioritize, and future-proof your technology investments in an evolving landscape.

Key takeaways include:

  • Understand the need to shift from an EHR-centric platform to a more encompassing tech ecosystem
  • The integration capabilities and tools needed for a modern infrastructure that improves patient engagement
  • Strategies to transition your organization from your legacy system to an ecosystem architecture  

Leadership & Management Certificate Program Course | Domain: Technology & Analytics | Credit Hours: 1.5