Agenda & Session Information
Programming will take place at AC Hotel Las Vegas Symphony Park. The information below is subject to change. Please check this page regularly for updates.
Wednesday, September 30, 2026:
Noon to 5:00 p.m. | Registration Open, Beverages & Light Bites Available
- Stop by the registration area of the 2026 ULC Annual Leadership Forum to check in and receive your badge.
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Pre-Conference Session | Building Belonging: Creating Trust and Strengthening Library Culture
- This interactive three-hour session will help library leaders strengthen trust, psychological safety and connection across their organizations. Participants will explore practical leadership strategies, reflect on their own organizational culture and leave with an actionable plan to build a more connected, high-performing workplace.
- Featuring:
- Michelle Hamiel, Chief of Programs, Urban Libraries Council
2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. | Pre-Conference Session| More Than Marketing: How Strategic Communications Advances Library Mission and Community Trust
- This 90-minute pre-conference session explores the critical role communications and marketing play in advancing library impact, strengthening community trust and support, and elevating organizational goals. The session will engage both communications professionals and library leaders through discussion, reflection and practical exercises that examine how libraries communicate their value, tell compelling stories and align messaging with mission and strategy.
- Featuring:
- Cordelia Anderson, Marketing and Communications Leader, Consultant, and Author; Cordelia Anderson Consulting
3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. | ULC CEO Session | Leading Through Complexity
- Featuring:
- Heidi Daniel, Executive Director, King County Library System
- Lydia Lopez, Director, Miami-Dade Public Library System
- Sarah Meilleur, CEO, Calgary Public Library
- Jamar Rahming, CEO, Cuyahoga County Public Library
- MODERATOR | Brooks Rainwater, President & CEO, Urban Libraries Council
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. | ULC Annual Forum Welcome Reception
- Connect with peers at the 2026 ULC Annual Leadership Forum Welcome Reception!
Thursday, October 1, 2026
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. | Registration Desk Open
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. | ULC Member Networking Breakfast*
- Breakfast is available to attendees from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.
9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. | Welcome & Opening Remarks
- Kick off the first full day of ULC's 2026 Annual Leadership Forum with welcome remarks from ULC President & CEO Brooks Rainwater and special guests.
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. | Keynote | Signals, Instincts, and Strategy: Leading When the Future is Unclear
- Featuring:
- Professor Laura Huang, Author, Professor, Entrepreneur
10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. | Break: Coffee & Connection
11:00 a.m. to Noon | Panel | In Demand: Is the Library the First Call?
- Featuring:
- Aldo Lopez-Linarez, Director of Supportive Services, Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority
- Dr. Ricardo Villalobos, Chief Programs Officer, Workforce Connections
- MODERATOR | Kelvin Watson, Executive Director, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District
Noon to 1:00 p.m. | Member Lunch
- Enjoy a meal and conversation with your peers from the ULC membership.
1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. | Panel |Behind the Download: Transparency, Trust, and the Future of Digital Access
- Featuring:
- Marc DeBevoise, Chief Executive Officer, OverDrive
- Jon Elwell, Senior Vice President of Books, EBSCO Information Services
- Ann Ford, Vice President of Library Partnerships, Hoopla
- Carolyn Morris, Vice President, Ingram Library Services
- Erica Reynolds, Vice President, Strategic Library Engagement, BiblioCommons
- MODERATOR | Lisa Wells, Executive Director, Pioneer Library System
2:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Special Presentation
2:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. | Break
2:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. | Panel | Making the Library Understood
- Featuring:
- Sonia Bebbington, CEO & Chief Librarian, Ottawa Public Library
- Scott Duimstra, Library Director, Hennepin County Library
- Felton Thomas, Executive Director and CEO, Cleveland Public Library
- Abby Yellman, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kansas City Public Library
- MODERATOR | Jennie Pu, Director, Hoboken Public Library
3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Closing
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. | Open Time for Breaks, Reset, Meetups
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. | Member Reception and Tour at the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District
Friday, October 2, 2026
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. | ULC Member Networking Breakfast
- Breakfast is available to attendees from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.
9:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. | Welcome Back
- We'll kick off our last day of Forum with a welcome back from the event moderator.
9:15 a.m. to 9:50 a.m. Fireside Chat | Leadership and Vision: The Future of Libraries
- Featuring:
- Brooks Rainwater, President & CEO, Urban Libraries Council
- Cyndee Landrum, Futurist, Scholar, Leader, Librarian
9:50 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. | LA County Public Library: One Book, One World
10:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. | Break
10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. | Keynote | Making Library Value Impossible to Miss (Rethinking What We Measure, What We Claim, and What We Make Possible)
- What happens when you step outside the library field and listen to how communities talk about progress? In rooms where mayors, civic leaders, funders, and cross-sector partners are tackling complex challenges, the conversation increasingly centers on economic mobility, social connection, civic health, trust, and quality of life—yet libraries can be surprisingly absent from these conversations. Drawing on recent experiences alongside city and civic leaders, Shamichael Hallman explores what this gap means for the future of library leadership. Along the way, participants will wrestle together with questions about where libraries fit within their communities’ larger aspirations, what contributions they can legitimately claim, and whether others could recognize and articulate the library’s value without library leaders in the room.
- Featuring:
- Shamichael Hallman, Senior Director of Civic Health and Economic Opportunity, Urban Libraries Council