NOVEMBER 12, 2026 · RALEIGH, NC
Progress
Progress
in Practice
AI, Innovation & What's Working Across North Carolina
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AI, Innovation & What's Working Across North Carolina
Register on EventbriteAbout the Conference
A one-day gathering bringing together members and staff from North Carolina's licensing, permitting, and titling boards, commissions, and state agencies, for candid discussion, practical learning, and relationship-building among counterparts.
A working day, not a showcase.
The Program
A full day of sessions, roundtables, and time with your counterparts. Details are being finalized and this page updates as they are confirmed.
Check in, collect your materials, and meet the room before the program opens.
Welcome and framing for the day.
Legislative Update, with Chris Wall, EQV Strategic
Communicating with Government, with Sadie Weiner and Ford Porter, WP Advisors
Liz Hale, Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina
Latarsha Silver, Office of State Fire Marshal, NC Department of Insurance
Grouped by board type. Bring a problem you are working on.
AI in Communications, with Kelley O'Brien, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
Adopting AI at Work, with Mark McNeilly, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
Secretary Nate Denny, NC Department of Information Technology
Second round, new table, new counterparts.
John Mims, High Point University
The part of the day people actually remember. Stay, compare notes, and trade numbers with the people who hold your seat on another board.
Schedule subject to change. Registered attendees receive the final program by email ahead of the event.
Speakers
State leaders and practitioners who work with North Carolina's boards and commissions every day.
Secretary & State Chief Information Officer, NC Department of Information Technology
Appointed in April 2026, Nate Denny leads the agency responsible for statewide technology strategy, IT service delivery, cybersecurity, and high speed internet access. He brings more than two decades in state and federal government, including earlier roles at NCDIT as deputy secretary, chief of staff, and legislative director, and champions responsible uses of emerging technology such as artificial intelligence across state government.
Director of Risk Management, Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina
Elizabeth Hale has been with IIANC since 2017, where she assists the State of North Carolina with cyber, directors and officers liability, and crime insurance. She holds a political science degree from Stetson University and earned her CPCU designation in 1991.
Division Chief for Risk Management, Office of State Fire Marshal, NC Department of Insurance
Latarsha Silver has led risk management for the Office of State Fire Marshal and the NC Department of Insurance since 2020. Before that she spent nearly seventeen years as a commercial underwriter at the NC Department of Public Instruction. She holds the CRM, TRA, and CIC designations and studied at Shaw University.
Partner, EQV Strategic
Chris Wall began his career in Washington as a senior staffer to Senator Richard Burr, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, and Congressman Robin Hayes, then served as a senior lobbyist for the National Pork Producers Council. Back in North Carolina, he managed a broad client portfolio at a major government affairs firm and was named by The Hill as one of Washington's top lobbyists of 2019.
Principal, WP Advisors
Sadie Weiner has worked in state and federal government and campaigns for almost two decades. She served in the Office of Governor Roy Cooper first as Communications Director and most recently as Director of External Affairs. Previously she was Communications Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Communications Director for U.S. Senator Kay Hagan.
Principal, WP Advisors
Ford Porter has worked in state and federal government for more than a decade, serving as Communications Director for Governor Roy Cooper as well as in various press secretary and communications roles across the governor's office and the U.S. Senate.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Management and Corporate Communication, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
Kelley O'Brien teaches business communication at UNC Kenan-Flagler and has taught at UNC Chapel Hill since 2011. She spent 14 years at the UNC School of Government, leading its K-12 education program and later serving as director of strategy and innovation. She has also been a senior partner at the executive search firm Elinvar and owner of KTO Strategy & Communications.
Professor of the Practice of Marketing, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
Mark McNeilly teaches marketing and organizational behavior in the MBA and undergraduate programs at UNC Kenan-Flagler, and co-chairs the university's Generative AI Committee, where his work focuses on the intelligent and ethical adoption of AI. He spent his career as a global marketing executive at IBM and Lenovo, and is the author of two books published by Oxford University Press, Sun Tzu and the Art of Business and George Washington and the Art of Business.
Chair and Professor of the Practice, Strategic Communication, Nido R. Qubein School of Communication, High Point University
John Mims spent more than twenty years in corporate and agency communication roles, building strategic communication plans for large corporations and nonprofits, before moving into teaching. He founded Ascension336, a student run agency that serves nonprofit clients, and is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America. He holds a journalism and mass communication degree from UNC Chapel Hill and an MBA from Pfeiffer University.
Who is in the room
Members and staff from licensing, permitting, and titling boards, commissions, and state agencies across North Carolina. Attendance is limited to those groups.
Two roundtable blocks are grouped by board type, so the person across the table is working through the same renewal cycle, the same reporting, and the same software questions you are.
4 to 5 PM
The day ends with an hour and no agenda. Stay, compare notes, and leave with people you can call in February.
Details
Registration is open now through Eventbrite. Open to North Carolina boards, commissions, and state agencies only.
Register on Eventbrite