The Summit 2026: Catalyst Roundtables

Home > Events > The Summit 2026 > Catalyst Roundtables

CATALYST ROUNDTABLES

The Catalyst Roundtables offer deeper exploration of key issues, combining industry expertise and peer insights, providing opportunities to engage with leaders in policy, healthcare, philanthropy, academia and business.

Don’t miss this unique experience to hear from leading topical experts and service providers on emerging trends and future thinking as well as shared successes and learnings to inform our paths forward. Choose a session and join the conversation.

Catalyzing Community-Driven Affordable Housing Solutions

Monday, February 2 (Lagoon Room)

The affordable housing crisis is reshaping communities across the country. Lutheran social ministry organizations and their partners are uniquely positioned to lead in this space, leveraging mission, assets, and influence to catalyze scalable, community-driven housing solutions.

In this session, we’ll explore the strategic levers that move ideas into action: expanding cross-sector collaborations, unlocking catalytic capital, and positioning organizations as trusted conveners and solution-builders. Together, we’ll unpack how to align housing strategies with mission, create new pathways for investment, and mobilize networks to deliver measurable, lasting impact.

Panelists:

Ray Ratke, CEO, enCircle (moderator)

Cheryl Fischer, Vice President of Business Development for Foster Care and Child Welfare Programs, Centene

Grace Araya, President and CEO, Concordia Place

Chris Tonniges, President and CEO, Lutheran Family Services (invited)

From Competition to Collaboration: The Strategic Partnership Playbook

Monday, February 2 (Ballroom 1)

What if your organization’s greatest growth opportunity isn’t expansion, but collaboration?

As funding landscapes shift, operational costs rise, and service demand grows, nonprofit leaders are reimagining what it means to achieve scale and sustain mission impact. Strategic partnerships, including mergers, acquisitions, and affiliations, are emerging as key pathways to strengthen delivery, expand reach, and build long-term resilience, especially within the senior services sector.

But when do these collaborations create lasting value, and why do some fall short?

This session offers an unfiltered look at what it takes to lead through this new era of strategic partnership. Join your peers for a candid, CEO-level conversation on what it really takes to use partnership as a lever for mission impact.

Panelists:

Angela Bovill, President & CEO, Ascentria Care Alliance
Alesia Frerichs, President & CEO, Lutheran Services in America
Adam Marles, President & CEO, EverTrue
Lisa McCracken, Head of Research and Analytics, National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care
Jon Riewer, President & CEO, Eventide

Value-Based Care: What Lies Ahead for Senior Services

Tuesday, February 3 (Ballroom 1)

Value-based care is reshaping the future of health and senior services, and the clock is ticking. With the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requiring all Medicare beneficiaries to be enrolled in a value-based plan by 2030, the question is no longer if but how leaders will adapt.

For senior service organizations, value-based arrangements offer the promise of stronger outcomes, new revenue streams and deeper mission alignment, but they also call for a sophisticated approach to risk, readiness and partnership.

In this CEO session, hear from peers, and thought leaders as they unpack what it takes to thrive in a value-based environment and explore where these models create the greatest opportunities for impact and growth, and how to assess when the risk is worth the reward.

Panelists:

Brett Anderson, President & CEO, Ebenezer Senior Living

Anne Tumlinson, CEO, ATI Advisory

Building a Future–Ready Workforce

Tuesday, February 3 (Lagoon Room)

Workforce shortages continue to impact all aspects of our work in health and human services. A range of factors including demographic trends and broader social and societal shifts continue to be at play, along with increasing imbalances in available workforce due to issues including immigration pressures, artificial intelligence, declines in people with college degrees, among others. These pressures underscore the urgent need for leaders to develop short-term and long-term solutions to better address the shortages. This session will explore local, state and national level strategies to foster a future-ready workforce.