2026 agenda

Morning Coffee and Networking: National AI Leadership Reception

Welcome to the US AI Congress: Check-in and Networking

Grab a coffee and network with leaders from around the country and across the federal government at the US AI Congress welcome reception ahead of the opening remarks.

Welcome: Accelerating American Innovation and Prosperity in AI

The US AI Congress opens with a charge from ETA Co-Founders Zack Huhn and Summer Crenshaw on what it will take for the United States to lead the AI economy. The next decade of American competitiveness will be decided by how quickly the country builds the institutions, partnerships, and workforce required to deploy AI at scale.

Expect a clear framing of the two days ahead: how the National AI Accelerator, AI Ready States and Regions, and the federal policy environment connect into a single national strategy, and how every attendee in the room fits into it.

• Summer CrenshawEnterprise Technology Association
• Zack HuhnEnterprise Technology Association

Elected Officials Welcome Address

America's Role in Global AI Leadership

Dr. Matthew Versaggi opens the Congress with a candid look at where the United States stands in the global AI race and what is required to extend American leadership over the coming decade. The session sets the strategic context for the rest of the program.

This is essential listening for federal, state, and enterprise leaders weighing how their work fits into the broader competitive picture, and for any organization trying to align its AI investments with the direction of national policy.

• MVMatthew VersaggiUnited States Federal Government
• GAGil AlterovitzPresidential Innovation Fellows Foundation

Architecting America's Digital Infrastructure

AI does not run on ambition. It runs on infrastructure. Grant Ecker, founder of the Chief Architect Network, lays out what architecting America's digital infrastructure for the AI era actually requires across compute, data, identity, and the enterprise systems that will carry the next decade of AI deployment.

For Chief Architects, CIOs, and infrastructure leaders, this session is a practical look at where the architecture work needs to happen now to keep American AI capacity ahead of demand.

• Grant EckerChief Architect Network

Advancing American Competitiveness in AI

Caleb Max joins the Congress to address the practical levers that move the needle on American AI competitiveness, from investment and industrial policy to talent and the regulatory environment.

Attendees walk away with a clear sense of which policy and investment moves are likely to make the largest difference in the next eighteen months, and what business and civic leaders can do to support them.

• Caleb MaxNational Artificial Intelligence Association

Creating International AI Alliances

American AI leadership is not built in isolation. Dr. David Edelman, a former senior White House technology advisor, addresses the international alliances and partnerships that will shape the rules, the markets, and the security architecture of global AI.

Essential context for any leader whose work crosses borders, from research collaborations to enterprise deployments to cross-jurisdictional AI policy.

• DEDr. David EdelmanInstitute for Education

The Vision for AI Ready America

What does an AI Ready America actually look like, and how do you build the workforce research and development hubs that will make it real? Taylor Stockton delivers the morning keynote on the federal vision for AI readiness at scale.

Particularly relevant for state and regional leaders evaluating their position in the federal AI Ready America program and for university and economic development partners considering hub formation.

• TSTaylor StocktonUnited States Department of Labor
• KSKeith SonderlingUnited States Department of Labor
• Zack HuhnEnterprise Technology Association

Keynote: AI Super Sector: How Ohio Is Powering America’s AI Future

JobsOhio’s Payal Thakur lays out how Ohio is building an AI Super Sector across its seven regions, why the Heartland is positioned to lead the next wave of applied AI, and what it took to move from concept to a statewide, multi-region program.

This is a working playbook for state economic development organizations and regional leaders who want to understand how to build durable AI sector strategy on the ground and will shine a light on the steps Ohio is taking to play a leading role in the AI economy.

• PTPayal ThakurJobsOhio

Featured Fireside: Building AI Ready States and Regions

A fireside conversation across three states leading the AI Ready America movement. Ohio brings the Super Sector model. Georgia brings the public-private development playbook through its work in Atlanta and Fulton County. Mississippi brings a model for making AI education accessible across an entire state.

Together they show what AI Ready looks like in three very different economic and political contexts, and what other states can learn from each.

• Zack HuhnEnterprise Technology Association
• PTPayal ThakurJobsOhio
• KHKwanza HallDevelop Fulton (Development Authority of Fulton County)
• KNDr. Kollin NapierMississippi Artificial Intelligence Network (MAIN)
• AFAmy ForseeState of Missouri

Open Networking Luncheon

Accelerating AI Innovation and Investment Roundtable

An innovation and investment roundtable convening the founders, investors, and operators building and backing the next generation of American AI companies. The session covers deal velocity, what is and is not getting funded right now, and where the next wave of AI category leaders will likely emerge.

Practical, working-session format. Designed for high-signal exchange across the table.

• TMTyler MantelRolltack Ventures
• THTim HolcombEmbarc Collective
• RSRobert SheesleyBump Connect
• GPGeeta PyneTIAA
• BVBoris VishnevskyAlphaNuTech
• MAMichael ArulfoCadre (AI Platform for Mental Health) and Beta.MN
• BRBrent RippeRKCA
• BDBrandon DixonENT
• BJBobbye Jo GreenStationDC
• TTTim TkaczBlue Sky Innovators
• PPPaul PowersPhysna
• JSJohn Stough6th Dimension
• RSRon SynakowskiStardog
• JCJohnny CrowderCope Notes

AI Security As A National Priority

• JMJared MichaelReyes Holdings
• DCDennis ChornenkyDomelabs AI
• SCSean CoyneCISA

The Child is not the Data Point: Education in the Age of AI

Mike Carroll delivers a featured presentation on what AI in education must protect, not just enable. The premise is direct: every system being built for K-12 and higher education has to treat students as people first and data points second, or the country gets this wrong in ways that take decades to recover from.

Critical for school district leaders, ed-tech founders, university administrators, and policymakers shaping AI guidelines for learners.

• MCMichael CarrollLNS Research

Developing Talent Pipelines at AI Speed

Talent pipelines designed for a slower economy cannot keep up with how fast AI is changing the work. Rodney Rogers takes the Main Stage with a focused look at how to build talent pipelines that move at the speed of the AI economy without sacrificing rigor.

A practical session for university leaders, employers, and workforce development professionals trying to close the gap between graduates and the jobs being created right now.

• Rodney RogersBowling Green State University

President's Panel: Education, Enablement, and Ecosystem Building in the Heartland

Five leaders working at the intersection of education, enablement, and ecosystem building examine what is working in the American Heartland and what still needs to be built. The conversation pulls from university programming, regional workforce strategy, and the partnerships connecting research, industry, and government.

Useful for any leader thinking about how to translate national AI policy into regional capacity, and how to make sure the Heartland captures its share of AI economic upside.

• EMElise MeyersJobsOhio
• Rodney RogersBowling Green State University
• BPBharath PrabhakaranUniversity of Cincinnati
• GCGregory CrawfordMiami University
• James HollowayUniversity of Toledo

Accelerating Innovation in American Healthcare Systems

A private roundtable convening healthcare founders and operators advancing the next wave of clinical and operational AI. The conversation focuses on what is actually moving the needle inside health systems and what remains blocked by integration, regulation, or evidence gaps.

Invitation only. Outcomes inform the National AI Accelerator healthcare programming.

• JCJohnny CrowderCope Notes
• MVMatthew VersaggiUnited States Federal Government
• ACAdam CarvelFairview Health Services
• JBJothylakshmy BusaCollege of American Pathologists
• THTim HolcombEmbarc Collective
• BRBrent RippeRKCA

A Look Inside: AI Ready America and NSF Tech Access

A look inside the federal programs that are helping empower AI Ready States and Regions. Roundtable style discussion.

• Zack HuhnEnterprise Technology Association
• Tushar KulkarniBig Kitty Labs

AI to Enhance Public Service and Local Government

Local government is where the AI conversation meets actual constituents. This panel brings together city managers, county leaders, and public sector technologists who are deploying AI in service of residents, not as a press release.

Concrete examples from the field on where AI is helping public servants do more with less, and where it is still not ready for prime time.

• MCMichelle CrandallICMA
• PPPeter PirnejadPepperdine University
• HHHolly HartellVA
• DPDuane PowellCIO
• RKRyan KurtzmanCA

AI Ready States and Regions: A Discussion on AI Education, Workforce, and Economic Development

A working roundtable bringing state, regional, university, federal, and enterprise leaders into one room to align on what AI Ready workforce and education looks like in practice. The conversation builds on the AI Ready Ohio model and the broader AI Ready States and Regions framework launched by ETA.

Invitation only. The roundtable is structured to produce action items that participants take back to their states, institutions, and organizations.

• Rodney RogersBowling Green State University
• BPBharath PrabhakaranUniversity of Cincinnati
• GCGregory CrawfordMiami University
• James HollowayUniversity of Toledo
• WWDr. Wendy WalshAir Education and Training Command
• PTPayal ThakurJobsOhio
• JRJosette RiepUniversity of Cincinnati
• EMElise MeyersJobsOhio
• KNDr. Kollin NapierMississippi Artificial Intelligence Network (MAIN)
• AFAmy ForseeState of Missouri
• SNSandeep NemaCook County Government
• Grant EckerChief Architect Network
• KHKwanza HallDevelop Fulton (Development Authority of Fulton County)
• JMJared MichaelReyes Holdings
• TSTaylor StocktonUnited States Department of Labor
• Zack HuhnEnterprise Technology Association

Accelerating the AI Economy

What does it actually take to accelerate the AI economy from the ground up? This panel brings investors, founders, regional accelerator operators, and ecosystem builders into one conversation on capital flow, deal velocity, and the institutional moves that translate AI investment into real economic growth.

Essential for founders raising in the current environment and for the investors and economic development professionals trying to help them get to scale.

• BJBobbye Jo GreenStationDC
• TMTyler MantelRolltack Ventures
• THTim HolcombEmbarc Collective

Building AI Ready Institutions, Governments, and Enterprises

• MCMichelle CrandallICMA
• PPPeter PirnejadPepperdine University
• HHHolly HartellVA
• DPDuane PowellCIO
• RKRyan KurtzmanCA
• SNSandeep NemaCook County Government
• HMHalima MuhammadMunicipal Government - Georgia
• DSDavid SeidlMiami University
• JRJosette RiepUniversity of Cincinnati
• BPBharath PrabhakaranUniversity of Cincinnati
• AWAndreas WelschIntelligence Briefing
• JMJared MichaelReyes Holdings
• AFAmy ForseeState of Missouri

Accelerating Quantum Computing Education, Research, and Collaboration

• GCGregory CrawfordMiami University
• AKAlex KhanBosonQ Psi Corp (BQP)
• AJAjit JhaUSAII
• EWEmma WongEPRI

AI in Healthcare: Access, Accuracy, Efficiency, Prevention

Healthcare is the highest-stakes proving ground for AI. This panel takes on the four outcomes that matter: access for patients who would otherwise go without, accuracy in diagnosis and decision-making, efficiency in operations and clinical workflow, and prevention as the long-term measure of whether AI is improving lives.

Honest assessment from health system leaders, founders, and architects of where AI is already changing care delivery and what it will take to scale it responsibly.

• JCJohnny CrowderCope Notes
• ACAdam CarvelFairview Health Services
• MWMike WalkerAgentic Data Systems
• Grant EckerChief Architect Network
• DCDennis ChornenkyDomelabs AI

AI and Automation in Defense, Warfare, and National Security

The defense and national security applications of AI and automation are advancing on a different clock. This panel convenes operators, technologists, and policy professionals working at the cutting edge of AI for defense, with an unflinching look at what the country is doing well and where it is exposed.

Critical context for any leader in or adjacent to the defense industrial base, and for policymakers shaping the national security posture for the AI era.

• PPPaul PowersPhysna
• TTTim TkaczBlue Sky Innovators
• RSRon SynakowskiStardog
• JSJohn Stough6th Dimension
• EVEileen VidrineNational Artificial Intelligence Association

Leading from the Front: A National Call for Aligned Action

• MVMatthew VersaggiUnited States Federal Government
• Zack HuhnEnterprise Technology Association
• Grant EckerChief Architect Network
• Summer CrenshawEnterprise Technology Association

Open Networking Social