Spring Executive Conference
April 21-22 2026
Spring Executive Conference 2026 Highlights
Public affairs leaders gathered April 21-22 in Washington, D.C., for the Council’s Spring Executive Conference and Board Meeting. Speakers explored the issues facing public affairs today, from leadership and resilience to the current state of play.
Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan joined Council President & CEO Nneka Chiazor for a fireside chat. When asked her birthday wish for America at 250, Congresswoman McClellan shared: “that the ideals upon which we are founded become true for everybody.”
Brennan Georgianni with the American Cleaning Institute was recognized with this year’s Distinguished Champion Award.
Public affairs is “strategy,” explained Circle’s Dante Disparte in his opening remarks. “It is the discipline that translates complexity into clarity…it is the difference between institutions that endure and those that fall behind.”
Laura Horsley, Public Affairs Counsel, and Lisa Kiefer, Morning Consult, previewed the 2026 Pulse Survey results. One of the biggest takeaways per Lisa: “Consumers are persuadable when you translate policies into prices and paychecks.”
In Why Public Affairs Matters Even More in Trump 2.0, the Council’s Kristin Brackemyre, Heidrick & Struggles’ Julian Ha, MultiState’s Maggie Mick and ExxonMobil’s Jamie Wall highlighted the intersection of state and federal policy, shifting expectations and the profession’s role as “connective tissue.”
Keynote Speaker Alison Levine, mountain climber and Team Captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, shared leadership lessons from her time climbing Mount Everest. “If you wait for perfect visibility, you may be waiting around forever,” she underscored. “You don’t need perfect clarity to put one foot in front of the other.”
Patino Associates’ Michael Patino shared insights on executive compensation. “The best CCOs rose above their own foxhole to serve as the glue knitting the C-suite together – a calm, collaborative rock in a stormy environment,” he explained.
In the closing panel, Uniting a Divided World, the Council’s Nneka Chiazor, Business for America’s Sarah Bonk and Consumer Brands Association’s Melissa Hockstad emphasized constructive engagement and discussed the reality that there is often more that unites us than divides us as we approach America’s 250th anniversary.
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This must-attend event for senior executives features high-level presentations and discussions about politics, business strategy and emerging issues in the public affairs profession. This event is exclusive and available only to Council members.