November 3-4, 2026
The Ritz-Carlton | Arlington, VA
What to Expect
The Leave & Accommodations Leadership Summit brings together senior HR executives, benefits leaders, and industry consultants from large enterprises to explore evolving best practices in leave management and workplace accommodations. Hosted in Arlington, VA this exclusive, high-impact event empowers attendees with actionable strategies to elevate their leave and accommodations programs to best-in-class status.
Note: To ensure meaningful discussion and networking among senior professionals, all registration requests are subject to a qualification review process. Limited spots are available for this exclusive event.
Who Should Attend?
This summit is designed specifically for forward-thinking CHROs, VPs, directors, managers and industry leaders who are committed to shaping the future of workplace leave and accommodations.
Build valuable relationships with an exclusive community of senior HR leaders championing new approaches across diverse industries.
Discover transformative approaches that position your organization at the forefront of workplace policy.
Gain cutting-edge insights from industry experts on measuring the ROI of leave programs, creating seamless employee experiences, and balancing compliance with compassion.
Agenda | Day 1
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1:00-1:30 PM |Arrival & Registration
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1:30 - 1:45 PM |Welcome Address: The State of Leave and Accommodations
Chris Murphy, CEO, AbsenceSoft
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1:45 - 2:15 PM |Keynote: The Work We Do and Why it Has to Get Simpler
Requests are climbing, compliance is getting more complex, and half of HR leaders believe they’ve lost employees who might have stayed with a better accommodations experience. Join AbsenceSoft founder & Senior Advisor Seth Turner, alongside Terence Barfield, Director of Benefits & Leave Administration at Genuine Parts Company, as they share our newest Business Impact Report findings and what the data reveals about risk, AI, retention, and where employers are investing next.
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2:15 - 2:30 PM |Break
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2:30-3:30 PM |Breakout Sessions
- Customer-Exclusive Session: Supporting Mental Health at Work When It Counts Most Mental health is now the leading driver of accommodations requests and one of the top reasons employees take leave.In this session, AbsenceSoft Chief Customer Officer Kelly Wells and Kayla Lantgios, Benefits Manager at Gonzaga University share how their team navigated a sharp rise in mental health-related leave and accommodations requests, what worked, what they would do differently, and how they used AbsenceSoft to bring consistency and care to some of their most sensitive cases.
- Beyond the Backlog: The Leave Metrics That Matter and the Business Case to Prove It Leave is growing and teams are stretched. Join us to talk through the goals your organization is working toward, the leave metrics that show whether you're getting there, and how to turn those numbers into a business case. We'll share customer benchmarks for your own program, hear what your peers track, and leave you with a clear plan to make the case to leadership.
- Additional sessions coming soon... Check back for more sessions!
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3:30 - 3:45 PM |Break
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3:45 - 4:45 PM |Panel: Where Compliance Meets Compassion
Behind every leave request and every accommodation is an employee navigating one of the hardest moments of their life. And the research is clear: how that moment is handled has a direct and lasting impact on whether employees come back, whether they stay, and whether they ever trust their employer the same way again. This session draws from the workforce outcome findings of our newest research, including what poor and positive leave and accommodations experiences actually cost in retention, productivity, and employee trust, and what it means that most organizations are not tracking any of it.
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4:45 - 5:00 PM |Closing Remarks
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5:00 - 6:00 PM |Networking Reception
Debrief on the day’s learnings with fellow attendees.
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6:00 - 8:00 PM |Leave and Accommodations Leadership Dinner
An evening of dinner and conversation among leave and accommodations leaders.
Agenda | Day 2 (Customer-Exclusive)
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8:00 - 8:45 AM |Customer Breakfast
Start the day with breakfast alongside fellow AbsenceSoft customers.
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8:45 - 9:15 AM |Opening Session
Our second day of programming opens with Seth Turner, AbsenceSoft Founder & Senior Advisor and Terence Barfield, Director of Benefits & Leave Administration at Genuine Parts Company to deep dive into.
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9:15 - 10:00 AM |Product Roadmap with Our CPO
Jaclyn Zhuang, Chief Product Officer at AbsenceSoft, is bringing attendees an inside look at how the AbsenceSoft platform is evolving to meet the changing needs of leave and accommodations teams. She’ll walk through upcoming releases and what’s currently in development, all designed to give you time back, create a better experience for your employees, and build in compliance you can rely on. You’ll leave with a clear view of what’s ahead and the chance to shape it with your feedback.
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10:00 - 10:15 AM |Break
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10:15 - 11:00 AM |Tackling Pain Points: Optimizing Your Leave Program with Professional Services
Brent Gordon, Manager of Professional Services at AbsenceSoft, leads this interactive session on turning leave management pain points into opportunities to work smarter. He’ll spotlight successful ways clients have been able to better leverage what’s available through AbsenceSoft and drive real improvements in their leave and accommodations management process. You’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with other AbsenceSoft users and leave with fresh ideas on how you can optimize your own program.
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11:00 AM - 11:45 AM |Un-Conference
At every in-person event we’ve hosted, this session has been the biggest hit. Harness the insights and experience of the people in the room around you during our closing session: Choose your own table topic for open, peer-led discussion with fellow customers and subject matter experts.
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11:45 AM - 12:00 PM |Closing Remarks and Resources
Kayla Lantgios
Benefits Manager at Gonzaga University
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The event will take place in Arlington, Virginia at The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City.
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We’re pleased to offer complimentary valet parking for all summit guests.
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Both Ronald Reagan National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport are highly accessible to the event.
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Yes, full catering is provided for all scheduled sessions. Special dietary needs will be accommodated with advance notice during registration.
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Day 1 is open to all admitted HR leaders. Day 2 is exclusively for AbsenceSoft customers and can be marked as attending or not during the registration process.
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This exclusive summit is curated for senior HR executives engaged in strategic decision-making. While we typically host one leader per organization, we’ll consider additional senior executives through our qualification review process, space permitting.
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No. Attendees are responsible for their own travel (air, vehicle, etc.) and lodging expenses. AbsenceSoft does not cover these costs.
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No, there is no discounted or group rate for hotel accommodations. We recommend booking early to get the best availability and pricing.
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Yes, this is a free event. There’s no cost to attend. However, spots are limited, so request your spot ASAP and keep an eye out for an email from us.
