2026 Schedule of Events - United Conference

8:00 AM to 9:00 AM | Northern Center Ballrooms I & II

• Networking Breakfast

9:00 AM to 9:50 AM | Ballrooms I & II 

• TBD

10:00 AM to 11:30 AM | Ballrooms I & II 

• We The Earth: Sanctuary at the Nexus of Rest, Resilience, and Resistance

11:30 AM | Ballrooms I & II 

• Lunch buffet begins

12:00 PM to 1:00 PM | Ballrooms I & II 

• Sustainability Summit Keynote Speaker - Dr. Kathy Allen: Leading from the Roots

1:00 PM to 1:50 PM

• Ganonyok: Gratitude as Resilience and Everyday Resistance presented by Justin Schapp | Pen I
• Student-led Sustainability and Resilience Panel | Pen II
• Dr. Kathy Allen Book Signing | Founders Room

2:00 PM to 2:50 PM

• Successful Transition to Civilian Life through Education, presented by Mike Rutledge | Pen I
• The Northern Woodshed Project: Cultivating Rural Resilience through Local Bioenergy Production in the UP | Pen II
• WellBeing Planning: How to build your resilience through self-reflection, presented by Emily Meier | Pen IV

2:00 PM to 4:00 PM | Ballrooms I & II

• Mino-bimose'idiwag! presented by Dr. BlackDeer 

4:00 PM to 4:30 PM | Ballrooms I & II

• Networking 

4:30 PM to 5:30 PM | Pen II

• Have Dog Will Travel: A Poet's Journey reading by the UNITED author and keynote speaker, Stephen Kuussito

5:30 PM to 7:30 PM | Ballroom III

• Poetry Without Borders 
• Reception to follow

8:00 AM to 9:00 AM |  Northern Center Ballrooms I & II

• Networking Breakfast and Women in Entrepreneurship

9:00 AM to 9:50 AM | Ballrooms I & II

• Crowdfunding Your Way to Launch presented by keynote speaker, Alex West Steinman

10:00 AM to 10:50 AM | Ballrooms I & II

• Women in Business Panel Discussion presented by Lucy Seitz of Read My Lips and Girly Pop

10:00 AM to 11:30 AM | Founders Room

• Deans and Department Heads Circle moderated by keynote speaker, Dr. Kathy Allen

10:00 AM to 3:00 PM | Ballrooms III & IV

• Wildcat WellBeing Fair

11:00 AM to 11:50 AM | Pen II

• Purdue Speaker Session | Taking the Fear out of Entrepreneurship (Joe Thiel OR MEDC)

11:30 AM | Ballrooms I & II 

• Lunch buffet begins

11:50 AM to 12:20 PM | Ballrooms I & II 

• Have Dog Will Travel: A Poet's Journey, author and keynote speaker, Stephen Kuussito

12:20 PM to 1:00 PM | Ballrooms I & II

• Kick Your Fear in the Face presented by Nancy Lyons

1:00 PM to 1:50 PM

• Embers and Siren: Strategic Comms | Ballrooms I & II
• Transformative Hope for the Climate Crisis presented by Eileen Boekestein, EGLE | Pen II
• Stephen Kuusisto Book Signing | Founders Room

2:00 PM to 2:50 PM

• Learn your leadership style with Clifton Strengths presented by Katie Korpi and Accessible Design with Bonnie | Ballrooms I & II
• Buzz Session | Pen IV

2:00 PM to 3:30 PM | Pen II

• NMU Arts District, moderated by Bill Digneit

2:30 PM to 4:00 PM | Behind Northern Center

• Walking the Talk on Sustainability at NMU

3:00 PM to 3:50 PM

• Leader Dogs for the Blind Campus Puppy Program presented by NMU Alum, Kim Randolph | Pen II
• Tai Chi Qigoing | Pen III
• Individual Actions Matter: Reducing Waste | Pen IV

3:00 PM to 5:00 PM | Northern Center Hallways

• Research and Innovation Summit Posters + Sustainability Summit Posters Gallery Stroll

3:00 PM to 4:30 PM | Ballrooms I & II

• Makers Fair: Forklifts

4:00 PM to 4:50 PM | Pen III

• Asahi Nordic Health practice 

5:00 PM to 7:00 PM | Ore Dock Brewing Company

• Innovation Party

8:00 AM to 9:00 AM |  Innovation Hall

• Networking Breakfast

9:00 AM to 9:50 AM

• Keynote speaker, Bill Hawker | Innovation Hall
• CRP: Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P Johnson, presented virtually by keynote speaker, Tourmaline | Pen II

10:00 AM to 10:50 AM

• Tourmaline breakout session | Pen II
• Responsible AI for Environmental Management | Pen I
• Book Swap, Encouraging Rest and Resilience through Literature | Penn III
• Intentional Documentation of Lived Experience via Poetry (IDLE Poetry) | Pen IV
• KCP 4S Student Institute, "Who Told You That?" presented by Dr. Shawnrece Butler | Founders Room

10:00 AM to 12:30 PM | Innovation Hall

• Design Jam

11:00 to 11:50 | Pen III

• With Great Lakes Comes Great Responsibility: Digital Outragicity and Data Center Resistance. | Pen III

12:30 PM | Innovation Hall

• Lunch 

1:00 PM to 3:00 PM | Behind Northern Center

• More-than-Human Relative: Giizhik (Cedar) Workshop

1:00 PM to 4:00 PM | Innovation Hall

• Big Pitch & Outdoor Pitch

3:00 PM to 5:00 PM | Pen I & II

Indigenous Fashion Show

5:00 to 7:00 | Innovation Hall

• Big Pitch Reception