2026 ACU Workforce Symposium
March 24-25, 2026 | Nashville, TN | Hotel Indigo Nashville
Agenda subject to minor adjustments. All sessions include interactive components and peer discussion. Stay tuned for more details, including information on speakers, as well!
We’re Sold Out! Thank You to All Who Signed Up, and We’ll See You in Music City!
Introduction
The ACU 2026 Workforce Symposium is two days of honest conversation about what it takes to build and keep a strong team in community health right now. Day One takes you from strategic workforce planning, getting ahead of vacancies instead of constantly reacting to them, through recruiting approaches that attract people who actually connect with your mission, to onboarding practices that set new hires up to stay past year one.
Day Two digs into the longer game: designing career pathways so your best people can see a future with you, strengthening the culture and relationships that drive retention, and tapping into health professions education programs and partnerships that can expand your pipeline.
You’ll hear from workforce leaders, HR executives, and frontline managers from health centers and PCAs across the country . . . people who are doing this work every day and have hard-won lessons to share. Every session includes peer exchange and real-world problem-solving with leaders who are navigating the same challenges you are. And you won’t leave with just good ideas, you’ll walk out with a concrete plan for your organization.
DAY 1 | MARCH 24
8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Registration and breakfast will open at 8 a.m., and the first session will begin at 9 a.m.
Welcome & Opening Message
Setting the stage for two days of learning, connection, and action.
Session 1: Strategic Workforce Planning
Move from reactive hiring to proactive workforce strategy that anticipates tomorrow’s needs.
Session 2: Recruiting Mission-Driven Staff
Attract candidates who connect with your mission, not just your job posting.
Session 3: Onboarding for Retention
Transform the first 90 days from orientation to organizational commitment.
Day 1 Reflection & Peer Exchange
Process insights, share challenges, and connect with fellow leaders.
Day 2 | March 25
8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Registration and breakfast will open at 8 a.m., and the first session will begin at 8:45 a.m.
Day 2 Opening
Reconnect and preview the day ahead.
Session 4: Developing Career Pathways
Create visible routes for growth that turn static roles into development opportunities.
Session 5: Strengthening Employee Retention
Build the environment, relationships, and conditions that make people want to stay.
Session 6: Innovation in Health Professions Education & Training
Leverage external programs and partnerships to multiply your workforce capacity.
Closing: From Insight to Action
Translate two days of learning into a concrete 30-day action plan for your organization.
Questions?
For more information about this training, please contact April Lewis, Director of ACU’s National Center, or Suzanne K. Speer, VP of Workforce Development.
More Resources and Trainings on Building and Sustaining Health Center Workforces
ACU’s National Center for Workforce Development & Training offers comprehensive training, technical assistance, and consultation in all aspects of healthcare workforce development—from shaping pathways to recruit a more resilient, effective, and multifaceted workforce to better meet the needs of communities to advancing specific strategies for retention and resilience.
