Support Driven Expo 2026

Support Driven Expo 2026

Welcome to the event schedule for SD Expo 2026! You’ll see all the talks and workshops available, and you can pick and choose across all tracks to create your own schedule for the event. Please reach out in #event-sd-expo in Slack if you have any questions!

Tip: Talks run 20 minutes and happen every half hour!

9:30am CDT

How Great AI Agents Are Created

Tuesday August 25, 2026 9:30am - 9:50am CDT

Speakers

Vincent Chan

Founder, Northoak

Tuesday August 25, 2026 9:30am - 9:50am CDT
Room 312 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track AI, Room 313

9:30am CDT

Support Owns the Release

Tuesday August 25, 2026 9:30am - 9:50am CDT

Speakers

Josh Carpenter

Senior Director, Customer Support, Arkestro

I've been building and managing support teams for more than a decade, with more decades before that as a support engineer and project manager. My experience spans fintech, hospitality, home services, .gov, and aerospace. I am passionate about technical operations and support ops in... Read More →

Tuesday August 25, 2026 9:30am - 9:50am CDT
Room 313 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Room 313

10:00am CDT

12+ Ways to Use AI for Support Ops

Tuesday August 25, 2026 10:00am - 10:20am CDT

Speakers

Francoise Tourniaire

Owner and Principal, FT Works

Author
Designer of pragmatic support processes
Support agent whisperer

Tuesday August 25, 2026 10:00am - 10:20am CDT
Room 312 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track AI, Room 313

10:00am CDT

The Right Reviewer Changes Everything

Tuesday August 25, 2026 10:00am - 10:20am CDT

Speakers

Valeriia Golubieva

Customer Experience Program Manager, Manychat

Tuesday August 25, 2026 10:00am - 10:20am CDT
Room 313 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Room 313

11:00am CDT

From Single Chats to Scalable Agents

Tuesday August 25, 2026 11:00am - 11:20am CDT

Speakers

Greg Johnson

Head of NA Customer Success Team, LuxCreo Inc.

Alexandra Barker

Customer Success Supervisor, LuxCreo

Tuesday August 25, 2026 11:00am - 11:20am CDT
Room 312 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track AI, Room 313

11:00am CDT

The Support Playbook That Keeps Up With Product

Tuesday August 25, 2026 11:00am - 11:20am CDT

Speakers

Brett Rush

Founder, Rush to Resolution

20 years of experience leading and building SaaS Customer Support. My team spanned 4 timezones, handled 3M users, and maintained 98% CSAT before Adobe acquired the company. I love biking, kayaking, swimming, traveling, and all-things-sourdough with my wife and 6yr old daughter.

Tuesday August 25, 2026 11:00am - 11:20am CDT
Room 313 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Room 313, Knowledge Management

11:00am CDT

Building the Culture Where Your Team Stays and Thrives

Tuesday August 25, 2026 11:00am - 11:20am CDT

Speakers

Chrissy Sebald

Director, CX Practice & Support Operations, Boldr

Tuesday August 25, 2026 11:00am - 11:20am CDT
Room 315 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Management, Room 313

11:30am CDT

Trusted AI in CX: What Transformation Actually Requires

Tuesday August 25, 2026 11:30am - 11:50am CDT

Speakers

Caroline Dangson

Product Marketing Manager, Kustomer

Tuesday August 25, 2026 11:30am - 11:50am CDT
Room 312 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track AI, Room 313

11:30am CDT

Why Dashboards Don't Change Behavior and What Leaders Should Do Instead

Tuesday August 25, 2026 11:30am - 11:50am CDT

Speakers

Stephanie A Jones

Customer Experience Leader, FLEek

Tuesday August 25, 2026 11:30am - 11:50am CDT
Room 313 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Room 313

1:30pm CDT

The 40% Problem: AI Strategy for Tickets That Won't Deflect

Tuesday August 25, 2026 1:30pm - 1:50pm CDT

Speakers

Niraj Ranjan Rout

Founder, Hiver

Tuesday August 25, 2026 1:30pm - 1:50pm CDT
Room 312 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track AI, Room 313

1:30pm CDT

Unlock Advocacy by Blending AI with EI

Tuesday August 25, 2026 1:30pm - 1:50pm CDT

Speakers

Jamie Shibley

CEO | Engagement Strategist, The Expressory

Tuesday August 25, 2026 1:30pm - 1:50pm CDT
Room 313 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Room 313, AI

2:00pm CDT

SaaS Support from Swarm to Self-serve

Tuesday August 25, 2026 2:00pm - 2:20pm CDT

Speakers

Oliver Williams

Support Hero, SmugMug

I have been with Awesome for 16 years on the SmugMug Support team. I am a parent to two great kids - Charles (6) and Evelyn (2). I enjoy spending time with my kids, fishing, golfing, hiking, and working on house projects.

Tuesday August 25, 2026 2:00pm - 2:20pm CDT
Room 312 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track AI, Room 313

2:00pm CDT

How to Unlock Shadow Knowledge and Create a Culture of Knowledge Sharing

Tuesday August 25, 2026 2:00pm - 2:20pm CDT

Speakers

Martin Hobratschk

Founder, Cognita Knowledge Management LLC

Tuesday August 25, 2026 2:00pm - 2:20pm CDT
Room 313 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Room 313, Knowledge Management

2:00pm CDT

Building the Human Systems Behind AI Support

Tuesday August 25, 2026 2:00pm - 2:20pm CDT

Speakers

Victoria Crow Dog

Senior Engineering Manager, Clever

Tuesday August 25, 2026 2:00pm - 2:20pm CDT
Room 316 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Support Engineer, Room 313

3:00pm CDT

Build vs. Buy: The AI Decision Every CX Leader Needs

Tuesday August 25, 2026 3:00pm - 3:20pm CDT

Speakers

Sam Chandler

Director of Customer Success, Commercial, Kustomer

Tuesday August 25, 2026 3:00pm - 3:20pm CDT
Room 312 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track AI, Room 313

3:00pm CDT

Building a Work Waze - How Clear Processes Protect Teams from Burnout

Tuesday August 25, 2026 3:00pm - 3:20pm CDT

Speakers

Carol Lea

Customer Service Representative, Flickr

Tuesday August 25, 2026 3:00pm - 3:20pm CDT
Room 313 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Room 313

3:00pm CDT

Stop Letting Your Helpdesk Design Your Support Team

Tuesday August 25, 2026 3:00pm - 3:20pm CDT

Speakers

James Amey

Founding Solutions Engineer, Plain

Tuesday August 25, 2026 3:00pm - 3:20pm CDT
Room 316 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Support Engineer, Room 313

3:30pm CDT

Moving from Transact to Transform

Tuesday August 25, 2026 3:30pm - 3:50pm CDT

Feedback Survey

Speakers

Joreen Audrey Baquilod

Senior Manager of Customer Support, CARET

Aaron Dionne

Associate Manager, Technical Support, CARET

Dan Rohda

Senior Director, Customer Support, CARET Legal

Support teams aren’t just a safety net. They are the climbers out front. They keep the promise of your brand, make it easy for customers to stay, deliver clear benefits that drive value realization, and affirm the vision that fuels your ascent. Talk to me about how to align teams... Read More →

Tuesday August 25, 2026 3:30pm - 3:50pm CDT
Room 313 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Room 313, Management

3:30pm CDT

You Are a Product Manager Now

Tuesday August 25, 2026 3:30pm - 3:50pm CDT

Speakers

Joshua Boock

Director of Customer Support, Sauce, Inc.

Tuesday August 25, 2026 3:30pm - 3:50pm CDT
Room 316 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track AI, Room 313, Support Engineer

4:00pm CDT

Unlocking the Power of Support Reports

Tuesday August 25, 2026 4:00pm - 4:20pm CDT

Speakers

Andrew “Coach” Rios

Founder, Cityside Fiber / RIOS MGMT

Andrew is a technologist, runner, and passionate CX leader with 25 years of experience. He has played every position on a customer experience team and built world-class global support teams at startups and Fortune 100 companies such as Megapath, Fitbit, Cisco, and Turntide Technologies... Read More →

Tuesday August 25, 2026 4:00pm - 4:20pm CDT
Room 313 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Room 313, Management

9:00am CDT

AI Evolves. Humans Lead.

Wednesday August 26, 2026 9:00am - 9:20am CDT

Speakers

Melissa Torres

Head of Global Support Operations, Handshake

Wednesday August 26, 2026 9:00am - 9:20am CDT
Room 312 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track AI, Room 313, Management

9:00am CDT

The Account-Aware Support Playbook

Wednesday August 26, 2026 9:00am - 9:20am CDT

Speakers

Lucas Via

Senior Vice President of Customer Success, Hiver

Wednesday August 26, 2026 9:00am - 9:20am CDT
Room 313 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Room 313, AI

9:30am CDT

Maybe you can work four days too

Wednesday August 26, 2026 9:30am - 9:50am CDT

Speakers

Abby Armada

Senior Customer Support Manager, Flickr / Awesome

With over 10 years in support and 7 as a support manager, I'm passionate about nurturing teams and delivering awesome experiences. I life my life a quarter mile at a time.

Wednesday August 26, 2026 9:30am - 9:50am CDT
Room 313 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Room 313, Management

9:30am CDT

Creating a Healthy Vibe-Coding Culture

Wednesday August 26, 2026 9:30am - 9:50am CDT

Speakers

Zach Ihle

CX Operations Manager, Planning Center

Wednesday August 26, 2026 9:30am - 9:50am CDT
Room 316 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Support Engineer, Room 313

10:00am CDT

The Support Agent That Learns

Wednesday August 26, 2026 10:00am - 10:20am CDT

Speakers

Zach Michel

VP, Customer Onboarding & Support, Atlan

Wednesday August 26, 2026 10:00am - 10:20am CDT
Room 312 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Room 313, Management, AI

10:00am CDT

Designing Learner-Centered Documentation

Wednesday August 26, 2026 10:00am - 10:20am CDT

Speakers

Rose Pajaroja-Villanueva

Happiness Engineer, Automattic

Wednesday August 26, 2026 10:00am - 10:20am CDT
Room 313 DePaul University - Lincoln Park Student Center, 2250 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL, US, 60614

Track Knowledge Management, Room 313