Call Center Campus – Day 1 – May 18, 2026 

8:00 AM – 8:50 AM: Breakfast 

9:00 AM – 9:30 AM: Official Welcome & Opening Remarks, Bruce Belfiore, CEO, BenchmarkPortal 

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM: Opening Keynote Prickly Truths: Leadership Readiness in the Age of AI Presented by Jim Iyoob and Melissa Wood, Etech Global Services / ets labs  

The AI pitch is smooth. The demos are polished. Nobody mentions the prickly parts.

Your supervisors will resist because they're scared. Your agents will find workarounds to avoid the AI. Your metrics will get worse before they get better, if they get better at all. The vendor's implementation team will disappear right when you need them most.

These are the conversations nobody wants to have during the sales process. But if you're not prepared for the sharp edges of AI implementation, you'll bleed budget, lose good people, and end up with expensive technology that sits unused.

This session addresses the uncomfortable realities of AI adoption that most conference speakers dance around. Not because we're pessimists, but because the contact centers that succeed are the ones willing to face hard truths early rather than discovering them six months into implementation.

Attendees Will Walk Away With:

• The leadership gaps that sink AI projects (that your current team likely has)
• Questions vendors hope you won't ask before signing
• Why your frontline leaders are your biggest risk and biggest asset
• A readiness framework that tells you if you're actually ready or just wishful thinking
• The real timeline for AI maturity (hint: it's longer than the vendor said)

10:30 AM – 11:00 AM: Mid-Morning Refreshment Break in Exhibit Hall

11:00 AM – 11:45AM:  Real-World Case Studies – Innovation in Action

12:00 PM: Lunch

1:00 PM – 1:45 PM – Real-World Case Studies – Innovation in Action

The Oasis Effect: Restoring Agent Faith in a Sea of Complaints Presented by Pam Reilly, Senior Manager of Customer Engagement, Waste Management

In a challenging Contact Center environment where every shift is a never ending line of complaints, frontline agents face constant pressure, negativity, and scrutiny. Behind the noise, however, are countless stories of impact, lives changed, and problems solved. Sadly, most of these positive calls often go unheard.

This session empowers leaders to restore belief and pride in their teams by highlighting the good, sharing real-life success stories, and turning frontline stress into purpose. Leaders will walk away with actionable strategies to:

• Amplify the positives: Capture and share the wins and impact your agents deliver every day.
• Balance the noise: Help your team see the bigger picture beyond complaints and errors.
• Build resilience and confidence: Equip agents to believe in themselves, the company, and the value they provide.
• Foster a culture of purpose: Transform frontline stress into engagement, retention, and pride.

Join us to learn how to create an environment where your teams feel inspired, empowered, and confident in the difference they make. 

1:50 PM – 2:35 PM – Real-World Case Studies – Innovation in Action

From Bots to Better Decisions: How AI Transformed Workforce Management Without Reducing Headcount Presented by Jennifer Springs, Director, Workforce Management, MAXIMUS

AI in workforce management is often framed as a threat to jobs but what if it’s actually the key to elevating your team’s impact?

In this real-world case study, Maximus shares how they successfully deployed AI-driven automation to eliminate some of the most time-consuming, manual workforce management tasks such as processing exemption requests and automatically updating attendance for sick calls workflows that previously generated hundreds, and at times thousands, of exceptions each week.

By automating this routine work, Maximus didn’t reduce headcount. Instead, they repurposed time and talent.

This session explores how their WFM team shifted focus from administrative “busy work” to higher-value initiatives, including:

• Trend analysis and forecasting
• Agent behavior and performance insights
• More informed, data-driven decision-making
• Proactive workforce strategies instead of reactive fire drills

Attendees will walk away with a practical understanding of how AI can be used to augment, not replace WFM teams, along with ideas for where to reinvest reclaimed time to drive better outcomes across the contact center.

2:45PM – 3:15 PM – Afternoon Refreshment Break

3:15 PM – 4:30 PM: Plenary Roundtable Activity Presented by Matt Jorat, Senior Customer Solutions Manager, Amazon Web Services

Call Center Campus – Day 2 – May 19, 2026

8:00 AM – 8:50 AM: Breakfast

9:00 AM – 9:45AM – Wrap Up Session from Day 1 Featuring Principles of Amazon’s Culture Presented by Matt Jorat, Senior Customer Solutions Manager, Amazon Web Services

9:45 AM – 10:30 AM: Day 2 Morning Keynote - Humanizing Help Presented by Jeff Toister, Toister Performance Solutions

Artificial intelligence is a wonderful thing. Many customers prefer AI-powered self

service for routine tasks. But there are still times when customers need human help!

This entertaining presentation shares three ways customer service should be

humanized and how human service can create a strategic advantage. Discover how

customer-focused organizations serve with humanity to deliver exceptional customer

experiences.

• Discover what makes humans uniquely good at service
• Identify situations where customers need human help
• Create a plan to make your service more humane

10:30 AM – Mid-Morning Coffee Break

11:00 AM – 11:45 AM – Real-World Case Studies – Innovation in Action

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: LUNCH

1:00 PM – 1:45PM – Real-World Case Studies – Innovation in Action

It’s an Oasis, Not a Mirage: Leading Through AI Pressure When Resources Are Scarce Presented by Cippy Seidler, Director, Consumer Care Center, Banner Health
As AI headlines promise instant transformation, many contact center leaders are left wondering if progress is only possible with unlimited budgets and enterprise-scale resources. When you’re operating with lean teams, tight funding, or mission-critical responsibilities, the pressure to “keep up” can feel overwhelming and the future can start to look like a mirage.

This session reframes the narrative. You’re not behind, you’re intentional. We’ll explore how leaders are finding real oases in the desert: making smart, practical AI decisions that fit their environment, reinforcing the critical role of human expertise, and renewing confidence across teams who are hearing nonstop change talk. Attendees will gain clarity on how to move forward without chasing hype, investing wisely, and creating sustainable progress that actually serves their customers, agents, and mission.

1:50PM – 2:35PM -  Roundtables Discussions

2:30PM– 3:00PM - Afternoon Refreshment Break

3:00PM– 3:40PM – Roundtables Discussions

3:45PM – 4:30PM – WRAP UP PLENARY

5:30PM – 6:30PM – Cocktail Reception

6:30 PM -  Grand Finale Dinner & Awards Ceremony Celebration

Final Day: Optional Workshops

The final day of Call Center Campus: Desert Oasis is all about turning inspiration into action.

Join us for optional workshops designed to take a deeper dive into the topics that matter most to you and your organization. These smaller, hands-on sessions provide personalized learning and practical takeaways you can immediately apply back at your contact center.

Whether you’re exploring AI Readiness, Contact Center Management leadership strategies, fine-tuning QA & Performance Metrics, or uncovering new ways to elevate the customer experience, these workshops offer the perfect way to wrap up your time in the desert.

As you head home, you’ll leave refreshed, refocused, and ready to lead with clarity and confidence empowered by the insights, connections, and energy of your Desert Oasis experience.