Spring Meeting

LPA Spring Meeting
April 20-22, 2026
Francis Marion Hotel
Charleston, South Carolina

Registration is open for the 2026 LPA Spring Meeting, taking place April 20–22 at the Francis Marion Hotel in hitsoric downtown Charleston, South Carolina.

Enjoy ample networking opportunities during receptions & dinners, group outings, and throughout our focused education program, all designed to spark collaboration and actionable insights. Surrounded by Charleston’s charm and hospitality, this is the perfect setting to recharge, reconnect, and reimagine what’s next for your business.

Program Highlights Include:

A venture capital panel exploring how AI can be leveraged to accelerate and enhance product design and manufacturing.
A hands-on AI session focused on real-world applications.
An update from our government affairs consulting firm on the evolving legislative and regulatory landscape.
Insights from scientists at a local university offering a laboratory perspective on AI, funding, and research.
An optional Ghost Walk Tour through downtown Charleston.
And much more…

Additional program details will be available soon.

Brief Schedule
Monday, April 20
6:00-8:00 PM Welcome Reception

Tuesday, April 21
6:00-7:30 AM Morning Meet-Up, sponsored by the Women's Forum Committee
7:30-9:15 AM Breakfast/registration
9:00AM-4:00 PM General Session
11:45-1:15 PM Networking Lunch
5:00-7:30:00 PM Reception & Dinner
7:30-10:00 PM Ghost & Cocktails Historical Walking Tour

Wednesday, April 22
8:00-9:00 AM Breakfast
9:00-11:30 General Session
11:30 AM Meeting Adjourns

LPA Registration rates
1st Member Attendee $1,165
2nd Attendee $ 995
3rd Attendee $ 895
Non-Member $1,300
Spouse/Guest $ 250 (Spouse/Guest fees include all receptions and dinners)
Ghost Tour $ 120

Register Here or Download the PDF

About the Hotel
Francis Marion Hotel
387 King Street
Charleston, SC 29403
(843) 606-5730
LPA Member Rate: $289
Reservations: (843) 722-0600 or 1-877-756-2121
Check in: 4pm
Check out: 12pm
Reserve Your Room Online

ABOUT THE OPTIONAL OUTING
Guests will enjoy a 2.5-hour walking tour focusing on Charleston ghost stories, legends, burial practices, alcohol and prohibition history.

We will visit two bars for a craft cocktail at each location, as well as visit the oldest graveyard in the city! The tour guides will provide narration throughout the tour, which is provided by Bulldog Tours.

About the Speakers

Rich Brooks
Founder & PResident
flyte new media

AI for Leadership: A Guide for 2026 and Beyond
AI is evolving fast—and so are the expectations on your team to keep up. In this session focused on managers, supervisors, and leaders, Rich Brooks will demystify where AI stands today, where it’s heading, and what business leaders need to understand to guide their teams through it.

You’ll get a clear, hype-free view of the AI landscape, including:

•   Real-world use cases in sales, marketing, and operations
•   The hidden risks and ethical landmines (job loss, data security, and beyond)
•   How to roll out AI without freaking out your team
•   Practical ways to turn AI into a competitive edge—no matter your size or budget

Whether you're leading AI conversations or just trying to catch up, this session will give you the clarity, confidence, and context to lead smarter AI decisions in 2026.

Integrating AI into Sales & Marketing Workflows
Time to bridge the gap from parlor tricks to actual workflow enhancements.

This half-day workshop is designed to do just that. It’s not about theory or buzzwords—it’s about how you and your team can integrate AI into your actual workflows to drive efficiency, improve outcomes, and stay human in the process.

Whether you're in marketing, sales, or leadership, you'll walk away with a clear sense of how AI can help you think smarter, create faster, and deliver better results—without losing your brand voice or your sanity.

What You’ll Learn:
•   How (and where) to integrate AI into your marketing & sales workflows
•   How to protect and project your brand voice in an AI-assisted world
•   Where AI adds the most value (and where it doesn’t)
•   The impact of AI on SEO and how to stay relevant and visible
•   How to stand out when AI is writing everyone’s content
•   How to maintain human connection in automated communication

Whether you’re using AI every day or have yet to dip your toe in the water, you’ll walk away for this Spring Meeting with actionable lessons that you can put to work for you and your team.

About Rich
Rich Brooks is founder and president of flyte new media, a digital agency in Portland, Maine, that’s been in business for over 28 years. He is a nationally recognized speaker on entrepreneurship, digital marketing, and social media.

He founded The Agents of Change, an annual conference and weekly podcast that focuses on search, social & mobile marketing.

Rich is the author of The Lead Machine: The Small Business Guide to Digital Marketing, a popular and well-received book that helps entrepreneurs and marketers reach more of their ideal customers online.

He appears regularly as the “tech guru” on the evening news show, 207, which airs on the NBC affiliates in Maine. He has also appeared in Inc. Magazine, The Huffington Post, FastCompany.com, CNN.com, the Social Media Examiner, and many other news sources for stories on digital marketing.

Jessica H. Hartman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Department of Regenerative Medicine & Cell Biology
Medical University of South Carolina
CRI504D (lab) | CRI516 (office)
https://www.thehartmanlab.org

About Jessica
Dr. Hartman received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, AR. Following her postdoctoral training in Environmental Toxicology at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University in Durham, NC, Dr. Hartman joined the MUSC faculty this year as a new member of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department.

Dr. Hartman has a long-running interest in metabolism, and has made important contributions to the field of xenobiotic metabolism through her studies of the mammalian enzyme cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1). Her dissertation work focused on the endoplasmic reticulum-localized form of this enzyme (microsomal CYP2E1), enzymatic cooperativity in its metabolism of substrates, and its interaction with inhibitor ligands. More recently, she shifted her specific focus to mitochondrially-targeted CYP2E1 and its unique role in endogenous metabolism, cell signaling, and the deleterious production of reactive metabolites within mitochondria. Going forward, the Hartman lab will focus on how damage to mitochondrial macromolecules caused by these reactive metabolites contributes to the progression of diseases like alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver.

The Hartman Laboratory is also interested in determining how lifestyle factors such as diet, alcohol/drug use, and exercise alter metabolism to impact toxicity from environmental exposures, with a special focus on mitochondrial toxicity and ER stress. She is currently funded by a K99/R00 grant from NIEHS to study how exercise reprograms metabolism to impact toxicity from exposures using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans.

The Hartman Lab will use a combination of cell culture, C. elegans, and ex-vivo mammalian studies, to uncover mechanisms underlying inter-individual toxicity from exposures by better understanding how lifestyle factors change metabolism.

Jim Twaddell
Senior Policy Advisor
Venable LLP

Regulatory & Legislative Update

Senior Policy Advisor of the Government Affairs consulting firm Venable LLP, Jim will provide a robust, bipartisan presentation with political insights and strategies on how to navigate the federal government.

About Jim
Jim Twaddell leverages an in-depth understanding of the processes and politics that drive decision-making in Washington, DC to develop and execute effective government relations agendas and campaigns. An experienced lobbyist at the federal level and a former senior staffer in the U.S. Senate, Jim skillfully navigates legislative issues related to healthcare policy, federal appropriations funding, grassroots initiatives, and advocacy training.

In the healthcare space, Jim represents the interests of hospitals and health systems, nonprofit voluntary health organizations, physicians, and allied health professional societies, and provides strategic counsel on legislative, regulatory policy, political, and advocacy issues. He directly engages members of Congress and their staff to advance authorization legislation, secure increased federal appropriations funding, and work with federal agencies on regulatory policies. Jim previously worked as the associate director of government affairs at a national organization for academic nursing. He acted as the lead lobbyist for appropriations, healthcare policy, higher education, and veterans’ affairs issues.

Jim also served as the deputy director of communications and a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), playing a key role in shaping the senator’s legislative and political strategy. He managed daily communication and coordination of policy issues with Senator Specter’s personal office staff; the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittees; and the Senate Veteran’s Affairs Committee, on which Senator Specter served as chairman.

Not sure what to expect? Click the picture below for pictures of past LPA meetings on our Facebook Page.

Can't wait to see your colleagues again? Click the picture below for pictures from past LPA meetings on our Facebook Page.