Putting Care at the Center is the annual conference of our National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs.

It is the only dedicated venue for members of the complex care field to learn, network, and create a shared agenda for improving care for people with complex needs.

Our conference is interprofessional and cross-sector by design. Attendees work in a diverse range of sectors and institutions and include:

• healthcare and social service providers,
• policymakers,
• researchers,
• advocates,
• complex care consumers and caregivers,
• and more.

Putting Care at the Center is held in a different city each year, co-hosted with a local organization. Former conference locales and hosts include:

• 2016 – Philadelphia
• 2017 – Los Angeles, co-hosted with Kaiser Permanente
• 2018 – Chicago, co-hosted with Rush University Medical Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• 2019 – Memphis, co-hosted with Regional One Health
• 2020 & 2021 – virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• 2022 – Sacramento, co-hosted with Adventist Health
• 2023 – Boston, co-hosted with Commonwealth Care Alliance and the Center to Advance Community Partnership
• 2024 – Pittsburgh, co-hosted with UPMC Health Plan
• 2025 – Portland OR, co-hosted with CareOregon

About Putting Care at the Center 2026

Co-hosted with Kaiser Permanente, this year’s event will take place October 14-16 in Oakland, California at the Oakland Marriott City Center.

For the latest updates on Putting Care at the Center 2026, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and sign up for our newsletter. Join the conversation by using #CenteringCare26.

This year’s conference theme

The theme of Putting Care at the Center 2026 is Sustaining progress, building the future.

Committee members

External Advisory Committee

• Michelle Wong — Kaiser Permanente (2026 co-host)
• Vanessa Davis  — Kaiser Permanente (2026 co-host)
• Fanny Tsang  — Kaiser Permanente (2026 co-host)
• Mariana Saenz — Kaiser Permanente (2026 co-host)
• Jodie Bryk — University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
• Alexandra De Kesel Loftus — ADKL Consulting
• LaKeesha Dumas —  None Left Behind
• Bonnie Ewald — Center for Health and Social Care Integration, RUSH University Medical Center
• Jim Hickman — Hickman Strategies
• Stephen Hoy — PFCC Partners
• Melinda Karp — The Center to Advance Consumer Partnership
• Christopher Menschner — Center for Health Care Strategies
• Kathy Stillo
• Alayna Tillman — Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center

Regional Advisory Committee

• Kelly Bennett — Community HealthWorks
• Bryan Bucklew — Hospital Council – Northern & Central CA
• Allie Budenz — California Primary Care Association
• Jeremy Cantor — JSI
• Carla Carvalho — Homebase
• Kym Centaro — National Consumer Scholar
• Lisa Chan-Sawin — Transform Health
• Amanda Clarke — California Health Care Safety Net Institute
• Rebecca Cormack — Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health
• Vanessa Davis — Kaiser Permanente
• Fred Dillon — UC Berkeley School of Public Health Social Impact Innovation Program
• Ashley Downend — Safe & Sound
• Dana Durham — CA DHCS
• Pegah Faed — Safe & Sound
• Caroline Fichtenberg — UCSF siren
• Damon Francis — Homeless Health Center at Alameda Health System
• Michai Freeman — Camden Coalition National Consumer Scholar
• Leticia Galyean — Seneca Family of Agencies
• Jurema Gobena — CommonSpirit Health
• Tasha Henneman — PRC
• Holly Henry — Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health
• Jim Hickman — Hickman Strategies
• Clemens Hong — LA County
• Sarah Hooper — UCSF – UC Law
• Kelly Horan — UC Berkeley School of Public Health Social Impact Innovation Program
• Julie Howell — HHSA – San Diego
• Ana Jackson — The California Endowment
• Ashley Jackson — UCSF
• Angela James — Camden Coalition National Consumer Scholar
• Erika Jewell — Rady Children’s Hospital
• Brian Li — CommonSpirit Health
• Lawrence Lincoln — Camden Coalition National Consumer Scholar
• Lilly MacRae — Alameda Health
• Glasha Marcon — HealthBegins
• Sunita  Mutha  — University of San Francisco
• Michael Negrete — Samuel Merritt
• Don Novo — HMA
• Jenn Oakley — Camden Coalition National Consumer Scholar
• Rea Pañares — CACHI
• Ray Pedden — Center for Care Innovations
• Lauren Pennachio — Intrepid Ascent
• Susan  Philip — CA DHCS
• Jeannette Rodriguez — Alameda County Health Housing and Homelessness Services
• Rebecca Rozen — Hospital Council – Northern & Central CA
• Grace Rubenstein — HealthBegins
• David Rubin — UC Regents
• Michelle Schneidermann — CA Health Care Foundation
• Camille Schraeder — Full Circle Health
• Jenna Shankman — Family Caregiver Alliance
• June Simmons — Partners in Care Foundation
• Earl Simms — Restorative Community Solutions
• Gerson Sorto — NLSLA
• Edith Stowe — Manatt Health
• Mila Stublefield — Native American Health Center
• Alexis Taylor — Transform Health
• Sadena Thevarajah — HealthBegins
• Alayna Tillman — CA Coalition of Family Caregivers
• Fanny   Tsang — Kaiser Permanente
• Erin Westphal — SCAN Foundation
• Claudia Williams — UC Berkeley School of Public Health Social Impact Innovation Program
• Charles Windon — UCSF – Memory and Aging Center
• Michelle Wong — Kaiser Permanente