Wednesday, October 14, 2026
5:00 – 7:00 pm Early Registration
Thursday, October 15, 2026
7:30 am – 4:30 pm Registration Desk Open
7:30 am – 4:30 pm Vendor Exhibits Open
7:30 – 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
8:30 – 10:15 am Welcome & Opening Keynote – Death Be Not Proud. But Not Humble Either.
Victoria Sweet, MD, PhD
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California San Francisco
Grace Dammann, MD
Medical Director, Pain Clinic, Laguna Honda Hospital
10:15 – 10:45 am Break with Exhibitors
10:45 – 11:45 am Breakout Sessions I
Advance Care Planning in Dementia: Preparing for Critical Decisions
Esther J. Luo, MD, Outpatient Palliative Care Physician Lead, The Permanente Medical Group, Santa Clara Medical Center
Sandy Trieu, MD, HMDC, Hospice and Palliative Medicine Physician, ANX Hospice
Too Poor to Die: Inequity, Homelessness, and the Hidden Realities of End-of-Life Care
Chris Erdman, DMin, Director, Mission Advancement/Center of Loss & Hope, YoloCares
Amy Shea, MFA, DFA, Essayist and author
The Art of Letting Go: A Narrative Medicine Journey with Ketamine-Assisted Therapy
Michael D. Fratkin, MD, FAAHPM, Palliative and Psychedelic Care Physician, Institute for Rural Psychedelic Care
Carrie Griffin, DO, SEP, Founder, Center for New Growth & Institute for Rural Psychedelic Care
Reframing Care for Unrepresented Residents
Yarin Ascencio, MSW, Health Program Manager II, Office of Long-Term Care Patient Representative, California Department of Aging
Emergency Hospice Regulation Update
Chelsea Driscoll, California Department of Public Health
Braden Oparowski, California Department of Public Health
Empowering Families for Complex Transitions from Pediatric to Adult Care (Pediatric Track)
Kimberly Bower, MD, HMDC, FAAHPM, Attending Physician, Rady Children's Health and Pediatric Medical Director, The Elizabeth Hospice
Debra Lotstein, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Center for Healthy Adolescent Transition, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
Stephanie Schmitt, MD, Medical Director of Pediatric Palliative Care, Rady Children's Health
11:45 am – 12:45 pm Networking Lunch
1:00 – 1:45 pm Interactive Sessions
1:45 – 2:00 pm Break
2:00 – 3:00 pm Breakout Session II
Honoring What Matters Most for Nursing Home Patients
Zoe Sutton, MSN, Director, Managerial Consulting, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Hannah Whitehead, MS, RN, GNP-BC, Clinical Practice Leader, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Monica Guo, MPH, Senior Managerial Consultant, Kaiser Permanenten Northern California
Aveline Belle, RN, BSN, Nurse Manager, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
When Advance Care Planning Breaks Down: A Practical Framework Grounded in Relational Autonomy and Informed Non-Dissent
Chris Onderdonk, MSW, LCSW, APHSW-C, Palliative Care Social Worker, UC San Diego Health
Kyle Edmonds, MD, FAAHPM, Clinical Professor, UC San Diego Health Sciences
Rebuilding the Healthcare Workforce Pipeline Through Community Collaboration
Alexis Oberlander, Senior Program Manager, By the Bay Health
Robertina Szolarova, RN, MS, Chief Administrative Officer, By the Bay Health
Jesse Madsen, Director, College and Career Readiness, Marin County Office of Education
There's No Place Like Home: Pediatric Extubation Outside the Hospital (Pediatric Track)
David M. Steinhorn, MD, Pediatric Hospice Medical Director, Hinds Lifecare/Hinds Kids
Alexis Morvant, MD, MA, FAAP, FAAHPM, John A. Kriewall and Elizabeth A. Haehl Director for Palliative Care/Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Stanford University
3:00 – 3:30 pm Break with Exhibitors
3:30 – 5:00 pm General Session – ACP Innovation Award
Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, PhD, Chauncey Stillman Distinguished Professor of Practical Ethics, Duke University
Jaden Sacks, Pre-med student, Duke University
Friday, October 16, 2026
7:00 – 8:15 am Special POLST Champions Breakfast Session (by invitation only)
7:30 am – 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
7:30 am – 2:00 pm Vendor Exhibits Open
7:30 am – 4:30 pm Registration Desk Open
8:30 – 9:45 am Welcome Back & General Session – Hospice Quality Panel Presentation
Garo Harmandayan, MD, Hospice & Palliative Medicine Physician, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cordt Kassner, PhD, VP, Data Science & Research, 1520ai / CEO, Hospice Analytics
9:45 – 10:15 am CCCC Update
Jennifer Moore Ballentine, MA, CEO, Coalition for Compassionate Care of California
10:15 – 10:30 am Break
10:30 – 11:30 am Breakout Session III
Operationalizing Advance Care Planning as Infrastructure Across Care Settings
Jessica Zan, RN, BSN, MAMFC, Vice President, Clinical Implementations & Success, MyDirectives
Cross-Sector Partnerships to Improve Serious Illness Equity Among Chinese Americans
Cynthia X. Pan, MD, Co-Exective Director, Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care
Grant Smith, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Stanford Medicine
Jean Yih, MBA, Medical Interpreter/Past Board President, Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care
Jeanne Wun, Past Board Chair, Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care
I Love a Good Story: Narrative Medicine in Palliative Care
Jeffrey Yee, MD, Division Head, Supportive and Palliative Care, Mercy Medical Group, CommonSpirit Health
Noriko Watson, DO, Supportive and Palliative Care Team Physician, Mercy Medical Group, CommonSpirit Health
Dilraj Kaur, DO, MPH, Interal Medicine Resident Physician, Mercy San Juan Medical Center, CommonSpirit Health
Heather Kelly, NP, Nurse Practitioner Palliative Care, Mercy Medical Group, CommonSpirit Health
Empower: Strengthening Communication and Assessment for Patients With Intellectual Disabilities
Colleen Vega, DNP, RN, CNS, ACHPN, Lead Advance Practice Provider, Inpatient Palliative Care and Hospice, Stanford Health Care
Felicia Hui, MD, Physician, Stanford Health Care
Kelsey Hansen, LCSW, Palliative Care Social Worker, Stanford Health Care
Pain Points and Pathways in Pediatric Palliative Care (Pediatric Track)
Margy Mayfield, RN, BSN, CEO, Coastal Kids Home Care
Stephanie Gonzalez, MSW, LCSW, Director, Palliative Care and Enhanced Care Management, Coastal Kids Home Care
11:30 am – 12:30 pm Lunch
12:30 – 1:30 pm Poster Session and Exhibitor Networking
1:30 – 2:30 pm Breakout Session IV
Beyond Self-Care: Building Team and System Responsibility for Clinician Wellness
Kimberly Bower, MD, HMDC, FAAHPM, Attending Physician, Rady Children's Health and Pediatric Medical Director, The Elizabeth Hospice
Gary Buckholz, MD, HMDC, FAAHPM, Affiliate Faculty Director, Institute for Empathy and Compassion at UCSD
JoAnne Auger, RN, CHPPN, Caritas Coach, Rady Children's Health San Diego
Compassion-Driven Compliance: Hospice Care for Aid-in-Dying Patients
Jessica Kaan, DO, MPH, Medical Director & Hospice Physician, End of Life Washington
Kevin J. Malone, JD, Senior Counsel, Epstein Becker & Green, PC
Thalia DeWolf, RN, CHPN, PHN, Director of Nurse Education and Hospice Outreach, The Academy of Aid-in-Dying Medicine
The Power of Palliative Nurse Champions
Jeannette (Jeannie) Meyer, MSN, APRN, CNS, CCRN, CCNS, PCCN, ACHPN, FCNS, Palliative Clinical Nurse Specialist, UCLA Health
Building a Hospice Collaborative to Facilitate End-of-Life Care
Neil Wenger, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services, UCLA Health
Jessica Kaltman, MD, Palliative Care Physician, UCLA Health
Anna Chirra, MD, Physician, UCLA Health
Transforming Pediatric Palliative Care Through Community and Academic-Medical Center Partnerships (Pediatric Track)
Justin Baker, MD, FAAP, FAAHPM, Chief, Stanford School of Medicine, Division of Quality of Life and Pediatric Palliative Care
Shekinah Eliassen, MBA, CEO, George Mark Children's House
David Cogswell, Director of Business Design, The Holding Co.
Tom McNalley, MD, MA, Medical Director, George Mark Children's House
2:30 – 2:45 pm Break
2:45 – 4:00 pm Closing General Session – Palliative Care at a Crossroads
Diane E. Meier, MD, FACP, FAAHPM
Director Emerita and Strategic Medical Advisor, Center to Advance Palliative Care