2026 Annual Conference -  Speakers

In August 2025, Dr. Shereef Elnahal became OHSU's sixth president. He previously served as Under Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, overseeing the nation's largest integrated health network and working with nearly 400,000 professionals to care for 9 million enrolled veterans. Earlier in his career he was President and CEO of University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, served as New Jersey's 21st Health Commissioner, and co-founded the VHA Innovation Ecosystem. He holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Twenty years ago, a leukemia diagnosis changed the course of Rob Shick's life. His keynote is a story of survival, gratitude, and purpose made possible through groundbreaking cancer research, and a reflection on what it means to invest in lifesaving discovery. A Managing Director at Baird, Rob has been in wealth management since 1985 and has spent much of his career supporting the research community that treated him. He is a past chairman and current member of the Knight Cancer Institute Council, served 12 years on the OHSU board, and has been instrumental in raising millions of dollars for cancer research.