
Conference Schedule
Get ready for an exciting week of learning and connection! Below, you'll find our visual conference schedule for the entire week, giving you a quick overview of all the engaging sessions ahead. And you will find our Learning Journey sessions, ready for you to register!
To help you navigate, we've also provided a detailed list of our unique Pre-Conference Learning Journeys, insightful AINx Talks, and engaging Workshops. Dive in and start planning your personalized experience!
Please note that this schedule is tentative and subject to change. We're committed to providing you with the best possible experience, and we'll promptly update attendees on any adjustments to the schedule. We also will have an official Google Calendar for our attendees to use.
Please read the following information below and if you have questions, please email us directly at [email protected].
Click here to return to the main conference page.

Conference Sessions
Keynote Speeches:
- Maria Schaedler-Luera - The Resilient Protagonist: Tools for Navigating Uncertainty with Creativity and Care
- Andrew Tarvin - Humor That Works: The Missing Skill for Success and Happiness at Work
Performance by:
- Will Luera - Resonance: A Tapestry in Motion
- Brent Darnell - Stop Pulling Your Hair Out by Building in Recovery!
- Ted DesMaisons and Raymond van Driel - Werewolves and Zombies and Oh, My!
- Sunita Deshpande - Corporate Detox.
- Sandi Gansel RN, CRRN, CNLCP - Your Journey to AWESOMENESS
- Erica Marx - Inclusive Facilitation: Improvisation, Intention, and Shared Leadership
- Andrea Montuschi and Marco Villa - Re-authoring Your Work: An Improvisational Journey in Job Crafting
- Jonathan Pitts - Coaching The Coaches
AINx Talks:
- Kat Koppett and Bård Brænde - Asynch & Alive: Keeping the Heart of Improv in Self-Paced Learning
- Andrea Montuschi - A Gallery of Growth: Curating a Thriving Workforce Through Artistic Insights
- Jennifer Strouf - Once upon a time I failed...how I learned to love failure and why you should be ready to fail too.
- Dave Tarvin - The Rhetoric of Humor
- Matt Weinstein - Give Yourself A Standing Ovation!
- Dawn Wisher - AI Meets AI: What Artificial Intelligence Can't Teach, Applied Improv Can
Workshops:
- Ilene Bergelson - Shaking Hands with Ourselves: harmonious embodiment for an improvised life
- Elizabeth Bojsza - "ADAPTing" to participant distress
- Corean Canty, Yoshee Sodiq, and Peter Williamson - Behind the Game: How Improv Structures Shape Learning and Insight
- Brent Darnell - H2H (Humand to Human): How to Transform Our Future by Focusing on People and What Connects Us as Humans
- Sunita Deshpande - Uplifted Voices, Unscripted Power: Improv for WOC, BIPOC, and EVERYBODY in a DEI-Threatened Era.
- Chris Esparza, Laura Osteen - Bring a Brick: Using LEGO® Serious Play® for Leadership And Connection
- Robin Fox - Grow Through What You Go Through: Improvising a Growth Mindset
- Sandi Gansel RN, CRRN, CNLCP - Positive Communication in Dementia/Altered Mental Care with Improvisation
- Karelisa Hartigan, Karen Jacoby, Sally Kimberly, and Shanti Vani - Improv for Adults in Diverse Settings
- Steve Hughes - TELL ME MORE: Creating Interest in Applied Improvisation with Everyone You Meet
- Kat Koppett - How to Create a Motivating Environment - with and for Improvisation
- Richard Laible and William Hall - Improv Pioneers Del Close & Keith Johnstone at Work: Foundational Tools for Applied Improvisation
- Carrie Klewin Lawrence and Joann Yarrow - What's Next?: The Phoenix
- Marc Levine - The Art of Receiving Feedback Without Shrinking, Defending, or Exploding (An Applied Improv Approach to Receiving Feedback)
- Craig Price - Improv for Communication Skills, an applied improv curriculum designed to teach powerful communication skills to students with autism ages 8-80.
- Amy Ressler - Building Community and Connection Through Applied Improvisation: A Case Study from NERDS Camp
- Wieslaw Rocki - Uplift your health by unlocking awareness of your resilience formed with improvisation.
- Max Schafer and David Hepburn - Musical Improv For Everybody
- Yael Schy - The OTHER A.I.--Appreciative Inquiry Techniques for Applied Improv Practitioners
- Matt Weinstein - Games for Personal Growth, Self-Discovery, and Connection
- Xuan Zhao - Grab & Go Chinese: Improv Your Way to Basic Chat! (No Improv or Chinese Experience Needed!)
Learning Journey Selections - Register for Learning Journeys


LJ #4 Werewolves and Zombies and Oh, My! Presenters: Ted DesMaisons & Raymond van Driel
Date: Thursday, July 31st
Time: 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
Description: Have you heard the saying “the exercise is just an excuse for the debrief”? If that’s true, then having Applied Improv activities that reliably generate deep intrigue and insight makes us all better facilitators.
In this half-day session, we’ll introduce two fantastic, monster-themed multi-level activities that offer a ton of fun and sponsor boatloads of discussion. With whatever remaining time we’ve got, we’ll bring in a couple other applied improv gems that work with magical properties as well.
Come join us for an afternoon of communication, critical thinking, and collaborative leadership while we navigate trust, persuasion, and uncertainty. Listen closely, work strategically, and adapt your approach—just like you would in any complex changing environment!
Can you save your village from the Zombies and Werewolves?
Click here to register for this Learning Journey.

LJ #5 Stop Pulling Your Hair Out by Building in Recovery! Presenter: Brent Darnell
Date: Thursday, July 31st
Time: 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
Description: We live in a highly stressful world. We are starting to see the effects of living and working with these high levels of stress. So, how do we positively manage this stress? How do we work at our highest levels of peak mental, physical, and emotional performance? Welcome to Stress Management for Peak Performance: Stop Pulling Your Hair Out by Building in Recovery. This learning journey helps you understand the impact of stress on your body and how to implement simple techniques and lifestyle choices to maintain optimal performance and create a life that is not dominated by stress.
Click here to register for this Learning Journey.

LJ #6 Corporate Detox Presenter: Sunita Deshpande
Date: Thursday, July 31st
Time: 1:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Description: Corporate Detox is a no-bullshit learning journey for people who’ve been chewed up by corporate culture and are ready to reclaim their voice, creativity, and self-worth. Through applied improv, reflection, and embodied practice, we help you shed the residue of toxic systems—whether that’s ageism, anti-DEI backlash, silent sabotage, or just years of being told you’re “too much” or not enough.-Detox The Boss-Circle Back Never-PTO: Post-Toxic Optimism-Escorting HR Out-DEI: Defy Expectations Instantly. It's anything but career coaching. It's your LinkedIn exploding, and the person who was always behind it reappearing into the world, on their terms. HR was built to protect the company. Not you. So where’s your class? The one that helps you process the layoff, the burnout, the politics, the gaslighting? It’s this one.
Click here to register for this Learning Journey.

LJ #7 Re-authoring Your Work: An Improvisational Journey in Job Crafting Presenters: Andrea Montuschi and Marco Villa
Date: Thursday, July 31st
Time: 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Description: This interactive workshop introduces Creative Job Crafting, empowering individuals to proactively redesign their work for greater meaning and satisfaction. Participants analyse their work, identifying energising and draining factors, and explore their passions. The session guides attendees through Task, Relational, and Cognitive Crafting, developing personalised strategies to modify tasks, reimagine workplace relationships, and reframe their professional contribution. Integrating applied improvisation principles, this workshop provides actionable techniques for a more fulfilling work experience.
Click here to register for this Learning Journey.
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