10 Reasons to Join Us October 3 for CMSA’s Virtual Leadership Conference
By Janet S. Coulter, MSN, MS, RN, CCM, FCM
The Case Management Society of America’s 2nd Annual Virtual Leadership Conference is back, and this year’s conference is designed to inspire, challenge, energize, and equip case management professionals at every stage of their leadership journey. Whether you are already leading a team, just stepping into leadership, thinking about becoming a leader someday, or have never considered yourself a leader at all, this conference has something for you.
Here is something we sometimes forget: case managers are leaders. Every day, we advocate, collaborate, solve problems, influence decisions, navigate complexity, and bring people together.
On October 3, 2026, CMSA is bringing together outstanding presenters, timely topics, practical strategies, and fresh ideas for an exciting day devoted to helping us become stronger leaders.
Need another reason to register? Here are 10!
1. You Will Discover the Leader You Already Are!
Leadership is not a job title or a position on an organizational chart. It happens every time a case manager advocates for a patient, brings an interdisciplinary team together, identifies a barrier, challenges the status quo, mentors a colleague, or finds a solution when the path forward is not clear. CMSA’s Virtual Leadership Conference recognizes that you do not have to be “the boss” to be a leader. This conference is an opportunity to discover, strengthen, and intentionally use the leadership skills you already have.
2. You Will Find a Leadership Track Designed for You!
Two Tracks Mean You Can Choose the Leadership Experience That Fits You. One size does not fit all when it comes to leadership development. That is why this year’s conference offers both a New Leader Track and an Advanced Leader Track. New leaders can strengthen foundational skills in areas such as performance management, ethics, financial management, and leading remote teams. Experienced leaders can explore financial strategy, return on investment, strategic leadership, workforce issues, mentorship, succession planning, and purposeful organizational change. Wherever you are on your leadership journey, you can choose the path that helps take you where you want to go next.
3. You Will Experience the Power of Interdisciplinary Leadership!
Case management has never been a solo sport, and neither is leadership. The conference opens with “Leveraging the Interdisciplinary Diverse Workforce,” featuring Ellen Fink-Samnick, DBH, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, CCM, CCTP, CRP, FCM; Thomas F. Fisher, PhD, OTRL, CCM, FAOTA; Jeffery Gonzales, PharmD, MS, BCPS, CDCES, PDE-C, AE-C, HF-Cert, DPLA; Colleen Morley, DNP, RN, CCM, CMAC, CMGT-BC, CMCN, ACM-RN, FCM, FAACM; Michele O’Brien, MSW, LCSW, CCM, FCM; and Patricia Resnik, MJ, FACHE, RRT, CPHQ, CHC, CHPC, CMAC, BCPA. Different disciplines bring different experiences, knowledge, and perspectives to the table, but we share one important goal which is creating stronger teams, stronger leadership, and better outcomes.
4. You Will Learn How to Demonstrate the Value of Case Management!
We know case management makes a difference, but today’s leaders must also be able to demonstrate that difference. The Advanced Leader session “Financial Strategy for Case Management Leaders: Driving Value & Return on Investment (ROI) in Case Management” features Alan Boardman, LMSW, ACM-SW; Mark Evans, MA, CCM, CRC, CLCP, CBIS, FCM; Patricia Noonan, MBA, RN, CCM, CDP, FCM; and Lisa Simmons-Fields, DNP, MSA, RN, CCM, CPHQ, FCM. This important conversation will help leaders connect the work of case management to organizational priorities, quality, utilization, outcomes, cost, and return on investment. If you have ever been asked, “How do we demonstrate the value of case management?” this is a session you will want to hear.
5. You Will Gain Leadership Skills You Can Use on Monday Morning!
Great conferences should do more than inspire us; they should give us knowledge and strategies we can actually use when we return to work. The New Leader Performance Management session with Theresa Shotton, MSN, RN, CCM and Lisa Parker Williams, DNP, MBA, RN, CCM focuses on one of the most important and sometimes most challenging transitions new leaders face: moving from managing their own work to coaching, supporting, developing, and evaluating others. This is practical professional development with a purpose.
Learn it on Saturday, think about it Sunday, and use it Monday!
6. You Will Put Ethics Where It Belongs - At the Heart of Leadership!
Leadership comes with responsibility. In “Ethical Leadership at Scale: Building a Culture of Integrity in Case Management,” Ellen Fink-Samnick and Colleen Morley explore what it means to create and sustain an organizational culture where ethical practice is not simply discussed but lived. Case management leaders navigate competing priorities, limited resources, complex systems, complex decisions, and changing expectations every day. Policies matter. Metrics matter. Outcomes matter. But the values and integrity behind our decisions matter, too. Ethical leadership provides a compass that helps us remain focused on our responsibilities to patients, families, colleagues, organizations, and our profession.
7. You Will Explore What Leadership Looks Like in a Remote World!
Remote and hybrid work have changed case management, and leadership must evolve with it. The on-demand New Leader session “Remote Case Management: Leading, Engaging, and Delivering Results in a Virtual Care Environment” brings together Donna Todd, MSN, RN-BC, CCM; Jeff Crofoot, RN, MSN, CMCN, ACM, CCM; Lisa Parker Williams, DNP, MBA, RN, CCM; Janet Coulter, MSN, MS, RN, CCM, FCM; and Jacki Snyder, BSN, RN, CCM, CBIS. How do we build strong teams when people rarely share the same room? How do we recognize disengagement, maintain accountability, develop trust, support newer generations, manage performance, and preserve a sense of connection and culture? Remote leadership is not simply about recreating the office through a computer screen. It requires us to find new and meaningful ways to lead.
8. You Will Help Build the Next Generation of Case Management Leaders!
One of the greatest measures of leadership may not be what we accomplish ourselves, but who we help become leaders next. The Advanced Leader on-demand session “Mentorship & Succession Planning in Case Management,” presented by Tiffany Ferguson, LMSW, CMAC, ACM, ACPA-C and Colleen Morley, focuses on developing future leaders and preparing our profession for what comes next. In addition, “Strategic Leadership in Case Management: Staying Current to Drive Value Across the Care Continuum,” presented by Lisa Simmons-Fields and Tricia Wise, MBA, BSN, CCM, challenges leaders to remain informed, adaptable, and prepared for an ever-changing healthcare environment. Leadership is not only about managing today. It is about leaving tomorrow stronger than we found it.
9. You Will Earn Continuing Education While Learning Your Way!
Case managers are busy, and flexibility matters. The conference offers 7 continuing education credits for RN, SW, CCM, CDMS, and CNLCP credentials, with additional CPHQ credit available for the Advanced Track. Because the conference is offered live and on-demand, learning does not have to end on October 3rd. You can participate in the excitement of the live event and then revisit sessions, catch something you missed, or continue learning at a time that works for you. It is professional development designed to fit into the realities of today's busy case management world.
10. You Will be Reenergized!
Leaders spend so much time supporting others that we sometimes forget leaders need opportunities for support, inspiration, connection, and renewal, too. The conference closes with Melanie Prince, EdD, MSS, MSN, BSN, RN, NE-BC, CCM, FCM, FAAN presenting “From Saturated to Steady: How Case Management Leaders Turn Social Spillover in a Culture of Purposeful Change.” It is a fitting conclusion to a day devoted to leadership because leadership today cannot simply be about doing more. It must also be about creating purpose, building connections, helping people navigate change, and creating environments where individuals and teams can do their best work. Sometimes we need to step away from our everyday responsibilities long enough to learn something new, hear a different perspective, reconnect with colleagues, and remember why we chose to lead in the first place.
A-N-D October 3 Is Just the Beginning!
There is one more reason to be excited about October 3. CMSA’s Virtual Leadership Conference helps kick off a month of celebration leading into National Case Management Week, October 11–17, 2026, when we celebrate “Reconnect. Recognize. Reignite. Rise. Celebrating Us!”
What better way to begin than by investing in us - our knowledge, our leadership, our colleagues, our profession, and our future?
So, what are you doing on October 3?
If you are an experienced leader, join us. If you are a new leader, join us. If you hope to become a leader, join us. And if you have never thought of yourself as a leader, join us.
Learn. Connect. Lead. Advance Care.
The future of case management needs strong leaders. And that future includes YOU.
See you on October 3!
Participate live, learn on demand, or combine both to fit your schedule.
Learn more and register: https://bit.ly/4x5rdVd
Bio: Bio: Janet Coulter, MSN, MS, RN, CCM, FCM is immediate past President of CMSA. She is a transplant case manager with a wide variety of experiences including educator, administrator, team leader, and Director of Case Management. Janet holds a Master of Science in Nursing from West Virginia University and a Master of Science in Adult Education from Marshall University. She has published many articles in CMSA Today and the Professional Case Management Journal and served as a reviewer for the Core Curriculum for Case Management Third Edition. She has served as President-Elect of CMSA, Chair of the CMSA Today Editorial Board, Chair of the Nominations Committee, and Vice-President of the CMSA Foundation board. Janet was the recipient of the CMSA National Award of Service Excellence and Southern Ohio Valley CMSA Case Management Leadership award and was recently inducted as a Case Management Fellow from CMSA.