We’re heading back to San Francisco to celebrate a decade of URx with the community that built it. Early Bird tickets for URx 2026 go on sale Dec 4 at 9 AM ET.
Schedule
All Times Pacific Standard Time
Welcome
Wahab Owolabi
Opening Keynote
[PART 1] Skills Lab: A Step-by-Step Process Toward Closing the Early Talent Skills Divide
When it comes to skills-based hiring, there’s a major disconnect in the higher-ed-to-workplace pipeline: while Forbes lists 81% of companies as currently hiring for skills, the most recent data from NACE suggests only 31% of higher education institutions require skills on their syllabi. In other words, 69% of available early talent isn’t as prepared as they could be to articulate their skills and abilities on job descriptions. This means UR professionals are positioned to take a powerful step in partnership with universities to better prepare students for the job market.
Kayla Foy
Liz Langemak
[PART 2] Skills Lab: A Step-by-Step Process Toward Closing the Early Talent Skills Divide
When it comes to skills-based hiring, there’s a major disconnect in the higher-ed-to-workplace pipeline: while Forbes lists 81% of companies as currently hiring for skills, the most recent data from NACE suggests only 31% of higher education institutions require skills on their syllabi. In other words, 69% of available early talent isn’t as prepared as they could be to articulate their skills and abilities on job descriptions. This means UR professionals are positioned to take a powerful step in partnership with universities to better prepare students for the job market.
Kayla Foy
Liz Langemak
Lunch
The Intern Isn’t Obsolete, But Your Hiring Strategy Might Be: Why Early Career Talent Is Your Best AI Investment
Many organizations are cutting interns and new grads under the assumption that AI replaces junior work. This session flips that narrative with data, workforce risk, and TA economics.
Amanda Lopez
You’re Not Losing Talent. You’re Losing Attention.
We have optimized nearly every part of early-career recruiting and onboarding except the human nervous system inside it. The result is a generation with powerful AI tools and increasingly fragmented attention. High performance paired with faster burnout. Personalized programs paired with declining retention. This is not a motivation crisis. It is an attention crisis. This session reframes attention as critical talent infrastructure. Not a soft skill, but a strategic asset. Attendees will gain a practical framework for designing early-career programs that build cognitive resilience, protect depth, and use AI as an amplifier rather than a crutch. In the AI era, retention starts with attention.
Heather Henderson
Community Showcase
Get to know fellow attendees connect with sponsors grab a product demo or recharge with an afternoon treat and energy pick me up!
One Recruiter, Many Pipelines: Scaling Without a Team
Jason Lu
Carmela Escarez
Kathleen Merto
Closing Keynote
Day 1 Closing
Jason Lu
Carmela Escarez
Cocktail Reception
Welcome Back
Carolynn Choi
Kathleen Merto
Stop Counting. Start Convincing: The Early Careers Story that Drives Impact
Early-career teams have no shortage of data; but too often it informs without influencing. For many early career teams this data resides in spreadsheet vs. being connected across data stacks. Leaders don’t need more dashboards; they need insight that connects early-career investment to business outcomes.
In this session, participants will learn how to move beyond activity-based reporting and reframe early-career metrics around what leaders care about most: growth, productivity, retention, and future workforce capability. We’ll explore which metrics matter at different stages of program maturity and how to translate them into clear, outcome-focused insights for executive audiences.
The session also addresses a common challenge: disconnected data. With insights scattered across ATS, HRIS, CRM, external & internal and program tools, we’ll share practical ways to connect the talent journey. From attraction to impact into a cohesive, compelling narrative without overwhelming stakeholders.
Participants will leave with proven data storytelling techniques to drive decisions and investment, showing how to turn early-career data into strategic insight that secures buy-in, informs workforce planning, prioritizes programs, and demonstrates ROI.
Simon Kho
Dawn Carter
AI Forward Together
Becky Parson
Christina Garvey
Breakout Session
Roundtable Discussion
Lunch
Breakout Session
Closing Remarks
Community Showcase
Get to know fellow attendees connect with sponsors grab a product demo or recharge with an afternoon treat and energy pick me up!