Conference Schedule

Tamieca Hamlin, Consultant & Jesse Jones, Your Washington

Keynote: How to Build Your CX Culture

During this fireside chat you will hear about why improving the customer experience is so important. Jesse and Tamieca will dive into what is being done in Washington State government and what is going on around the country. For more information about this session click here.

Dr. Sydney Heimbrock, Qualtrics and Hannah Burn, WaTech

Who do we Serve? Why CX Makes it Easier (and Faster! and Cheaper!) to Serve Everyone

When customers look at the state, they see “government”, not the web of agency acronyms that we live in day to day. But serving customers from the outside-in is harder than it sounds, especially when our internal structures don’t mirror a customer’s journey. Collaborate with your colleagues to brainstorm how customer experience data and design can help us serve people better, faster, and cheaper.  For more information about this session click here.

Alysha Myers, Danica Taylor, Dee Sharp and Kenzie Rios, Washington State Department of Licensing

Security Guards Licensing Journey Case Study: How DOL improved the licensing experience for security guards

As part of its strategic plan, DOL sought to understand and improve customer experience through customer journey mapping.  This work began in using customer feedback, empathy, and human-centered design. The team illustrated their learnings through a customer journey map, which was used to build and implement an improvement plan.  DOL made improvements to staffing, processes, and phone services. As a result, the team decreased time to license from 59 to 12 days, decreased call volume by 72%, improved back-office processes, and improved employee experience.  For more information about this session click here.

Sarah Norton, Washington State Department of Licensing

Design that Delivers: Enhancing Customer Experience Through Universal Design

What if simple, proactive principles could transform every aspect of the customer experience—for everyone? This session examines how integrating Universal Design into all facets of customer service not only enhances accessibility but also strengthens customer trust, loyalty, and satisfaction. Participants will explore how inclusive design practices benefit all users, while also supporting employee engagement, recruitment, and retention. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to create more welcoming, effective, and human-centered service environments.  The learn more about this session click here.

Amy Leneker, The Leneker Team

Cheers to Monday: 3 Simple Steps to Un-Stress Your Work

Mondays get a bad rap — but what if you could start the week (and every day) with less stress and more joy? You can! In this fun and informative session, leadership expert Amy Leneker will show you how. In this fun and informative session, you’ll learn a surprisingly simple 3-step method to un-stress your work.

Whether you’re leading a team, a project, or trying to lead yourself through a never-ending to-do list, this session will equip you with tools to stress less and lead with more clarity, energy, and joy. Inspired by Amy’s upcoming book, Cheers to Monday, this session offers a refreshing take on what it means to lead in today’s world—and why less stress isn’t just a nice idea, it’s a game-changer.

For more information regarding this session click here.

Gabriela Dorantes & Kristen Uroda, Civilla

Piloting for Impact: Turning CX Ideas into Statewide Solutions

Piloting is a critical step before launching customer experience (CX) improvements in government. When done well, pilots reduce risk, generate evidence of impact, and build the people and process foundations needed for statewide adoption. This session will walk through Civilla’s human centered pilot process—from choosing locations to training staff, selecting and gathering metrics, and creating internal champions. Drawing on lessons from pilots in Michigan, Washington, and Connecticut, participants will see how a structured approach to piloting can smooth the path toward successful culture change.  For more information on this session click here.

Jeannie Bowen, Your Washington

From Lean to CX: A New Chapter in Serving Washingtonians

Washington state agencies have used Lean to improve how we work—and now we’re building on that with a shift toward Customer Experience (CX). CX brings a stronger focus on empathy, equity, and what it feels like for people to interact with government.

In this interactive session, we’ll look at how Lean and CX fit together, what’s changing, and what support is available. You’ll hear real examples from agencies, explore new tools and principles, and reflect on how CX connects to your own work.

This is a chance to learn, ask questions, and be part of shaping how we serve Washingtonians better—together.

For more information on this session click here.

Matt LaPalm, Washington State Employment Security Department

Our Journey Building Customer Experience Foundations

Learn how the Employment Security Department built a customer experience program that drives real impact by integrating customer voice into product development. This session will share practical lessons from ESD’s journey developing the Product Management discipline, connect CX insights to product backlogs, and elevate customer measures into leadership conversations and strategy. To learn more about this session click here.

Tom McCarty, Texas Workforce Commission

Texas Workforce Commissions Customer Experience Journey

In the session you will from Tom McCarty on how the Texas Workforce Commission improving the customer experience.  To learn more about this session click here.

Bobby Mckee, State of Missouri

SHARE MO: Missouri's Customer Experience Program

SHARE MO is Missouri’s Customer Experience program. Since April of 2023, SHARE MO has grown exponentially. Is this session, hear from Bobby McKee, Director of Citizen Engagement at the State of Missouri. Bobby will discuss how SHARE MO began as a grass roots effort to a thriving Statewide effort that listens to 25,000 citizens per month through effective governance and enablement of team members.

For more information on this session click here.

Abbey Koss, Deputy Chief Customer Experience Officer, Office of the Governor, State of New York

Better Experiences at Scale: Advancing Customer Experience Across New York State

As one of the most populous and diverse states in the country, New York faces a unique challenge: delivering equitable, accessible, and user-friendly services to millions. In this session, Abbey Kos, New York’s Deputy Chief Customer Experience Officer, will share how the Governor’s Office of Customer Experience embeds customer experience (CX) principles across its agencies, driving better experiences both online and off.  For more information about this session click here.

Jared Thatcher, Hala Rabo, and Lisa Maddox - Port of Seattle

Transforming a Department: One Process at a Time

Learn how the Central Procurement Office embraced Lean Thinking to transform the way it delivers value. By building a department-level Lean program, engaging leadership, and supporting employees through change, procurement lead times have been reduced by more than 50%, supplier feedback has improved, and benchmarking now shows the team moving from one of the slowest to among the best-performing procurement organizations in government. Participants will learn the critical steps from both an operational excellence and management perspective, as well as the employee experience of adopting Lean, offering practical lessons for driving sustainable change.

For more information about this session click here.