SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2026 BROWNING HALL AUDITORIUM 8:30 A.M. – 5:30 P.M.
Welcome and Opening Remarks 8:30–9 a.m.
Reclaiming Our Future from the Data of Yesterday and the AI of Today 9–10 a.m.
In the era of AI, persistence has shifted from a survival trait to a digital cage. AI has digitized our historical struggles and labeled them the truth, but its information contains only dated records. By letting this dead data lead, we cannot move forward; worse, we are automating and repeating the ‘truths of yesterday’ and supporting the very biases we are actively struggling to outgrow. Meaningful change can only happen in the “now,” a uniquely human territory. Only humans, armed with their legacy of persistence, can look at a data point and say, “That’s where we were, but not who we are becoming or want to be.” Without humans in the loop, we relegate ourselves to a story without an arc, repeating chapters of struggle forever. To build technology that refects our evolution, we must dare to intervene, bringing our narratives and understanding into the loop. This is the only way to ensure the moral arc bends in favor of a future worthy of our lessons learned.
PRESENTER:
Laura Miller (she/her) Founder and CEO NextGen Ethics Philosophy and Ethics Professor Webster University
Visibility as Strategy: Trans Lives, Narrative Power and the Fight for Policy Change in Missouri 10:30–11:30 a.m. At a moment when trans Missourians are being deliberately weaponized in legislative and ballot strategies, visibility has become both a risk and a necessity. This session centers the audacity to persist by examining how narrative, lived experience and sustained community engagement can disrupt fear-based policy agendas and shift public understanding. Featuring leaders from PROMO and community voices on the front lines, this panel will examine Missouri’s current political landscape, including the use of anti-trans rhetoric in efforts to roll back reproductive freedom and restrict gender-affrming care. Panelists will share how PROMO’s 2026 statewide campaign centers deep canvassing, media strategy and relational storytelling to change hearts and minds at scale. Through personal stories and organizing insights, this conversation moves beyond policy analysis to ask a deeper question: What does it mean to reclaim space and voice in a climate designed to
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