Meet the 2025 Fall Conference Closing Keynote Speaker:

Kelly O'Connell Leiker

Friday Closing Keynote Session: 

AI is Not U:  Using the Innovation of AI to Focus on What Only You Can Do

Friday, September 26th, 2025

Healthcare professionals are beyond stretched — physically, emotionally, and mentally. Burnout is at an all-time high, and many leaders are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks, documentation, and decision-making they face daily. It’s no wonder there’s little energy left for the kind of thoughtful, human-centered work that brought so many into this field to begin with.

Enter AI. Not as a threat, but as a strategic partner.

In this powerful and practical keynote, Kelly O’Connell invites healthcare leaders to rethink their relationship with both technology and time. What if AI could help you and your teams eliminate the noise — the repetitive, low-impact, and exhausting tasks — so you could focus more on compassionate care, innovative problem-solving, and team connection?

This session builds on Kelly’s “less is more” philosophy and centers on the idea that doing less of the wrong work opens up space for doing more of the work that truly matters — to patients, teams, and ourselves.

But first, we have to make space. And that starts with self-care. In a system that’s constantly demanding more, restoring our energy isn’t indulgent — it’s necessary. Only then can we make proactive decisions about what to offload, where to apply AI, and how to lead in ways that are sustainable, creative, and deeply human.

Educational Learning Objectives:

  • A new lens for seeing AI as a tool for clinical clarity and leadership focus
  • Ideas for reclaiming time and energy by editing out non-impactful tasks
  • Permission to prioritize self-care as a professional responsibility
  • A path forward for fostering innovation, team morale, and resilience in an AI-integrated world

AI may be able to read charts, flag patterns, or write notes — but it can’t connect with a patient, lead a team through crisis, or make a call that takes courage. That’s your job.

AI is not you — and that’s exactly where your power lies.

About the Speaker: 

With over 20 years of experience helping professionals and organizations unlock their full potential, Kelly O’Connell is a nationally recognized executive coach and motivational speaker. Recognized early on in life as a “problem solver”, Kelly’s passion continues to grow in the area of helping others achieve their goals through intentional change. Kelly’s to-the-point honesty and high-energy delivery are always appreciated, whether she’s working with leaders one on one or with large audiences.

Kelly holds an MBA in Management from the University of St. Thomas and a Bachelor of Science in Child Psychology and Speech Communications from the University of Minnesota, where she graduated with honors. In addition to her coaching and speaking work, she is an Adjunct Professor at the University of St. Thomas’s Opus School of Business, where she teaches courses in Management, Strategic Leadership, and Innovation. Based in Eden Prairie, MN, Kelly speaks nationwide, equipping teams with the tools they need to thrive in the fast-changing business landscape.

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