Dr. Ashley Williams, Ph.D., BCBA-D, MBA

What if your biggest barrier to growth is not demand, but how quickly your team can perform?
This panel explores how leading ABA organizations are turning workforce training into a true growth engine. Learn how to replace outdated, time-based models with systems built on competency, consistency, and measurable results. Walk away with practical insights to improve staff readiness, increase retention, and expand capacity with confidence.

Taking on a private equity partner is often framed as the finish line—but for many founders and executives, it’s really the starting gun. This panel explores what actually happens after the deal closes and how founders can be great partners to their PE sponsors (and vice versa) while protecting culture, momentum, and purpose. Panelists will share candid perspectives on what changes overnight, what surprisingly stays the same, and where expectations most often misalign on boards, reporting, strategy, and growth timelines.

Attendees will hear practical advice on choosing the right private equity partner, navigating the post‑close “anticlimactic” phase, and building a productive working relationship that scales value rather than friction. Drawing on real operating and investing experience, this discussion goes beyond theory to focus on the day‑to‑day realities of board dynamics, incentive alignment, decision‑making, and trust.

Additionally, at the top of the session, the audience will get a 5-minute M&A market download to help them better understand the forces shaping investment activity in the space.

Topics include:

· What to look for in a private equity partner before signing the LOI

· How operator–sponsor relationships evolve post‑transaction

· Common surprises after close—and how to prepare for them

· What great PE partners do differently (and what mediocre ones miss)

· How to manage the messaging to patients, employees and stakeholders