Thank you to Elizabeth Edwards for joining us in San Diego as the Opening Keynote Speaker for the 2026 CAPIO Annual Conference.

Elizabeth will kick off the conference during the Conference Welcome on Tuesday, May 12 at 9:00 a.m., setting the tone for a program focused on the evolving role of public communicators.

As Founder of Volume PR and Engagement Science Lab, and President of the PR Consultants Group, Elizabeth brings 25 years of experience applying behavioral science to communication, trust and influence. Her work centers on Affective Intelligence, a framework grounded in neuroscience and cognitive science that helps organizations understand how people process information, form beliefs and make decisions.

In her keynote, The New Ground Rules: Communication, Trust, and AI-Mediated Public Reality, Elizabeth will explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping how the public receives, interprets and trusts information, often before communicators have the opportunity to engage.

For public-sector professionals, this shift raises urgent questions: How do you build and protect trust when the information environment itself is unstable? How do you use AI’s capabilities without compromising credibility? And what does it mean to serve the public when perception is increasingly shaped by systems outside your control?

This session brings together 25 years of applied research and real-world strategy to help answer those questions. Attendees will leave with a clearer framework for their role, practical tools for navigating AI’s influence, and a stronger understanding of the ethical standards that will define the profession moving forward.

Join us Tuesday morning as we open the conference with a conversation designed to challenge, inform and prepare you for what’s ahead.

Learn more about our speakers, sessions and conference activities at https://capio.swoogo.com/capio2026/agenda.

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