Keynote Speaker 2026

Adam James

Adam James is the Founder & CEO of Mindful Journey. For over a decade, he has worked with many organizations across varying sectors as a motivational speaker and leadership trainer. Having the unique opportunity to get an inside look into the challenges individuals face day in and day out, Adam built Mindful Journey with a clear vision: to create a happy, healthy, and hope-filled world. Today, Mindful Journey is a web-based platform that is regularly accessed by thousands of individuals throughout the country. With eight features and regular updates, it serves as a preventive tool to help people recalibrate and take care of their mental well-being in an on-demand setting. In addition to his business experience, he is an NCAA Men’s Division 1 Basketball Referee and credits many of the lessons learned on the floor as a guide for how he has built his business.

Keynote Session:

"MAKE THE CALL: The Human Advantage in a High Pressure Industry"

Claims professionals carry other people's worst days for a living, and right now they're carrying plenty of their own. Fear of making the wrong decision. Uncertainty about AI. A workforce that's 95% remote and starving for real connection. Veterans walking away, and newer professionals wondering whether to stay.

Drawing on 15+ years as an NCAA Division I basketball referee — making split-second calls in front of thousands with no room to hide — Adam James delivers a high-energy, deeply human keynote about making confident decisions when the pressure is real, the criticism is loud, and the stakes are personal.

Attendees will walk away with:

A referee's framework for making decisions with conviction, even when every call gets second-guessed
Why the human skills claims professionals already have (e.g., empathy, judgment, presence) are the ones AI can't replace, and how to double down on them
Practical ways to rebuild connection and communication in a remote-first industry
A reconnection to their why: the reason they got into this work and the reason it still matters