HCC Fall Networking Breakfast

2026 HCC Fall Networking

From Boomers to Zoomers, Leading Across Generations:

Creating Healthy Workplaces Amid the Opioid & Stimulant Crisis

Guest Speaker: Kym Laube, Executive Director, HUGS, Inc.

Event Date: September 30, 2026

8:15 AM - 9:00 AM

Breakfast & Networking

9:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Program & Presentation

Registration Deadline: September 18, 2026

Location: ICONA Avalon, 7849 Dune Drive, Avalon, NJ 08202 (Parking available on 78th Street.)

Today's workforce is more diverse than ever, with five generations working side-by-side—each bringing unique strengths, communication styles, expectations, and values. At the same time, organizations are navigating unprecedented workforce challenges, including burnout, compassion fatigue, staffing shortages, mental health concerns, and the growing impact of opioid and stimulant use disorders on employees, families, and workplace culture. These challenges affect recruitment, retention, productivity, psychological safety, absenteeism, presenteeism, and overall organizational resilience.

Rather than allowing generational differences and workplace stressors to create division, this dynamic and interactive workshop explores how organizations and coalitions can transform these challenges into opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and stronger leadership. Participants will examine the "why" behind generational perspectives, learn practical strategies for improving communication across age groups, and discover how stigma, substance use, and workplace wellness intersect to influence employee engagement and performance.

Whether you're a tech-savvy Gen Z professional, a purpose-driven Millennial, a pragmatic Gen Xer, a values-focused Boomer, or a member of the Silent Generation, this session will help you leverage the strengths of every generation while building healthier workplaces and higher-performing teams. Participants will leave with practical tools to enhance communication, improve collaboration, strengthen employee well-being, and create workplaces where every generation can thrive together.

• Strengthen Cross-Generational Collaboration: Increase participants' understanding of the characteristics, values, communication styles, and strengths of the five generations to foster respectful, productive, and high-performing workplace teams and coalitions.

• Recognize the Impact of Opioids, Stimulants, and Workforce Stress: Enhance awareness of how opioid and stimulant use, mental health challenges, burnout, compassion fatigue, and stigma affect employee well-being, organizational culture, safety, productivity, and workforce retention.

• Develop Practical Leadership and Workplace Strategies: Equip participants with evidence-informed tools to improve communication, build psychological safety, support recovery-friendly workplaces, reduce stigma, and create resilient, inclusive organizations where employees of every generation can thrive.

For questions, please contact Natalia Leusner at natalia@capeassist.org.