12:00 pm - Cultural Experience (optional ticketed event)

Private Walking Tour of San Antonio. Tour starts at 12:45 pm. 12:00 pm is the lobby meet-up time to board the QRCA bus to the tour starting point.

1:00 pm - Registration desk open for badge pick up

4:00 pm - Leadership Meeting & Reception

5:00 pm - First Timers Welcome Session

Come to the First Timer Welcome session for a little information and a jumpstart on conference networking. Join us if you are new to QRCA, are a qual crew leader, or if you're just back for more QRCA fun!

6:30 pm - Early Arrivals Gathering (walking distance)

Many attendees arrive the night before the conference. In recognition of this, we are organizing an Early Arrivals Dinner for a first-look meet-and-greet opportunity within walking distance of the conference venue. The setting is fun and casual as we unwind from our travels and prepare for the days ahead. Our conference veterans recommend this event as a wonderful way to step into the QRCA conference experience.

7:00 am - Healthy Connections - Zumba

Ditch the workout and join the party! Fuse hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy-to-follow moves to create a high-energy, calorie-blasting, total-body dance-based workout!

8:00 am - Marketplace & Registration Open + Breakfast

9:00 am - Conference Welcome & Keynote

• Sonny Melendrez: Unleashing Your Power of Intentional Enthusiasm

10:00 am - Sponsor Spotlights

10:45 am - Marketplace Break

11:15 am - Speed Dating with First Timers

This conference favorite is open to all conference attendees! Join us for a high-energy, quick-paced, unconventional networking event. Please come show our First Timers what QRCA is all about!

11:15 am - Roundtables Breakouts

• Carey Rellis: How to Make Online Feel More Like In-Person

• Ivayana Abdi: The Hidden Skill Sets That Make Us Better Researchers

• Maria Virobik: Visualizing Data: Share Your Tricks and Learn New Ones

• Chris Hauck: Our Traditional Business has Changed. But Where is our Work Going?

• Kelly Heatly: Method Matters – Choosing the Best Communication Format for the Best Insights

• Jennifer Freeman: An Educator's Perspective (Teaching Next Gen)

12:15 pm - Lunch

1:30 pm - Workshops

• Sara Bodde - "Acting for Insights: Acting exercises to help improve your moderating"
• Emma Bonilla - "That’s Not an Insight… Or Is It?"
• Jonathan Schneider - Qual Foundations: "That's A Great Question"
• Jen Spainhour - “The Insight Starts Within: Using Self-Awareness to Elevate Your Moderating and Analysis”
• Jay Zaltzman - "Accessing participants’ subconscious minds"

3:00 pm - Breakout Sessions

• Qual Foundations: Abby Leafe & Kate Watson - "Crack the Pack: An Intro Playbook to Packaging Research"
• Tech: Susan Saurage-Altenloh, PhD - "Human-First Insight in an AI World: Future-Proofing the Qualitative Researcher"
• Tools: Susan Newhouse - "The Bold Spark: Energizing Insights Through Creative Engagement"
• Moderating: Reginald Alston - "Seeing the Respondent in the Best Light: Mastering Nuances in Qualitative Research"
• Analysis: Jeffrey H. Witte, PhD - "Old School: Manual Coding and Analysis of Qualitative Data"

4:15 pm - Breakout Sessions

• Tech: Andy Garlikov - "From Duct Tape to Doing it Right: Tech for Solo Quals Who Do It All"
• Qual Foundations: Laura Quinn - "The Basics of AI in Qualitative Research Preparation and Analysis – Maximizing Gains, Minimizing Risks"
• Tools/Method: Martha Cowley and Alex Chew - "Real People, Real data: Fighting Fraud in Qualitative Research Using Probability-Based Panels"
• Naomi Henderson Winner: Marta Villanueva & Ally Johnston - "It's Not Me, It's You: Why Consumers are Breaking Up with Brands"
• CRIC: Andrew Stavisky & Darby Steiger - "Cognitive Interviewing 101: Adding a Crucial Blade to Your Qualitative 'Swiss Army Knife'"

5:00 pm - Marketplace Social

6:30 pm - Dinner Dine Arounds

Meet in the lobby at 6:15 pm to board QRCA buses. Reservation times may vary.

7:00 am - Healthy Connections

Yoga - Carina Crabbe

Local Walk - Led by Cher Chislett of Insight Culture

8:00 am - Marketplace & Registration Open

9:15 am - QRCA VIEWS

Tamara Kenworthy & Dean Stephens - "Quallies Afire: QRCA VIEWS Lights up the Stage with Hot Topics in Market Research"

10:00 am - Sponsor Spotlights

Learn what is new and exciting from our sponsors

10:30 am - Marketplace Break

Enjoy a break in the Marketplace and visit our sponsors

11:00 am - Workshops

• Pam Goldfarb Liss: Qual Foundations – DIY Your Own Projectives: A How-To Create Your Own Workshop

• Carina Crabbe: Bringing Yoga Philosophy into Qualitative Research

• Claire Kuhn: Maintaining Human Magic in Digital Workshops

• Allison Rak: Let Them: The Mindset Shift That Could Change How You Do Research

• Benjamin Allen: The Business Behind the Breakthroughs: Money Management in Qual Research

12:15 pm - Lunch

1:15 pm - Breakout Sessions

• Martha Hayward: Qual Foundations – What is Strategy? A Market Researcher's Guide to Strategy Fundamentals

• Chris Hauck: How does competitive context make your research better?

• Benjamin Allen & Kai Fuentes: The Business Behind the Breakthroughs: Money Management in Qual Research

• Tom Rich: Laddering Up to the Astral Plane. What qualitative researchers can learn from psychic cold reading techniques

• Lauren McCluskey: Talking to a Bot: What Moderators and Participants Really Think About AI Moderation

2:15 pm - Roundtable Discussions

• Pablo Gutierrez: AI – Prompting for Success

• Kathy Harsz: Project Management in the Qual Recruiting Engine

• Laura Quinn: Follow-up from Presentation: The Basics of AI in Qualitative Research Preparation and Analysis

• Brian Sarfatty: Editing SHORT Video Reels That Clients Actually Watch

• Martha Hayward: Follow-up from Presentation: What is Strategy?

• Emma Bonilla: Tough Characters in the Room: Managing Difficult Behaviors with Confidence and Empathy

• Mari Puras: After the Federal Rollback: What is Next for Multicultural Insights

• Karen Lynch: Thought Leadership

• Andy Monzon and Kyle Kahn: Business Development

• Pam Cusick: The Future of Recruitment: Pros and Cons of Synthetic Patients

3:15 pm - Marketplace Break

Enjoy a break in the Marketplace and visit our sponsors

3:45 pm - Breakout Sessions

• Analysis: Paul Peterson - "The Real Research Problem? Listening to the Wrong People."
• Biz Dev: Crystal Kendrick - "The Business of Research: How to Market, Prospect, and Partner Like a Pro"
• Tech: Allison Wilt - "The Impact of Agentic AI on Corporate America"
• Qual Foundations: Jeff Hecker - "Smart Starts: The Art and Science of Qualitative Research Design"
• Kann on Kahneman: Three Quick Qual Wins: Chris Kann

4:30 pm - Awards Ceremony & Reception

Time to toast and recognize our outstanding QRCA members!

7:00 pm - Wednesday Night Party

Buses will transport you downtown to SMOKE SKYBAR for an evening of fun, food and dancing where you can celebrate with your fellow conference attendees. Take advantage of the connections you've made so far, and maybe even make some new ones! QRCA Bingo cards will be available for all First Timers AND returning attendees (new this year!). Prizes will be awarded at the end of the evening.

8:00 am - Registration Desk Open

8:00 - 11:00 am - Marketplace Open

9:00 am - Closing Remarks & Raffles

9:30 am - Insights Association: Howard Fienberg

Momentum in D.C.: Emerging Opportunities for the Insights Industry

10:00 am - ESOMAR: Wynee Tyree

The Mother of All Demographic Shifts: Why It's Time to Rethink Motherhood

11:00 am - QRCA Town Hall

Hosted by the QRCA Board of Directors. All conference attendees are welcome at this session where the QRCA Board of Directors will share association updates and plans for 2026.

1:00 pm - Afternoon Field Trip

1-Hour Private River Boat Cruise (optional ticketed event)