2026 DIA Annual Conference - Nashville
Overview
Event: DIA (Dental Integrators Association) Annual Conference Dates: April 16-18, 2026 Venue: Margaritaville Hotel, Nashville, TN Room: Seagrass Room (main sessions) / Fins Up - Poolside (reception) / Porch of Indecision (meals) Timezone: Central (America/Chicago)
All session times below are local (Central). Saturday sessions are members-only.
Discord Events
Agenda
Thursday, April 16, 2026 (Seagrass Room)
| Time | Session | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 pm - 1:10 pm | Opening Remarks | Dan DeSteno, DIA President |
| 1:10 pm - 1:30 pm | Welcome | Lee Rozeboom, Emcee (GreatAmerica) |
| 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm | Designing an MSP That Can Run Without You for 30 Days (Live Feed on Discord) | Karl Palachuk, Author |
| 2:30 pm - 2:50 pm | From Reactive to Responsible: What Dental MSPs Must Own in Security | Derek Kornbluth, BlackPoint |
| 2:50 pm - 3:10 pm | Break / Partner Networking | |
| 3:10 pm - 4:10 pm | Building the Leadership Bench: How MSPs Identify, Develop, and Retain Their Next Leaders (Live Feed on Discord) | Dave Cava, PeopleSharp |
| 4:15 pm | Daily Wrap Up | Lee Rozeboom |
| 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm | Welcome Reception (sponsored by GreatAmerica) - Fins Up Poolside | |
| 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm | Welcome Dinner - Fins Up Poolside |
Friday, April 17, 2026 (Seagrass Room)
| Time | Session | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 am - 9:30 am | Breakfast with Partners (Porch of Indecision) | |
| 9:30 am - 9:45 am | Day 2 Opening Remarks | Lee Rozeboom |
| 9:45 am - 10:30 am | Cyber Insurance and MSP Responsibility (Live Feed on Discord) | Patrick Jacobwith, Sunset Technologies |
| 10:30 am - 10:50 am | Strategic Development Committee Update | Dan DeSteno, DIA President |
| 10:50 am - 11:05 am | Break / Partner Networking | |
| 11:05 am - 12:05 pm | Financial Optionality: What MSPs Should Fix Before They Are Ready to Exit (Live Feed on Discord) | Reed Warren, IT Valuations |
| 12:05 pm - 12:15 pm | Break / Partner Networking | |
| 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm | Lunch with Partners (Porch of Indecision) | |
| 1:30 pm - 1:50 pm | Think Like an Adversary: How MSPs Outplay Cybercriminals in 2026 | Natalie Suarez, Huntress |
| 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm | Executive Synthesis: What Changes Monday and Who Are You Going to Be Accountable to? | Facilitated by Lee Rozeboom with Speakers |
| 3:00 pm | Closing Remarks |
Saturday, April 18, 2026 (Members Only - Seagrass Room)
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 8:30 am - 9:30 am | Breakfast (Porch of Indecision) |
| 9:30 am - 9:45 am | DIA Housekeeping |
| 9:45 am - 11:45 am | Executive Roundtable: Open discussion, peer problem-solving, and forward planning |
| 12:00 pm | Conference Closing |
Guest Speakers
Karl W. Palachuk - Author / Speaker / Coach
IT Consultant since 1995, pioneer of the managed services business model. Author of 25+ books on running IT consulting practices. Founded IT Service Provider University (2013), Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community (2018), and National Society of IT Service Providers (2021). Previously owned two successful MSPs in Sacramento, CA.
- Website: https://karlpalachuk.com
- Email: karl@karlpalachuk.com
Dave Cava - Owner, PeopleSharp
Owner of PeopleSharp, helping MSPs scale via outsourced recruiting. Previously co-owned Encore Strategic (MSP coaching/peer groups) and Proactive Technologies (NYC MSP, COO/CFO 2007 through 2019 acquisition, INC 5000 seven times). Co-author of The Pumpkin Plan for MSPs (Feb 2024).
- Email: Dave@peoplesharp.com
- Phone: (619) 919-0280
- Website: www.peoplesharp.com
Reed Warren - CEO and CVA, iT Valuations
30+ years in IT services. Completed 100+ M&A transactions, consulted with 400+ companies across 19 countries.
- Email: reed@itvaluations.com
- Phone: 651-235-3019
- Website: www.itvaluations.com
Partners / Sponsors
Emcee & Reception Sponsor
- GreatAmerica Financial Services - Lee Rozeboom. Channel financing partner for MSPs, VARs, and resellers.
Platinum
- BlackPoint - Greg Luebke & Derek Kornbluth. Unified security platform, MDR with 24/7 SOC, purpose-built for MSPs.
- Huntress - Natalie Suarez & Becky Teal. Enterprise-grade cybersecurity for SMB; endpoints, identities, data, employees. https://www.huntress.com/
Gold
- Equus Compute Solutions - Tim Devitt. White-box server and storage solutions integrator. www.equuscs.com
- Jazz Imaging - Aaraon DeCorte & Kienna Villaplana. Intra-oral sensors with lifetime warranty, founded by former DEXIS/Gendex engineers. www.jazzimaging.com
- TouchPoint Medical (formerly ICW) - Matthew Langdon & Kevin Galletto. Ergonomic mounting systems, workstations, carts, and medication management for dental practices.
2025-2026 DIA Board Members
- Dan DeSteno - President
- Christi Thissen
- Dan Edwards
- Sam Suglio
- Tom Goembel
Attachments
Original agenda PDF attached below.