Managing the Unexpected Conference 2025

Conference Overview

This conference is intended to build and support the growing community of scholars who study how organizations and their members manage the unexpected – whether that comes in the form of uncertainty, risk, crisis or conflict – in pursuit of high reliability and resilient performance.  For this first year of the conference, we celebrate and honor the retirement of Kathleen Sutcliffe, whose work has been groundbreaking and deeply influential to this field.

To that end, our first gathering will bring together Dr. Sutcliffe’s students, co-authors, colleagues and friends who continue to build and shape the field through their own work around the world. The conference is purposefully designed to be small – and attendance is by invitation only – with the goal of generating high levels of engagement and interaction, as well as follow-on research and teaching collaborations.

Registration for conference invitees has now closed. If you are interested in attending the conference, please contact Chris Myers.

Agenda

Friday November 14, 2025
8:30 – 9:00AM | Breakfast  9:00 – 9:15AM | Introduction from Conference Organizers and Welcome from Kathleen Sutcliffe 9:15 – 10:15AM | Keynote Address from Ranga Ramanujam BREAK 10:30 – 11:30AM | Rapid Research Presentations 11:30 – 12:15PM | Expert Panel on Modern Challenges to Managing the Unexpected LUNCH 1:15 – 2:30PM | Rapid Research Presentations BREAK 2:45 – 4:15PM | Small Group Workshops 4:15 – 5:00PM | Reflections and Wrap-Up 5:00 – 7:00PM | Reception and Celebration of Kathleen Sutcliffe
Saturday November 15, 2025
10:45AM – 1:00PM | Axe Throwing (Optional Social Event) Join us for a casual social outing to Urban Axes Baltimore for axe-throwing and pizza! Pre-registration required. If you did not register and want to attend, please contact Chris Myers

Travel Resources

• Transit, driving directions, and hotel information (including a discounted “Johns Hopkins” rate at several hotels): https://carey.jhu.edu/visit/accommodations-transportation

Conference Organizers: Michelle Barton, Derrick Bransby, Suntae Kim, Christopher Myers

Conference Sponsors: Carey Business School and the Center for Innovative Leadership