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Faculty

Nelson Spence

RSPS, ICPR
Strategic Initiatives Manager, Founder
Oxford House, Inc., Project Navi

Nelson Spence, RSPS, ICPR, is Strategic Initiatives Manager at Oxford House, Inc., where he builds software, modernizes organizational processes, and advises on AI integration. He is also the founder of Project Navi, an independent AI research organization building security and governance tooling for autonomous systems. His research spans formal verification, dynamical systems modeling of LLM behavior, and interpretability. He serves on the security triage team for OpenHands, an open-source platform for AI agents, where he helps assess reported vulnerabilities, coordinates patching and disclosure, and advises maintainers on security decisions. He also contributed the OpenHands SDK's security analyzer, which assesses the risk of an agent's actions before they run. Nelson brings seven years in behavioral health research and peer support, including provider accreditation and workforce development at Faces & Voices of Recovery. He served a three-year term as an elected general board member for the Texas Association of Addiction Professionals, and co-authored "Retaining peers in the behavioral health workforce" in the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal.

2027 Sessions

Agentic AI Changes the Equation: Measuring Value When Technology Begins to Act

Session Description: AI is beginning to evolve beyond generating information and recommendations toward systems that can take action, complete multistep tasks, and coordinate work across organizational workflows. While many behavioral health organizations are still early in exploring agentic AI, the capabilities now being developed could reshape areas such as scheduling, intake, insurance verification, billing, patient communications, and administrative operations. This session will examine what agentic AI is, where the technology is heading, which emerging use cases behavioral health leaders should have on their radar, and how to think about value as these systems become more capable. Panelists will also discuss where human review, permissions, and escalation will remain essential, and what greater AI autonomy could mean for efficiency, oversight, workforce roles, and care delivery.

Panelist

Tuesday, March 30 10:45–11:30 AM
Room Tennessee Ballroom

Watch Here for Additional Panelists .

Faculty

Kelly Epperson

J.D.
President of Rosecrance Management Group and Chief Operating Officer
Rosecrance Behavioral Health

Kelly J. Epperson is President of Rosecrance Management Group and Chief Operating Officer at Rosecrance Behavioral Health. Epperson joined Rosecrance in 2015 and is responsible for overseeing the management group functions that support Rosecrance’s clinical operations, including legal, compliance, information technology, data analytics, public policy, grant management, accreditation and licensing, strategic planning, and performance improvement.

As General Counsel, Epperson provides legal leadership across Rosecrance and its affiliates, including advising on corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory compliance, and complex legal issues affecting behavioral healthcare providers. Her work also includes public policy advocacy at the state and federal levels to advance access to behavioral health services.

As Chief Operating Officer and President of Rosecrance Management Group, Epperson leads a multidisciplinary team focused on building scalable systems, strengthening infrastructure, and improving organizational effectiveness to support Rosecrance’s mission and continued growth.

Faculty

Nelson Spence

RSPS, ICPR
Strategic Initiatives Manager, Founder
Oxford House, Inc., Project Navi

Nelson Spence, RSPS, ICPR, is Strategic Initiatives Manager at Oxford House, Inc., where he builds software, modernizes organizational processes, and advises on AI integration. He is also the founder of Project Navi, an independent AI research organization building security and governance tooling for autonomous systems. His research spans formal verification, dynamical systems modeling of LLM behavior, and interpretability. He serves on the security triage team for OpenHands, an open-source platform for AI agents, where he helps assess reported vulnerabilities, coordinates patching and disclosure, and advises maintainers on security decisions. He also contributed the OpenHands SDK's security analyzer, which assesses the risk of an agent's actions before they run. Nelson brings seven years in behavioral health research and peer support, including provider accreditation and workforce development at Faces & Voices of Recovery. He served a three-year term as an elected general board member for the Texas Association of Addiction Professionals, and co-authored "Retaining peers in the behavioral health workforce" in the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal.
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