WASHINGTON DC – The American Bakers Association (ABA) has announced that its NextGenBaker Leadership Forum will now be completely virtual, and that the in-person programming originally scheduled for September has been postponed to April 26-28, 2022.

This is one of many tradeshows and industry events that have been forced to modify their schedules due the Delta variant of COVID-19, which continues to spread across the country.

“While we are disappointed to have to postpone the in-person programming until the spring event, we feel it is the best approach to ensure an exceptional experience for everyone,” said Christina Donnelly, director of industry relations and strategic relations for ABA. “The silver lining is that we will now provide attendees even more leadership development programming.”

The two-day virtual event connects attendees with experts focusing on the development of leadership skills from both inside and outside the baking industry, and NextGenBakers range in positions from managers and directors to senior VPs in all departments.

Some highlights of the program include interactive sessions with experts covering topics such as marketplace trends, diversity and inclusion, leadership, and utilizing emotional intelligence in communication styles and a variety of networking roundtables in topic-based discussion groups.

Those that planned on attending the in-person event will have their registration fees transferred to the new leadership forum dates of April 26-28, 2022. The April 2022 Leadership Forum will still be held at the McChrystal Group in Alexandria, VA.

Registration for the virtual NextGenBaker Leadership Forum will be open until Sept. 13 for the events to be held on the 14th and 16th. You can find more information here.