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Quest for Excellence Conference

Learn how your organization can achieve outstanding performance. Join us at the premier showcase of Baldrige Award recipients April 7–10, 2024 (Sunday–Wednesday), Gaylord National Harbor Resort and Convention Center, National Harbor, MD (just outside of Washington, D.C.). Official Conference of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, brought to you by the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program at NIST.

#BaldrigeQuest

COME. LEARN. NETWORK. ENGAGE

Join us at the Quest for Excellence 2024! The conference will feature some new and exciting opportunities to learn role model best practices from nationally recognized thought leaders, Baldrige Award recipients, and representatives from other high-performing organizations.

Enjoy sessions focusing on organizational resilience and future emerging challenges and take home solutions to help your organization achieve breakthrough performance and results in all sectors in areas such as leadership; strategy; customers; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; workforce; and operations.

REGISTRATION AND HOTEL RESERVATIONS

Conference registrations will be made through Showcare

Gaylord Hotel Room Block: Now Closed

Existing Reservations:  If you wish to modify or cancel an existing reservation at the Gaylord, email zuladiary.sanabria [at] marriott.com (Zuladiary Sanabria), Group Services Coordinator at the Gaylord.  All Quest attendees have been sent a housing confirmation by the Gaylord.  If you have not received it, check your clutter and junk email folders.

New Reservations:  If you do not have a reservation at the Gaylord and would like to book a room, email zuladiary.sanabria [at] marriott.com (Zuladiary Sanabria), Group Services Coordinator at the Gaylord.  She will advise on the availability and pricing of a room. The Quest conference room rate is no longer guaranteed – pricing is determined by the Gaylord. You may also call the hotel directly at 1-877-491-0468 or book online to reserve a room at the prevailing rate. 

If you are unable to book a room at the Gaylord, we recommend that you reserve a room at a nearby hotel. There are a number to choose from in the National Harbor area that ​are a short walk to the Gaylord.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERs

Monday Opening Keynote

Photo of Shola Richards 35th Quest Opening Keynote
Credit: Shola Richards

Shola Richards

Founder & CEO, Go Together Global & Best-Selling Author
Monday, April 8  |  8:30 am  |  #BaldrigeQuest

Shola Richards is a dynamic keynote speaker, the best-selling author of "Making Work Work", and "Go Together", an in-demand workplace civility expert, and a prolific writer with a passionate worldwide following. His articles and wildly-popular Monday morning "Go Together Movement" email series have impacted people in over 160 countries, and his work has been featured on the Today Show, CBS This Morning, Forbes, Black Enterprise, Complete Wellbeing India, and Business Insider Australia. Read More

Wednesday Closing Keynote

Photo of Robert Martichenko 35th Quest Closing Keynote
Credit: Robert Martichenko

Robert O. Martichenko

Business Leader, Author, Speaker, Educator, Strategic Advisor, and Chair of TrailPaths Incorporated
Wednesday, April 10  |  8:30 am  |  #BaldrigeQuest

TrailPaths is a People Development and Technology Company whose purpose is to create Meaningful Employment Environments™.  To achieve this goal, TrailPaths has developed organizational assessments, interactive learning modules and digital platforms to humanize organizational decision making, modernize leadership behaviors and advance team member participation in the workplace. Read More


CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Opening Reception | Sunday, April 7
Join us on Sunday evening April 7 for the Opening Reception. Attendees have the opportunity to network with members of the Baldrige community such as Award recipients, Examiners, Judges, Overseers, Fellows, Foundation members, and Alliance program representatives!

Organizational Resilience and Long-Term Success Opening Session
Following the opening keynote, industry leaders will speak on the topic of organizational resilience and long-term success.

25 Concurrent Sessions
Monday and Tuesday will feature Baldrige Award recipients and other high-performing organizations speaking on relevant topics of interest, such as leadership and social responsibility, workforce issues, and customers and strategy.

Emerging Challenges Closing Session
Wednesday morning will feature a plenary session where speakers address future emerging challenges.

CONNECT WITH US

To join our online community and receive email announcements on our events, look for the “Connect with Us” banner on the Baldrige website.

Become a Baldrige Sponsor Today!

The Baldrige Program extends a sincere thank you to Baldrige Foundation donors and the 35th Quest for Excellence® Conference sponsors (listed below). Sponsor support helps to defray conference costs and make Quest a better conference experience for all attendees. 

35th Quest Conference Sponsors

Mac Baldrige Society Member Donors

The Baldrige Foundation thanks the following Members of the Mac Baldrige Society for their generous contributions as Trustees of the Institute for Performance Excellence.