November 5, 2026

Registration Now Open for the 38th Quest for Excellence® Conference

byBaldrige Foundation

Excellence in Motion | April 4–7, 2027 | Baltimore, Maryland

Join us for the 38th Quest for Excellence® Conference, the official conference of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award®, taking place April 4–7, 2027, at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront.

The premier conference for leaders committed to achieving world-class performance, the Quest for Excellence® Conference provides an opportunity to learn directly from Baldrige Award recipients and other high-performing organizations. Attendees will gain insights into best practices from the nation’s role models for organizational excellence, learning how to elevate performance results, strengthen leadership effectiveness, and drive lasting cultural transformation.

Through engaging presentations, interactive sessions, and opportunities to connect with leaders across sectors, participants will explore role-model best practices and learn ways to build deep customer and workforce engagement, foster continuous innovation, enhance resilience and sustainability, and align strategy with measurable outcomes. Whether you lead in business, health care, education, government, manufacturing, energy, or the nonprofit sector, the Quest for Excellence will equip you with the proven systems, strategies, and inspiration to achieve and sustain long-term success.

Learn. Connect. Engage.

Conference highlights include:

Presentations from 2026 Baldrige Award Recipients and other high-performing organizations
Keynote, Speakers, and Engaging Sessions featuring best practices across sectors
The Baldrige Award Ceremony and Reception honoring the 2026 Award Recipients
NEW THIS YEAR: State of Competitiveness—A National Leadership Conversation on Excellence, Innovation, Resilience, and Economic Strength
Opportunities to exchange ideas, build connections, and discover approaches to improving organizational performance

Pre-Conference Workshops

Attendees can expand their learning through three pre-conference workshop options:

Put the Baldrige Framework to Work: A Hands-On Experience in Assessing and Improving Organizational Performance
Culture Mapping: A Practical Tool for Building Intentional Culture
Value In, Excellence Out: Building Strategy and Excellence from the Stakeholder Up

Registration and Hotel Reservations

Conference registration and hotel reservations are now available through the Quest Event website. Once your Conference Registration is complete, you will be prompted to make your hotel reservations. IMPORTANT: DO NOT contact the Marriott directly to book your room. Any reservation made directly with the hotel will not receive the conference room block rate.

Hotel Room Block Deadline March 12, 2027, at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Sponsorship Opportunities Available

Organizations are invited to become sponsors of the 38th Quest for Excellence® Conference. Sponsorship provides valuable visibility among hundreds of attendees representing business, education, government, health care, nonprofit, and cyber sectors while providing tangible support for the Baldrige Program.

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, contact:

Josh Racette
President & CEO, Baldrige Foundation
202-559-9195

Angela Richardson
Director, Institute for Performance Excellence, Baldrige Foundation
202-559-9195

Important Dates

Sponsor Registration: Now Open
Conference Program Advertisement Deadline: February 5, 2027
Foundation Awards Program Advertisement Deadline: February 5, 2027
Hotel Room Block Cut-Off: March 12, 2027, at 5:00 p.m. ET
Sponsorship Listing, Logo, and URL Submission: Due upon registration

Join us in Baltimore, April 4–7, 2027!

Be part of the conversation, shaping the future of organizational excellence. Learn from national role models, connect with performance excellence leaders, and take home actionable strategies to help your organization achieve lasting success

Register Today

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Baldrige Excellence Framework

Overview: Baldrige Framework National Technical Committee

The Baldrige Framework National Technical Committee is a formally convened body of recognized experts, recipients, examiners, and sector representatives charged with maintaining the technical integrity, precision, and consistency of the Baldrige Excellence Framework as a globally recognized standard of excellence.

Operating under the authority of the Baldrige Foundation Board of Directors, and with the approval of the U.S. Department of Commerce, this Advisory Committee, guided by its Chair, ensures that the Framework continues to reflect the highest standards of systems thinking, organizational assessment, and performance excellence, which will allow organizations and communities to improve their performance, achieve results, and sustain excellence.

The Committee’s purpose is to:

Preserve and validate the technical accuracy of the Framework’s concepts, criteria, and structure.
Advise the Foundation on proposed revisions, updates, cross-sector adaptations, and the development of additional tools and resources.
Ensure consistency across versions and sectors, maintaining the Framework’s unity, integration, and interpretive reliability.
Provide expert recommendations regarding emerging practices, data requirements, and alignment with related industry-recognized standards.
Safeguard the integrity of the Baldrige model as a trusted national and global standard.
Partner with others in the Baldrige ecosystem to coordinate a relationship between the Baldrige Excellence Framework and the Baldrige Award Criteria that is based on consistency, logic, and harmony to benefit user groups such as Applicants.

Membership in the Committee represents a professional distinction and reflects deep expertise in applying, teaching, or advancing the Baldrige Excellence Framework. Members serve as the technical stewards of the nation’s standard for organizational excellence. The term of a committee member is one (1) year and is renewable by invitation only.

Baldrige Framework National Technical Committee Listing

Data Table
Role	Name	Title	Company
Chair	Denise Shields	Board Chair	California Council for Excellence
Officer / Ex-Officio	Josh Racette	President & CEO	Baldrige Foundation
Member	Dawn Bailey	Program Manager / Senior Technical Writer and Editor	Baldrige Executive Fellows Program / Forensic Building Science, Inc.
Member	Margot Hoffman	President & CEO / Board Chair	The Partnership for Excellence / Alliance for Performance Excellence
Member	Jan Johnson	President & CEO	Jordan Johnson, Inc.
Member	Cindy Milrany	Chief Strategy Officer/Chief Administrative Officer	Freese & Nichols
Member	Urvi Patel	Senior Director - Quality and Programs	American Health Care Association
Member	JoAnn Sternke	Founder	Leader Excellence
Committee Advisor	Bob Fangmeyer	Program Director	Baldrige Performance Excellence Program
Committee Advisor	Harry Hertz	Director Emeritus - retired	Baldrige Performance Excellence Program
Committee Advisor	Brian Lassiter	President & CEO	Alliance for Performance Excellence

We are Building a Legacy of Excellence

Help us provide inspiration to the thousands of organizations in manufacturing, health care, education, communities, and government that are using the Baldrige Framework to create jobs and strengthen the economy, increase the quality and access to health care, and improve K-12 and higher education as we navigate these challenging times.

Learn More