Speakers 2026
Sam Hoffner, Managing Partner & Principal Consultant, HGP-Partners
Sam Hoffner is a mission-driven technology and operations executive with more than 20 years of experience designing, deploying, and operating large-scale communications, facilities, and safety infrastructure across education, telecommunications, healthcare, and public safety environments, focused on building systems that keep people safe, organizations resilient, and technology aligned with real human behavior under pressure. He has served in senior leadership roles, including as COO and VP of Operations, across organizations ranging from high-growth technology companies to $2.6B global enterprises. At Kaplan Inc., Sam led the design, construction, and operation of more than 625 education facilities nationwide, overseeing emergency planning, business continuity, and enterprise-critical communications systems supporting tens of thousands of students and staff. More recently, Sam has worked extensively with K–12 schools, higher education institutions, law enforcement agencies, and PSAPs to deploy integrated, wireless, and AI-enabled emergency communications platforms. His work focuses on closing the gap between written safety plans and real-world incident response by aligning technology, operations, and human behavior under stress. Sam currently serves in advisory and volunteer leadership roles supporting school safety legislation, technology standards, and community preparedness initiatives. He brings a practical, operator’s perspective to discussions on why safety plans fail without reliable wireless communications, and how properly designed systems can dramatically improve outcomes during critical incidents.