The Movement Continues
ISSA VEO Conference
The inaugural ISSA VEO Conference sparked something powerful bringing together leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals committed to advancing the Hispanic community across the cleaning and facility solutions industry.
Now, the momentum continues. The VEO Conference returns September 28-29, 2026, in Dallas, TX with an even bigger vision: to connect, empower, and elevate the professionals shaping the future of our industry.
Where Leaders Take the Stage
This September, VEO brings together two exceptional voices to guide the conversation.
ISSA Chief Engagement Officer Karina Neff joins Karina Villaseñor, Vice President of Human Resources at 4M Building Solutions and the 2025 VEO Visionario Award Winner, as cohosts of the 2026 VEO Conference.
Together they’ll welcome attendees, facilitate key moments throughout the event, and help celebrate the leaders who are shaping the future of our industry.
VEO Conference Overview
A Conference With Purpose
VEO—Visión. Empeño. Oportunidad—is more than a conference. It’s a movement dedicated to supporting and celebrating Hispanic professionals across every level of the cleaning and facility solutions industry,
Built for leaders at every stage, the VEO Conference equips professionals with practical strategies, powerful connections, and leadership insights to grow their businesses, advance their careers, and elevate Hispanic representation across the industry.
At the VEO Conference, you’ll experience:
This is where culture, community, and industry leadership come together.
Three Tracks
The VEO Conference 2026 is anchored by three focused session tracks that serve as the core pillars of the VEO Initiative. Led by industry experts, these educational conference sessions provide insight, guidance, and real-word perspective across each pillar.
Who Should Attend
Executive Decision-Makers
Presidents, CEOs, Founders, and Owners shaping company strategy and investment
Operational Leaders
Directors and Managers driving day-to-day execution across operations, sales, HR, and facilities
Senior Leadership
Vice Presidents and Branch Leaders responsible for growth, performance, and operations
Rising & Influential Professionals
High-impact contributors supporting innovation, business development, and future leadership
Conference Speakers
Conference Agenda
Welcome to VEO
Opening Remarks
Karina Neff
Karina Villasenor
Lunch Plenary
De Honrada a Anfitriona: Liderazgo que Eleva a Otros (From Honoree to Host: Leadership That Elevates Others)
Karina VillasenorVice President, Human Resources, 4M Building Solutions
Last year’s Visionario Award recipient returns to the VEO stage as the conference’s first former award winner to serve as Co-Host. Karina shares how true leadership is measured by the opportunities we create for others.
El año pasado, Karina Villasenor fue reconocida con el Premio Visionario. Este año regresa al escenario de VEO no solo como homenajeada, sino como Co-Anfitriona — la primera en hacerlo. En esta sesión, comparte lo que significa usar el éxito al servicio de la comunidad, y cómo el liderazgo verdadero consiste en abrir la puerta para que otros suban después de ti.
Presented in Spanish
Financial Literacy
From 8(a) to Open Market: The Financial Playbook Behind Graduating a Federal Contract Program
Eric MarceleñoChief Operating Officer, Unica Enterprises LLC
Unica Enterprises just graduated from the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program after nine years — and immediately achieved CMMC 2.0 Level 1 compliance to keep competing for federal work. Eric Marceleño walks through what it actually takes, financially and operationally, to build toward government contracts, survive the transition off 8(a), and keep winning in the full and open marketplace.
Presented in English
Mastering Technology
Triaje de IA para Operadores: Qué Tecnología Realmente Mueve tu P&L (AI Triage for Operators: What Technology Actually Moves Your P&L)
Karina NeffChief Engagement Officer, ISSA
Learn a practical framework for evaluating AI and technology investments that improve operational performance and profitability.
Con tanta tecnología nueva compitiendo por su atención y presupuesto, ¿cómo decide un operador de BSC qué vale la pena adoptar y qué es solo ruido? Karina comparte un marco práctico de “triaje” para evaluar herramientas de IA y tecnología — separando lo que protege el margen de lo que solo se ve bien en una demo.
Presented in Spanish
Professional Development
Retention Is a Leadership Problem, Not an HR Problem
Channing JohnsonPresident, KB Building Services
As President of KB Building Services and an existing Altus Summit Principal, Channing Johnson has built a reputation around one idea: the companies that keep people aren’t the ones with the best benefits — they’re the ones where leaders actually show up. This session is a practical look at what retention looks like day to day, from recognizing frontline employees by name to reframing competitors as collaborators.
Presented in English
Financial Literacy
Access to Capital: What Banks Really Look For
Victor LizanoCo-owner of Amazing 360 Commercial Services, LLC
Coming Soon!
Professional Development
Systems That Scale, Purpose That Lasts: 40 Years of Lessons from the Cleaning Industry
Debbie SardoneConsultant & Speaker, Debbie Sardone Consulting
Debbie Sardone started cleaning houses out of her car in 1982. Today she owns Buckets & Bows Maid Service, Speed Cleaning, and the Cleaning Business Fundamentals academy, and founded Cleaning for a Reason — free cleanings for 60,000+ families fighting cancer. The systems that let a business scale, and the purpose that makes it worth it.
Presented in English
VEO Networking Reception & Cocktails
Salud y Conexiones — Meet fellow leaders, reconnect with colleagues, and build new relationships during an evening of networking.
Financial Literacy
Margin Discipline: Building Revenue Growth That Doesn’t Cost You Your Profit
Mike FittsChief Commercial Officer, 4M Building Solutions
As Chief Commercial Officer at 4M Building Solutions, Michael Fitts has spent his career on the tension between growth and margin — new logos are easy to chase and expensive to keep if the contract terms aren’t right. This session breaks down what belongs in a janitorial contract (and what gap in the fine print costs facilities real money), and how to grow commercial accounts without discounting your way there.
Presented in English
Professional Development
Radiant Leadership: Why Kindness and Accountability Can Live in the Same Room
Panel Discussion
Laurie SewellSpecial Advisor, Servicon
Karina VillasenorVice President, Human Resources, 4M Building Solutions
Bill KingChief Operating Officer, CCS Facility Services
After 15+ years leading Servicon to a 2,500-employee national company, Laurie Sewell has a clear point of view on what she calls “radiant leadership,” not relentless positivity, but leadership that sets the emotional climate of an organization on purpose. This session unpacks how to hold warmth and hard conversations at the same time, and why that combination — not one or the other — is what actually drives performance.
Presented in English
Mastering Technology
De Concentrados a Listos para Usar: Cómo la Tecnología de Producto Está Cambiando la Limpieza Comercial (From Concentrates to Ready-to-Use: How Product Technology Is Reshaping the Clean)
Adam Tan-CejaChief Operating Officer & VP, Pass Janitorial Service
Como socio de CloroxPro, Adam Tan-Ceja ha visto de cerca cómo el cambio de químicos concentrados a soluciones listas para usar (RTU) transforma la seguridad, consistencia y velocidad del trabajo de limpieza. En esta sesión ligera pero práctica, comparte lo que aprendió al adoptar esta tecnología en su propio negocio, Pass Janitorial Services.
Presented in Spanish
Professional Development
Built by Us: Growing a Family Culture Without Losing Your Edge
Nancy GalvanFounder and CEO, Unica Enterprises LLC
As Owner/CEO of Unica Enterprises, Nancy Galvan has built a facility services company recognized at the Women to Know in Texas Gala — while still celebrating employee anniversaries and milestones like family. This session is about the balance every growing BSC owner wrestles with: how do you scale a real business without losing the culture that made people want to stay in the first place?
Presented bilingually in English & Spanish
Professional Development
Stronger Together: One Operator’s Journey, and an Honest Look at Your Own (Más Fuertes Juntos: La Historia de un Operador y una Mirada Honesta a la Tuya)
Ricardo RegaladoFounder & CEO, Route, & Owner, Rozalado Services
Ricardo Regalado tells the story of how he got here — the whole arc, not the highlight reel — and then turns it outward. The “Stronger Together” mentality is the thesis: that operators in this industry have historically been kept apart, treated as competitors first, and that the ones who grow are the ones who stop doing that. The back half of the block is a live, working assessment attendees complete at their tables about where their own business actually stands.
Presented bilingually in English & Spanish
Sustainability
The Sustainability Standard: What Clients Expect, What Operators Deliver
Panel Discussion
Erin ReillyLEED AP O&M, Sustainability & Procurement Consultant
Sustainability has moved from a marketing page to a purchasing requirement — and this panel covers every side of that shift.
Presented in English
Financial Literacy
The Numbers Behind the Building: How Property Managers Read Your Price
Speakers
Glenn HugoFounder & Principal, PM Solutions Group, LLC
John Powell WalkerAsset Manager, Wiggin Properties, LLC
Every price a service provider quotes has to survive two other sets of eyes: the property manager who runs the building’s budget, and the asset manager who answers to ownership for its returns. This session puts both on stage. Glenn Hugo brings 30+ years on the property management side where budgets get built and service contracts live or die. John Powell Walker, Asset Manager at Wiggin Properties brings the ownership side where NOI targets are set and every line item has to earn its place. Together they open up the full financial picture of a building: how budgets actually get made, why pricing gets challenged mid-contract, and how to defend your margin with numbers instead of goodwill. Three sides of the same coin, the operator who delivers the service, the property manager who buys it, and the asset manager who pays for it, finally in the same room.
Presented in English
Mastering Technology
From Ad Spend to Labor Hours: An Honest Conversation About Bridging the Data Gap
Speakers
Cherian ThomasHead of Global Brand Partnerships, T-Mobile
Karina NeffISSA Chief Engagement Officer
Cherian Thomas works at the top of the most measured industry on earth, as Head of Global Brand Partnerships for T-Mobile Advertising Solutions. He sits across the table from brands like the USGA, the Seattle Seahawks, and the LA28 Olympics, organizations that demand proof, in data, that every dollar they spend moves a real person to act. Karina Neff comes from the other end of the economy: an industry where good work disappears the moment it’s done, and where the value lives in labor hours, inspection scores, turnover reports, and the P&L. One measures attention while the other measures work. In this fireside chat, they keep arriving at the same question: how do you prove, with data, the value of what you do? No slides, no script, just an honest conversation about bridging the gap between the data the market demands and the data our industry already has.
Presented in English
The views and opinions expressed by Cherian Thomas during this session are those of the speaker and do not represent the views or positions of T-Mobile.
Closing Remarks
Karina Neff
Karina Villasenor
Visionario Gala
Celebrate the outstanding leaders shaping the future of the cleaning and facility solutions industry.
Keynote
Cherian ThomasHead of Global Brand Partnerships, T-Mobile
Event Pricing:
Featured Message
Hear The Powerful Message
U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer prepared this inspiring address for the VEO Conference Attendees.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer
U.S. Secretary of Labor
Featured Message
Hear the Powerful Message
U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer prepared this inspiring address for the VEO Conference Attendees.
Bold Moves, Real Results – VEO Attendees Share Their Experience!
“I was honored to participate in the inaugural VEO Conference. The content, networking, and overall vibe of the event were amazing, and I can’t wait for the next one.”
“The VEO Conference was an inspiring celebration of leadership, culture, and community. I left energized, connected, and proud to be part of an industry that uplifts and empowers.”
“VEO is a holistic and transformative experience! The sense of community with peers is both inspiring and motivating! This is something I will look forward to all year long, every year.”
“The VEO event by ISSA truly exceeded my expectations. All the speakers delivered valuable messages that provide great contributions to the industry. In addition to the honor of being nominated and winning at the event, I believe this is a very meaningful opportunity for the hardworking and entrepreneurial Latino community to learn about and take part in these events. They are truly enriching and inspiring experiences that can open many doors for growth and connection.”
“Just wrapped up the VEO Conference and wow-what a game changer. From aligning profit with purpose to designing leadership and other growth programs that build confidence through competence, I left with a toolkit to elevate both our financial strategy and team culture. Grateful for the insights, inspiration, and actionable steps to take our organization to the next level. Thank you to those who made this conference possible!”
