Dallas, TX | Atlanta, GA | Orlando, FL | Seattle, WA | Denver, CO | Los Angeles, CA

The Utility 2030 Leadership Collaborative (U2030) and Paymentus partnered during the summer of 2025 to host INFLIGHT 2025, a six-city workshop series focused on affordability and reducing cost-to-serve across the utility and telecom industries.

As part of U2030’s ongoing commitment to community impact, the series also incorporated hands-on service projects in each host city. During lunch sessions sponsored by VertexOne, participants assembled more than 650 hygiene kits for women and children living in emergency abuse shelters.

“We are thrilled that our partners at Paymentus and VertexOne understand the value of our Community Service Program and the importance of giving back in the communities where we host events,” said Vanessa Edmonds, CEO of U2030. “These projects create a meaningful way for leaders to connect service, humanity, and impact.”

Participants in these projects receive a commemorative service pin for each project they complete. After participating in eight service initiatives, volunteers earn a custom U2030-branded backpack to display their pins as a reminder of the impact they’ve made.

Building on the momentum of last year’s series, U2030 and Paymentus will return in 2026 with INFLIGHT 2026: The Golden Age of Service, a five-city workshop series taking place in in June, July, and August in Phoenix, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, and Dallas.

Aligned with the 2026 theme, participants will assemble care packages for seniors in need in each host city. The series will bring together utility and telecommunications professionals focused on customer experience (CX) to explore an important question: what made customer service feel more human in the past — and how can modern technologies like AI help bring those qualities back, rather than optimize them away?

Through immersive workshops, leadership discussions, and hands-on activities, INFLIGHT 2026 will challenge attendees to rethink service, trust, affordability, and the future of customer experience.

Learn more about INFLIGHT 2026 HERE: INFLIGHT Workshops – U2030