General | 1/22/2026 10:00:00 AM
The Empire 8 Conference is set to hold its annual Student-Athlete Leadership Summit on Friday, January 30 and Saturday, January 31, 2026, from Woodcliff Hotel and Spa in Fairport, NY. Lucinda Snyder is the keynote speaker for the event.
This year’s Summit is once again focused on bringing together members of the higher education community from around the conference (student-athletes, Administrators, Coaches and Vice-Presidents) in a fun and educational environment away from campus.
Snyder is a nationally recognized Mental Performance Coach and the founder of Peak Flow. She works with high school, college, and professional athletes across the country to train the mental side of the game helping them stay focused under pressure, bounce back faster, and compete with confidence. A former competitive equestrian, Snyder knows firsthand what it feels like to overthink, spiral after mistakes, and question your ability even when you're putting in the work. This lived experience fuels her mission: to give athletes the tools she never had so they can compete with confidence, presence and joy. Snyder is the creator of the 7 Pillars of Peak Flow: A proven framework for training presence, purpose, and mental resilience.
“The E8 Student-Athlete Summit is an annual highlight of the academic and athletic year,” said Joe Venniro, Empire 8 Senior Associate Commissioner. “Lucinda is an excellent speaker and communicator, who has tremendous experiences working with and mentoring student-athletes at all levels and will inspire our student-athlete leaders and administrators, who will be able to take these conversations back to their teams, campuses and SAAC departments. It is always a special time to be able to bring everyone from all of our member institutions together for this valuable two-day event.”
In addition to the presentations, the student-athletes will also participate in a series of leadership roundtable discussions and practices, Minute-to-Win-it challenge, sports wagering education symposium, discuss various Student-Athlete Advisory Initiatives, and each school will be making their donation of Pop Tabs to the Ronald McDonald House.
Please visit the link for more information on the pop-tab program:
http://www.ronaldshouse.com/community-fundraisers/pop-tab-program.
Programming for the Summit is made possible through the NCAA Strategic Initiative Grant Tier II funds.