2022 Spring Colloquium

April 6, 7, & 8
11:00-5:00 Eastern Time


For a second year, AHEAD is delighted to bring you three days of virtual presentations on three topics crucial to higher education disability resource professionals. Join nationally recognized experts to further your knowledge and thinking on particular topics of interest. Participate in just one day or join us for all three thought provoking days!

  • Day 1: Legal and policy issues
  • Day 2: Furthering cross-campus connections
  • Day 3: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Each day will feature an opening plenary designed to set the stage, followed by three presentations focusing on some of the practical aspects of the topic, and end with a Q&A panel opportunity to ask the experts.

Register for the Colloquium here!

Attending Using Zoom & Accessing Recordings

All participants should have a Zoom account. If you don’t have one, please establish a free account prior to the start of the Colloquium.

All sessions will be live, professionally captioned. If you need any other accommodations, please let us know during registration.

All sessions will be recorded and available to all registrants after the event ends live, but we encourage you to attend live whenever possible, so you can participate and ask questions!

Registration Fees

Registration Fees

  • Three Day registration:
    • AHEAD Member: $259
    • Non-member: $399
  • Single day registration:
    • AHEAD Member: $159/day 
    • Non-member: $199/day

Refunds are available, minus a $25.00 processing fee, through March 25, 2022. After that date, refunds are not available. All sessions will be recorded for later viewing.

Payment Options

In order to receive access to your purchase, including live events, you MUST contact AHEAD and make a full payment if you are paying by check or purchase order. You may also pay your invoice using your credit card.


Register Online

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Attendance Verification

If you would like to verify your attendance for your professional license CEUs, you may email ahead@ahead.org to request an attendance verification letter you can submit to your licensing organization. Please include which sessions you attended. AHEAD staff will check the online attendance record and provide you with a letter. Attendance verification requests must be made within six months of the event you attend.
2022 Spring Colloquium logo

Day 1: Wednesday, April 6: Law and Policy

Keynote: Reconciling Legal Compliance with Social Justice

11:00 – 12:00 Eastern
Paul Grossman, retired Hastings College of Law and the Office of Civil Rights

The introduction to this year’s legal strand will focus on the ethical and practical considerations in deciding when to follow legal advice and when, in the interest of social justice, to not follow it.  Often, the daily work of disability professionals involves intricate balancing acts about how strictly to adhere to the letter of disability law and how to communicate our legal obligation to other university faculty and administrators. Sometimes, following the law will not be very practical, and difficult decisions must be made. Sometimes a school’s legal counsel and administration make misguided choices that we believe will harm students. When we think that the legal compliance strategies of our employer are disastrous, where can we turn for help? This session will explore how to balance our legal obligations with our social justice objectives, and how best to communicate to ensure we are providing our institutions with ethical and just guidance.

Weeding Out Campus Ableism Through Institutional Policy Reviews

12:15 – 1:15 Eastern
L. Scott Lissner, The Ohio State University

Policies outside of the disability office, such as withdrawal policies, student conduct processes, travel guidelines, etc., can have profound impacts on disabled students. These policies can and should be improved to be better facilitators of access and inclusion, but how do you get started and what steps are necessary? This session will offer guidance on how you can implement change on your campus to make your institution’s policies more inclusive.

Assessing Internal Policies in Light Of  Long COVID

1:45 – 2:45 Eastern
Jane Jarrow, DAIS

One of the emerging issues in the wake of the pandemic is “Long COVID”—the cluster of symptoms still not fully understood, but nonetheless widely observed, including heart and breathing problems impacting stamina, brain fog, anxiety, and others; and with durations ranging from short to potentially permanent. As students present with Long COVID, how should institutions respond? Join this panel to hear about how institutions are updating their policies regarding medical documentation, conducting ongoing reassessment of continuing need, and evaluating what accommodations may be appropriate for this emerging student population.

Practical Application of the Law: Why It's Important and How to Achieve It

3:00 – 4:00 Eastern
Jamie Axelrod, Northern Arizona University

Part of the work of disability professionals is to understand recent legal outcomes and apply them to our work with students. But sometimes the legal guidance is detailed and complex. This session will provide a framework for working through complicated situations. When we apply that practical guidance in a purposeful way, it can lead to effective approaches to access which serve both students and our institutions well.

Roundtable Q&A

4:15 – 5:00 Eastern

Join the presenters from the day in an informal session where you can ask lingering questions or solicit opinions on topics of interest.

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Day 2: Thursday, April 7: Collaborating Across Campus

Keynote: Starting From Within to Effectively Reach Out

11:00 – 12:00 Eastern
Adam Meyer, Central Florida University

Working with campus partners to make meaningful change begins with understanding your own core mission and purpose. If we do not know why we do what we do and how to explain that well, we cannot collaborate effectively with others. Join this kick-off session to start your own thinking about your central beliefs, and how you can tap into those to drive forward a mission and vision of access and inclusion on your campus.

Managing Up: Effective Engagement with Upper Administration

12:15 – 1:15 Eastern
Craig Elliott, Montana Technological University

There’s often been a disconnect between disability offices and the campus “higher-ups”: how can disability office personnel work with senior leaders to empower and enable them to focus on eliminating systemic barriers to access? This presentation by a university Vice Chancellor will address what disability offices need to know about student affairs and upper administration processes, how to make your best case for institutional change, and concrete steps to take if you encounter institutional resistance to new ideas.

Establishing Cross-Campus Collaboration and Partnerships

1:45 – 2:45 Eastern
Enjie Hall, University of Toledo

Disability offices have the opportunity to build strong relationships with other campus entities, such as Housing, Dining, Maintenance, Transportation, Technology Services, and of course faculty, to advance accessibility. We will explore how we can partner with others on campus to enhance accessibility and implement accommodations. A system unique to each campus can be developed to ensure access and accommodations contribute to an equitable and inclusive experience for disabled students.

Natural Partners in Supporting Students: Title IX and Disability

3:00 – 4:00 Eastern
Bea Awoniyi, Santa Fe College

Every school has someone identified as responsible for Title IX compliance. At some schools that role overlaps significantly with disability access responsibilities and at other institutions the two rarely interact. Hear from an Assistant Vice President and past AHEAD President about how the two offices can proactively create protocols for implementing joint student support, such as providing immediate academic accommodations to victims of sexual assault, supports for pregnant students and parents of newborns, and accommodations during the conduct process.

Roundtable Q&A

4:15 – 5:00 Eastern

Join the presenters from the day in an informal session where you can ask lingering questions or solicit opinions on topics of interest.

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Day 3: Friday, April 8: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Keynote: Shaping the Campus Conversation on Disability and Diversity

11:00 – 12:00 Eastern
Ryan Saddler, St. Ambrose University

We are pleased to kick off the day with a presenter who wears two hats: Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Director of the Accessibility Resource Center. Relying on his training and his lived experience, he will discuss the importance of history in framing ableism and how DEI work is essential to our roles on campus, no matter what office we work in. Understanding what we do and why we do it, as well as the importance of acknowledging our own, and our students,’ intersecting identities, provides the framework for each of us to be effective practitioners and collaborators to promote diversity, support inclusion, and advocate for equity in our personal and professional lives.

Creating Welcoming Spaces for Disabled BIPOC Students

12:15 – 1:15 Eastern
Karen Andrews, Brown University

Black, Brown, and Indigenous student populations are often underserved in higher education disability offices as compared to their white peers. What is contributing to this imbalance, and what can offices do about it? This session will identify reasons for this common disparity, discuss how DRC offices can provide resources and supports for underrepresented students, and describe how disability offices can communicate (both subtly and directly) that they are safe spaces for students of all races and backgrounds.

Anti-Racism and Anti-Ableism are Entwined: A Presentation and Panel Discussion

1:45 – 2:45 Eastern
Mary Lee Vance, California State University, Sacramento
Rahsaan Ellison-Johnson, California State University, Sacramento
Katherine Betts, California State University, Sacramento

Three panelists will share their personal and professional experiences growing up with intersectional identities, and eventually becoming among the few disabled college administrators of color. The session will provide a brief historical glimpse of how the Civil Rights Movement led the way for the Disability Rights Movement, and how the intersection of race and disability, racism and ableism are intertwined.

Disability Cultural Centers: Creation and Partnership to Support Students Disability Identity

3:00 – 4:00 Eastern
Elizabeth (liz) Anh Thomson, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago

Like other identity cultural centers on U.S. campuses, disability cultural centers (DCCs) emerged as safe spaces for people who share a marginalized identity to develop pride in disability identity, create community, share disability culture, and challenge ableism. Although most campuses now have a person, or an entire Disability Resource Center (DRC), dedicated to improving disability access on campus, many campuses do not yet have a DCC. This session will present an overview of DCCs and describe recent research on one DCC’s impact on disabled students. Then, we'll explore together how DCCs and DRCs can be in collaboration with each other.

Roundtable Q&A

4:15 – 5:00 Eastern

Join the presenters from the day in an informal session where you can ask lingering questions or solicit opinions on topics of interest.

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Presenter Bios

Karen Andrews
Karen Andrews, M.Ed. is the Director of the Student Accessibility Services office at Brown University. She serves on AHEAD’s Board of Directors as a Director-at-Large and has served AHEAD as the Chair of the Racial and Ethnic Diversity and Disability (REDD Knowledge & Practice Community, a conference presenter, session moderator, and proposal reviewer. Karen has a firm foundation in understanding the complexities of eliminating barriers, providing accommodations and services, and fighting to promote inclusive excellence. She is experienced in leading large, diverse teams.

Bea Awoniy

Bea Awoniyi, Ph.D. is the Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs at Santa Fe College, overseeing the disability resource center, serves as Ombudsperson, and helps to oversee grant awards among many other different aspects of her role. Dr. Awoniyi has a long career in higher education, previously having worked in other universities at their disability resource centers and serving in vast leadership roles. She is a Past President and current Board member of AHEAD.

Jamie Axelrod
Jamie Axelrod, M.S. is the Director of Disability Resources at Northern Arizona University and Past-President of AHEAD. Jamie presents regularly on topics related to disability access and higher education, having expertise in disability law and policy, communication and information technology (ICT) access, and the reasonable accommodation process. Jamie is a regular and well-respected contributor to professional listservs, including AHEAD’s discussion boards, and is a go-to consultant for complex issues. He has worked for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s athletic department, as a mental health therapist, and for Protection and Advocacy Systems, Inc., a disability rights advocacy law firm where he served as an advocate for individuals with disabilities who were claiming that their civil rights had been violated. Jamie has served as co-chair of Northern Arizona University’s Commission on Disability Access and Design and on AHEAD’s Board of Directors.

Katherine Betts

Katherine Betts, A.B.D., currently serves as the Director of Belonging Education Support Services within the Division of Inclusive Excellence at CSUS. Prior to arriving at Sacramento State, Katherine served over 16 years in a variety of professional positions at The Ohio State University, The University of Iowa, and Oregon State University. In her current role Katherine leads the work of the University’s Bias Response Team in implementing policies and procedures designed to reduce the incidents of hate and bias on campus. Using data informed practices, Katherine works in collaboration with a range of campus partners to enhance campus climate that is situated in anti-racist and anti-oppression practices as a means of creating a welcoming and socially just campus community. Katherine is a transformational leader with strong passion for creating equity and access to higher education and centers her work through a diversity, equity belonging, inclusion, and justice lens. Katherine identifies as a Black women and vision impaired.

 

Craig Elliott

Craig Elliott, Ph.D. has worked in student affairs for 30 years, and serves as the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at Montana Tech University. Craig has presented numerous programs at the local and national level on equity, inclusion, social justice, and leadership, and has served in a variety of leadership capacities in ACPA, NASPA, and NCORE. Notably, Craig has served as President of ACPA-College Student Educators International from 2019-2020, while also serving as Vice President and Past President. He serves on the faculty with the Social Justice Training Institute (SJTI), is a Co-Lead facilitator for LeaderShape, and is on the board of World Trust. Craig recently co-authored a book with fellow SJTI alums Robert Brown and Shruti Desai, Identity-Conscious Supervision in Student Affairs: Building Relationships and Transforming Systems. His research interests explore white supremacy and internalized dominance, feminism and masculinity, the intersection of transformative learning and social justice, and institutional change. Craig also is part of the editorial collective for Rad Dad, a zine on feminist and social justice parenting. He has also contributed chapters on feminism, fathering, co-authored articles on institutional barriers to inclusion and equity, and transformative learning, and co-edited three anthologies on feminist parenting.

 

Paul Grossman

Paul Grossman, J.D. is the Executive Counsel of AHEAD with over 40 years of service at OCR in Washington and San Francisco, most of them as a Chief Regional Attorney. Paul also taught disability law for over 20 years at Hastings College of Law, UC. Paul remains a frequent guest lecturer for AHEAD, CAPED, Hastings, UC Berkeley, the California Community College System and the National Association of ADA Coordinators. Paul served multiple terms on AHEAD’s Board of Directors and remains a member of the AHEAD Public Policy Committee as well as the Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) Expert Advisory Board. Through investigation, decision writing, and negotiations, Paul has addressed every form of discrimination in education including race, national origin, sex and disability, often developing new approaches for protecting the civil rights of students. Paul is the author of AHEAD’s publication, The Law of Disability Discrimination for Higher Education Professionals . Paul joins Jamie Axelrod, M.S. and Mary Lee Vance, Ph.D. in two book chapters on analytical tools and procedures for DSS officers when they face their most complex and challenging questions, planned for publication by AHEAD in Summer 2022.

 

Enjie Hall

Enjie Hall, M.R.C. serves as the Director for the Office of Accessibility and Disability Resources at The University of Toledo in Ohio. She holds a dual role and also serves as the ADA/504 Compliance Officer for the institution, which includes the Health Science Campus and University of Toledo Medical Center. As a disabled individual, Enjie has passionately advocated for civil rights and the inclusion of disabled people for 25 years. Enjie previously worked in the disability office at The Ohio State University. She has served as a director at large on the AHEAD national board since 2018. She has presented locally and nationally on a variety of topics related to disability, DEI, leadership/influence, assistive technology, and navigating the interactive process. Enjie has been a co-author for a white paper and articles pertaining to navigating and documenting the interactive process; best practices for emotional support animals; and the role of third-party documentation. She is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) as well as a licensed professional Counselor (PC) in Ohio.

 

Jane Jarrow

Jane Jarrow, Ph.D. has established a reputation for being knowledgeable and articulate in understanding and presenting the issues of importance related to disability in the higher education arena. She is a prolific author and an acknowledged leader in the field. Her professional involvement in this field spans more than 35 years and includes a tenure as the Executive Director of the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD). Those who have turned to her for technical assistance or who have heard her speak have remarked on Jane’s comfortable presentation style, her down-to-earth approach to the subject, her ready availability and willingness to assist, and her ability to relate general legal principles to the specific situations encountered in the postsecondary setting.

Rahsaan Ellison-Johnson

Rahsaan Ellison-Johnson, M.A. currently serves as Interim Director/Associate Director of Services to Students with Disabilities at CSUS.    Rahsaan received his M.A. in Education from University of the Pacific and acquired experience in Student Affairs in his roles as a Diversity Coordinator and Safe Zone Program Assistant in Multicultural Affairs, and as a Disability Service Provider, Academic Coach, Coordinator, and Assistant Director of Services for Students with Disabilities.  Rahsaan identifies as Black, visually impaired, and SGL.


Scott Lissner
L. Scott Lissner, M.Ed. is the Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator and 504 Compliance Officer for The Ohio State University, where he is also an Associate of the John Glenn School of Public Policy and serves as a lecturer for the Moritz College of Law, the Knowlton School of Architecture and Disability Studies. Engaged in community and professional service, Scott is a Past President and Public Policy Chair of the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and serves on the Board of Directors for The Center for Disability Empowerment, VSA Ohio, and the Editorial Board for Thompson’s ADA Compliance Guide. He is a regular and popular presenter both nationally and internationally, serves on numerous boards in support of access and equity. Recent publications include The Impact of the ADAAA of 2008 on Higher Education, Thompsons Publications; Universal Design in the Institutional Setting: Weaving a Philosophy into Campus Planning in Universal Design: From Accessibility to Zoning (J. Cowley-Evans & J. Nasser (Eds.); From Legal Principle to Informed Practice with J. E. Jarrow; and A Long View of Change, Disability Blog, The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.

 

Adam Meyer

Adam Meyer, Ph.D. is the Director of the Student Accessibility Services office and of Inclusive Education Services at the University of Central Florida. He was previously the Director of disability resource offices at Eastern Michigan University and Saint Louis University. Adam has served on the AHEAD Board of Directors and on AHEAD Standing Committees. He presents regularly on documentation, the social model of disability, leadership and office operations, initial student interviews, office data, and budgetary basics. Adam worked in the intellectual disability field for nearly 10 years prior to working in higher education.

 

Ryan Saddler

Ryan Saddler, M.Ed. is in his twenty-seventh year at St. Ambrose University and in August of 2019 was appointed the university’s first Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.  Saddler graduated from St. Ambrose in 1995 with a B.S. degree in Biology and a B.A. in Psychology. He added a Master of Education degree with a Postsecondary Disability Services emphasis from St. Ambrose in 2006 and has worked at the university in multiple roles since 1995. Most recently he has served in the dual capacities of Director of Diversity and Director of the Accessibility Resource Center. Since Saddler’s 1996 employment began at St. Ambrose, he has served at the university in multiple roles such as Black Student Union Advisor, Office of Multicultural Affairs Director, Assistant Football Coach, Assistant & Head Track and Field coach, Chair and Co-Chair of the Diversity Work Group, and NAACP Student Chapter Advisor. Saddler has presented locally and nationally on various topics such as career outcome expectancies and exploration intentions of students with disabilities, disability law for higher education institutions and how our Worldview effects how we see the World and multiple diversity, equity and inclusion topics. Saddler has also represented the University through a number of professional and community boards and networks. He served ten consecutive years in various capacities including president for ILLOWA AHEAD (Association on Higher Education and Disability); a founding member and Vice-President of the Quad City Minority Partnership, Inc. (2006); serves as a reader for the Scott County Regional Authority Grant; a founding member of the Mottet Leadership Institute core leadership team; a Tri-Chair of the United Way of the QC - African American Leadership Society; and facilitator for Twin-Cities based Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative (FREC).

 

Elizabeth (liz) Anh Thomson
Elizabeth (liz) Anh Thomson, Ph.D. is the Assistant Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs / Director, Equity, Diversity & Intercultural Programs at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Their work with college equity and inclusion includes serving as interim director for four years for two cultural centers - Asian American Resource and Cultural Center and the Gender and Sexuality Center - at the University of Illinois at Chicago. They spent the prior nine years there as an Assistant Director and various program coordinator roles. At Northeastern Illinois University's Project Success Program, they advised at risk students and coordinated orientation, recruitment, and outreach activities. They also have 10 years of liberal arts college administrative experience at their alma mater, Lake Forest College - as Chicago Alliance Program director, Office of Campus Activities assistant director, and Office of Marketing and Communications assistant director. Liz has served as an adjunct instructor in Asian American Studies and Women's Studies, guest lecturer in Disabilities and Human Development, and an academic support course instructor. Their experience includes facilitating programs using dialogue methods; organizing large, campus wide diversity and inclusion programs and events; and working relationships centered in collaboration and community building. Liz earned their PhD in Disability Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Their academic research is exploring the new phenomenon of disability cultural centers in U.S. higher education. They hold an M.A. in Women and Gender Studies from Roosevelt University and a B.A. in German and Sociology/Anthropology from Lake Forest College.
Mary Lee Vance

Mary Lee Vance, Ph.D. is currently serving as the Interim Director for the Office of Equal Opportunity and is the Director of Services to Students with Disabilities at CSUS. Dr. Vance earned her terminal degree from Michigan State University while working full-time in Student Services. During her postsecondary career she has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses, directed a variety of student services, and been published in numerous scholarly journals at Michigan State University, Iowa State University, George Mason University,  UW Superior, University of Montana, UC Berkeley, Orange Coast College and Sac State. Mary Lee (said together) has served two consecutive terms as an AHEAD Board of Directors, is active within the AHEAD Racial and Ethnic Diversity and Disability (REDD)Knowledge and Practice Community, and was the first awardee of the Duraese Hall  Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award. She identifies as a Disabled, Female, Korean American Adoptee. Among other topics, she has presented on the intersection of race and disability, while providing disability law trainings for AHEAD and colleges across the nation.



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