Illinois/Iowa AHEAD History

The chapter was formed in the Fall of 1998 by a group of Disability Service Providers from Northern Illinois and the Chicago Area joining with their peers in Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. Our first Regional Conference took place at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA as the organization was being formed in the Spring of 1999. With the great response from this conference, By-Laws were adopted by the newly formed Board of the Chapter in the Fall of 1999. Additional regional conferences were held at Northern Illinois University, St. Ambrose University, Cliffbreakers in Rockford, IL, and the Radisson in Davenport, Iowa. ILLOWA AHEAD has most recently begun to host roundtable workshops throughout the IL and IA region. These workshops allow participants to share ideas, solutions and resources on "hot topics" in the DSS field. Roundtables have been held at Rock Valley College, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Iowa State University, and Northern Illinois University.