AHEAD Ingenuity Forum

Choose Your Own Adventure. AHEAD Ingenuity Forum. January 27-29, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Learning for Professionals at Any Career Stage

AHEAD is excited to offer a brand-new kind of learning opportunity. Inspired by feedback from members, we are providing an educational experience where you can design your own curriculum. We’re calling this the Ingenuity Forum because it offers ingenuity in both the structure of the event—choosing from 37 individual sessions to match the particular learning needs you have right now—and within the sessions themselves—the way the presenters will share their knowledge. 

Choose from two-day, one-day and half-day sessions, taught by top experts in the field and offering depth on a wide variety of topics, all taught interactively. This is unlike any other conference or institute AHEAD has offered before, and you won’t want to miss the opportunity to build your own educational adventure!

Why attend the Ingenuity Forum?

AHEAD’s Ingenuity Forum sessions offer an opportunity to get specialized training on a particular topic, and the interactive nature of the sessions provides opportunities to collaborate with other attendees, so you get to know other professionals and build your network. They are a great way to expand your knowledge! Larger topics are broken down into segments, so attendees can attend just the portions most relevant to their own work, and mix and match topics. For attendees who would like to get specialized training on a variety of topics, we will offer the ability to pick and choose from among many topics. 

Tracks, or Not! Your Choice!

For those interested in building a training around particular topics, we are excited to offer several topical “tracks,” though you may select any session and are not at all obligated to stick with any one topic. 

To make it easy to identify which sessions fall into the tracks, we have applied the following track labels to sessions:

  • Leadership
  • Health Science Programs
  • ADA/504 Coordinators
  • Coaching
  • Technology
  • Accommodation Determination and Implementation

Career Stages: Suit Your Sessions to Your Experience Level

We have ensured some sessions are geared to newer professionals, while others offer material more suited to professionals who have been in the field longer. We let you know which sessions are best suited for different experience levels by offering the following labels on sessions:

  • New/Newer Professionals
  • Seasoned Professionals
  • Office Leaders, regardless of time in the field
  • All Levels

Networking Opportunities are Built In!

AHEAD has heard from our members that you value the opportunities to get to know other attendees. We took that to heart when we built this Forum.

Sunday Evening Social

We invite you to join us when you first arrive in New Orleans for some light hors d'oeuvres and drinks to start off your time together. We hope you will get to know colleagues to not only spend meal breaks with locally while you’re here, but also call on in the future for professional advice and listening.  

Sessions Built With Interaction In Mind

You will see when you read the session descriptions that The Ingenuity Forum doesn’t offer “sage on the stage” style sessions full of heavy lecture. Instead, all sessions are created to have different kinds of interaction, allowing attendees to get to know others, build collegial relationships, and leave with a professional network for the future.

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Schedule

The Forum includes 15 total hours of instruction, spread over 2.5 days (6 hours each on Monday and Tuesday, 3 hours on Wednesday). You pay one flat rate for 15 hours of learning, tailored to your own needs!

Sunday, January 26, 2025
Welcome Reception - 7:00 - 8:30 pm 

Monday and Tuesday, January 27 and 28, 2025 
Sessions - 8:30 am - 10:00 am
Break - 10:00 am - 10:30 am
Sessions -10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Lunch - 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Sessions - 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Break - 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Sessions - 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Sessions - 8:30 am - 10:00 am
Break - 10:00 am - 10:30 am
Sessions 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

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Costs & Registration Information

Attendees pay one low price, and then select your preferred sessions that total 15 hours of content to fill the 2.5 days of the Forum with the subjects most pertinent to you!

On or before Friday, December 20th, 2024:
$595 AHEAD Members; $750 Non-Members

After Friday, December 20th, 2024:
$695 AHEAD Members; $850 Non-Members

Refunds can only be provided for cancellations received in writing on or before Friday, December 20. A $75.00 administrative fee will be charged for all cancellations. We regret that no refunds can be issued after December 20, 2024 for any reason, but can be transferred to another attendee from the same institution.

Accommodation requests, including CART and interpreting, should be made during the registration process online by Friday, January 3, 2025.

Register Online

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Obtaining CEUs

To support your professional development goals, AHEAD has arranged Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC). Additionally, if you maintain certification or licensure from another agency that requires continuing education, AHEAD can document your attendance at the conference to support your application for independent CEUs from your organization. Instructions for each are below.


CRCC CEUs

To obtain CEU's CRC license holders must:

  1. Print and bring the Certificate Request form, or pick one up on site.
  2. Check which workshop(s) you attended, total the hours attended (maximum 15) and have the instructor or AHEAD Staff sign and date it.
  3. Complete the form and bring to the CEU Table at Registration.
  4. Sign your name on the CRCC Attendee Tally form at Registration.
  5. CEU Table staff will give you a Verification form for you to upload to your account in CRCCConnect online. Use your phone to scan or take a photo of the form as a backup. AHEAD does not keep a copy of your Verification form.

If you forget, or if AHEAD staff are not available, you may scan and email your completed Certificate Request form to profdev@ahead.org and we will send you a Verification Form.

 
Other CEU's or Certificates of Attendance

If you maintain certification or licensure from an employer or agency that requires continuing education, AHEAD can document your attendance at the conference to support your own application for CEU's from your organization.

  1. Print and bring the Certificate Request form, or pick one up on site.
  2. Check which workshop you attended, total the hours attended (maximum 15) and have the instructor or AHEAD Staff sign and date it.
  3. Complete the form and bring to the CEU Table at Registration. Use your phone to scan or take a photo of the form.
  4. CEU Table Staff will keep your form and email you a certificate to verify your attendance which you can use with your professional agency.

If you forget to drop off your form, or if AHEAD staff are not available, you may scan and email your completed and signed Certificate Request form to profdev@ahead.org, and we will email you a certificate.

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Host Hotel

Entrance to the InterContinental New Orleans

All events and housing for the 2025 AHEAD Ingenuity Forum will be at the InterContinental New Orleans, in the French Quarter. AHEAD has secured a discounted block of sleeping rooms for the Ingenuity Forum at a group rate of $219.00 + tax per night for single or double occupancy. To receive the AHEAD discounted rate for hotel rooms, you must make your reservation by January 03, 2025. Reservations made after that date will be accepted on a rate and space availability basis only. Use this link to get the AHEAD hotel rate, or call 1-800-235-4670 and ask for the group rate for the AHEAD Ingenuity Forum.

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Conference Health & Safety Policy

AHEAD encourages all attendees to consistently take infection control measures such as thoroughly washing hands and containing coughs and sneezes. If you are experiencing flu-like symptoms, please consider other attendees' health and safety: test yourself for COVID, mask to avoid spreading germs, and avoid attending events in person until at least 24 hours after your fever subsides. 

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