Spring 2023 Webinar Series

AHEAD is excited to offer another series of engaging, thought provoking webinars! The Spring 2023 Webinar Series was created to address current issues that face AHEAD members at all career stages and at all institution types. AHEAD is welcoming more new and newer professionals than ever before, so we created sessions with early career guidance. Other spring webinars were designed to provide deeper responses to recurring questions that arise on the AHEAD Community discussion boards and to address ongoing desires for trainings that connect disability identities to other intersectional identities and experiences. And content experts on particular disability types will offer insight on how professionals at any level can improve institutional responses to particular student needs.

Unlike its other professional development offerings, AHEAD allows you to purchase one webinar subscription to share within your office or with other offices you directly work with, making them a valuable staff investment as well as an opportunity to invite other campus departments to participate. Select just the topics that you’re working with now or attend all 9 webinars to bring a diverse program of information by nationally-recognized presenters. Information about how to share the login within your institution is provided with your paid registration. You may view them live or watch recordings later, making the AHEAD webinars a flexible, low-cost, high impact professional development opportunity!

All webinars were hosted in the Zoom webinar platform and have real time captioning available. ASL interpreters are also provided.


Webinar Presentation Materials & Recordings

When available, presentation materials will be emailed to paid registrants before the live webinar event.  Recordings of the webinars will be emailed to paid registrants after the live webinar event.  These resources will also be located in the "Resources" tab located in the webinar description area  on the eLearning platform and accessible to paid registrants, even if you purchased after the live event has ended. These links can be shared within your office or with other offices you work with. All rights reserved by AHEAD. Reposting permitted only with the express, written permission of AHEAD.

CEUs
AHEAD does not pre-arrange for CEUs with any certifying bodies for its webinars, but we are happy to provide proof of attendance. If you plan to use a webinar for CEU credit, contact your certifying agency to learn what information is necessary for you to request independent CEUs. Contact AHEAD at profdev@ahead.org if you need any programming or presenter information that is not available on AHEAD’s website. To request a certificate of attendance, please contact profdev@ahead.org.

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Quick Links

Purchasing & Costs

Individual Webinars All 9 Webinars
AHEAD Members: $59 Each AHEAD Members: $499
Non-Members: $99 Each Non-Members: $599

 

Purchase Here

AHEAD’s  webinar registration system automatically sends an email receipt and individual emails for each webinar you select. Webinar-specific email messages include the Zoom link for the webinar and an option to add the session to your calendar. You will also receive reminder emails a few days before each webinar. 

AHEAD does not offer refunds on webinar purchases because complete recordings are available to watch at your convenience in the case of a scheduling conflict.  

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Webinar Titles & Description (All Times Eastern)

Perspectives on Serving Students with Chronic Illness 

Lynn Fuentes, Transformation Teaching 

Tuesday, February 21, 1-2:30 pm Eastern 

Students with a chronic illness disability experience many barriers that do not always match up with traditional disability accommodations; as a result such students often receive insufficient supports.  Because their needs are not well understood by administrators, faculty, and other students, rejection, skepticism, and outright disbelief are also not uncommon. Assessing such students’ needs and ensuring that appropriate accommodations are available and carried out can be a challenge for disability specialists and others who work with these students. In this webinar, we will cover some common barriers and possible accommodations, and also consider how to interact with different viewpoints on campus regarding whether and how to implement them. 

Did you miss this live webinar? You can now purchase the recording and presentation materials!

 

Neurodiversity, Autism Politics, and Language, a Brief Introduction 

John Caldora, University of Kentucky 

Monday, February 27th, 2-3:30 pm Eastern  

Autism remains a critical topic for disability services professionals, however, many have only scratched the surface of this deep issue. This session will approach autism from the paradigm of neurodiversity, including developing self-advocacy, the history and politics of the neurodiversity movement, and discrimination issues. The presenter offers insights from his own challenges and experiences as a member of the Autism Spectrum and a Disability Services Professional. 

 Did you miss this live webinar? You can now purchase the recording and presentation materials!

Would This Be a Fundamental Alteration? Practical Guidance For Working with Students and Faculty  

Jamie Axelrod, Northern Arizona University 
Adam Meyer, University of Central Florida 

Tuesday, March 7, 2-3:30 pm Eastern 

Although some accommodation requests are fairly routine to consider, other requests could fundamentally alter the course, program, or activity, and therefore may not be an appropriate accommodation to implement. How can we make that determination and feel sure about our decision? This workshop will guide practitioners through scenarios that frequently arise in this work, including requests for remote attendance, extra time on skills-based or lab exams, and flexible deadlines.  The presenters will provide a framework for consulting with faculty, eliciting necessary information from students and establishing a sound process for evaluating the request and when necessary, determining if it constitutes a fundamental alteration. 

Did you miss this live webinar? You can now purchase the recording and presentation materials!

Personal Care Attendants and College Students: An Introduction and Guide 

Annie Tulkin, Accessible College
L. Scott Lissner, Ohio State University

Tuesday, March 28, 3-4:30 pm Eastern 

Students who have personal care attendants (PCAs) are arriving at colleges in greater numbers, and Disability Resource professionals don’t always know how to best support them. How does the school handle housing for students with PCAs? Are fully accessible restrooms available? How does a PCA function in a classroom setting? What about exams? This webinar will cover the role of a PCA on campus; the legal responsibilities of the school and the student; examples of PCA policies, including emergency procedures; what families of incoming students should know; and best practices, including how to conduct the interactive process as a student with a PCA is enrolling and requesting accommodations. The presenters will offer many resources and lots of Q&A time. 

 Did you miss this live webinar? You can now purchase the recording and presentation materials!

“I’m Unlearning!” Applying Reflexivity to Higher Education Disability Services as a Tool for Supporting Students with Intersectional Identities 

Morgan Strimel, George Mason University 
Jamilah Anderson, George Mason University 

Tuesday, April 4, 1-2:30 pm Eastern 

Although the higher education disability services field requires considerable use of professional judgment to make accommodation-related decisions, there is a lack of guidance on how to carry this out in day-to-day interactions with students. When drawing on personal and professional experiences, disability services professionals are directly guided by their own positionality, which is their collective identities and experiences, and therefore - for better or for worse - their biases as they determine accommodations for students with disabilities. To better understand these influencing identities and the role of positionality in the disability services profession, this presentation will share themes that emerged from thirteen semi-structured interviews with disability services professionals that focused on their perceptions of the relationship between their positionality and their work. Further, we will invite attendees to examine their own positionalities through an interactive activity where they will pinpoint influential aspects of their identities. This presentation will conclude with a large group discussion focused on the implications for practitioners in regard to seeing our own positionalities and their role in our work. In addition to discussing implications for practice with attendees, the presenters will guide the conversation around reflexivity, or consciously examining when and where our positionalities may influence our choices and interactions as disability services professionals. 

 Did you miss this live webinar? You can now purchase the recording and presentation materials!

Designing the Flexible Attendance Accommodation for Maximum Effectiveness 

Adam Meyer, University of Central Florida 

Thursday, April 13, 1-2:30pm Eastern 

Students with chronic health or mental health conditions that may be unpredictable in nature and could impact the ability to attend classes sometimes request an accommodation generally referred to as “flexible attendance.” How can Disability Resource professionals determine whether this accommodation is appropriate and if so, how to implement it effectively? This webinar will address how facilitating this accommodation requires working toward concrete outcomes rather than relying on generic statements. Explore how this accommodation can be practically designed as a concept, worded in an accommodation letter, and put into practice in collaboration with faculty. Plenty of time for Q&A will be provided. 

 Did you miss this live webinar? You can now purchase the recording and presentation materials!

Navigating the Field as a New Disability Resource Professional 

Katy Washington, Virginia Commonwealth University 

Tuesday April 18, 2-3:30 pm Eastern 

New professionals, congratulations on joining this amazing field! During your first few weeks in your position, you were probably given a ton of information about laws, processes, and procedures and got right to work figuring things out. You probably learned quickly that working in the disability resources field can present many opportunities to be subject matter experts and lead the university in addressing inequities. But when you are new to the field, this can seem intimidating, regardless of the size or type of institution or number of staff in your office. There is so much to learn, and the expectation may feel enormous to know everything about disability law and how it applies to your position during your first week. During this webinar, we will dive into a discussion on topics such as the foundations of our field; developing your “why”; opportunities for career progression, professional development, and growth opportunities; and preventing burnout.    

 Did you miss this live webinar? You can now purchase the recording and presentation materials!

Seven Essential Functions of the ADA/504 Coordinator Role 

Enjie Hall, University of Minnesota  
Bree Callahan, University of Washington  

Thursday, April 20, 1-2:30 Eastern 

Do you have the responsibility of ADA Coordinator as part of your job, but aren’t entirely sure what that entails? Or have you thought about transitioning to that position, but were unsure how it differs from other campus disability work? The role of the ADA/504 Coordinator has a broad scope, allowing each institution to shape the position in the way that works best based on its own needs and culture. At some schools this role is an independent position, and at others it is part of the Disability Resource Office—the presenters for this webinar represent one of each. Their discussion will introduce seven primary ADA Coordinator functions at any school: navigating through informal and formal grievances, upholding the interactive process for reasonable accommodations, embedding disability access into DEI efforts, coordinating physical/environmental accessibility, sustaining digital access, promoting access to campus events/programming, and ensuring effective institutional communication. Different institutional models for the work will be shared during this session along with how the work is informed by policies and procedures. 

  Did you miss this live webinar? You can now purchase the recording and presentation materials!

From COVID 19 to Racial Unrest: Research-Based Best Practices in Responding to Experiences of Trauma 

Zachary Lounsbury, Colorado College 
Cathy Lounsbury, Antioch University 

Monday, April 24, 2-3:30pm Eastern 

The period between March 2020 and today is one marked by extraordinary societal disruption. Amidst a global pandemic, we experienced profound racial unrest and political discord. By simply living through this time, many, including the university students we work with daily, have experienced trauma symptomatology. Students with disabilities, students of color, and students identifying as LGBTQIA+ may have elevated experiences of trauma related to these larger contextual factors. Incorporating an intentional trauma-informed approach can be effective in reducing disruptive symptoms and fostering resilience. This presentation summarizes original and existing research on experiences of trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic, broader experiences of trauma for disabled students, students of color, and students identifying as LGBTQIA+ including specific, actionable, and research-based steps for disability professionals to incorporate a trauma-informed approach into daily work. Utilizing these strategies, attendees will develop a plan for the implementation of a trauma-informed approach into their specific positions. 

 Did you miss this live webinar? You can now purchase the recording and presentation materials!


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Presenter Bios

Jamilah Anderson

Jamilah Anderson
George Mason University 

Jamilah Anderson is the Associate Director of Disability Services at George Mason University. She received her BA in Music from the University of Richmond and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership (Administration and Supervision) from Virginia Commonwealth University. In her nearly 20-year career in education, she has spent over 15 years working with and advocating for people with disabilities in the community, K-12 and post-secondary environments. After her K-12 experiences as a special educator, school-based administrator, and then district-level administrator, she made a professional transition to higher education to join Disability Services at George Mason University as the Associate Director of the Mason Autism Support Initiative in 2018. She has been the Associate Director of Disability Services since February 2020. 

Jamie Axelrod
Jamie Axelrod 
Northern Arizona University

Jamie Axelrod, M.S. is the Director of Disability Resources at Northern Arizona University and a 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 respected contributor to professional listservs, having received the Fink-Ryan Award for the quality of his guidance, and 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. 
John Caldora

John Caldora
University of Kentucky


John Caldora, M.Ed., is a Disability Accommodations Consultant at the University of Kentucky. Previously he has worked in Behavioral Intervention, Threat Assessment, Residence Life, and Student Conduct. He earned his M.Ed. in Student Affairs from the University of Maryland. The presenter draws on his lifetime of experience living on the spectrum, his career spent acting as an advocate for students on the spectrum in higher education, and his experience working with autistic organizations. John has a decade of experience presenting on the emergence of Autism as an Identity starting with a Disability KC Sponsored Presentation at NASPA 2012. In his role at UK, John is the coordinator of the Neurodiverse Educational and Social Initiative (NESI), a cross institution initiative to support the success and sense of belonging for Neurodivergent students. Additionally, he acts as primary consultant for students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. John has previously presented to numerous professional and paraprofessional audiences, state RA conferences, the 2015 Maryland Student Affairs Conference, the 2017 and 2018 Higher Education Case Management Association Conferences, the 2018 ASCA Student Conduct Administrators Conference and the 2021 College Autism Summit. John also previously volunteered with the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network and worked as an editorial board member for Stairway to STEM an NSF grant funded project to support the recruitment, retention, and matriculation of Autistic students in STEM fields. John has recently co-authored a chapter on Self-Advocacy in the new book "Supporting Neurodiverse College Student Success." 

Bree Callahan

Bree Callahan
University of Washington 


Bree Callahan, M.Ed. is the ADA Coordinator at the University of Washington and provides leadership, coordination, and oversight to advance the University’s ADA/Section 504 mission, vision, and strategic priorities relating to accessibility. Recent efforts include updating institutional ADA Transition Plans, revising grievance processes, establishing governance structures, and navigating regulatory engagements. Prior to this role, she directed disability services offices for fifteen years across three universities and has worked in a variety of higher education areas: admissions, academic advising, and residential life. She has over 19 years’ experience in higher education, determining accommodations and providing consultation on ADA compliance matters of digital, physical, and program access. Bree currently serves on the DO-IT Advisory Board and is a past Chair of AHEAD’s Standing Committee on Technology. She has presented at local, state, and national conferences on a variety of topics relating to disability and access, transition of students with disabilities to postsecondary education, and systemic change toward more inclusive campuses. 
Lynn Fuentes
Lynn Fuentes
Transformation Teaching

Lynn Fuentes, MA, JD, PhD, CEO of Transformation Teaching, has designed and taught courses in chronic illness and conflict management at Prescott College and DePaul University, where she also founded and directed the Chronic Illness Initiative, a program to help students with chronic illness obtain a degree.  She has been a long-term caregiver for severely ill family members and a volunteer board member for illness related organizations. She utilizes an integral approach to working with chronic illness in her six part course series  and her recent book The Koan of Chronic Illness: An Integral Approach. 


Enjie Hall
Enjie Hall

University of Minnesota


Enjie Hall, CRC, LPC, MRC, serves as both the Director for the Disability Resource Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and the system-wide ADA Coordinator. As a disabled individual, Enjie has passionately advocated for civil rights and full participation of disabled people through inclusive design and practices for 25 years. Enjie previously worked in the disability office at The University of Toledo serving as director and ADA/Rehabilitation Act Compliance Officer, and prior to that, worked in the disability office at The Ohio State University. She served as a director at large on the AHEAD national board from 2018 to 2022 and was a past co-chair for the Blind and Low Vision Knowledge and Practice Community. She has actively mentored for the AHEAD Start program for new/er professionals. Enjie has presented locally and nationally on a variety of topics related to disability access, DEI, leadership/influence, digital accessibility and assistive technology, and navigating the interactive process. Enjie was 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). 

L. Scott Lissner
L. Scott Lissner
The Ohio State University

L. Scott Lissner, MSEd., 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. 


Cathy Lounsbury
Cathy Lounsbury
Clinical Mental Health Counseling Department

Cathy Lounsbury, Ed.D., LCPC is a seasoned counselor, educator, and leader in the study and practice of trauma, wellness, and resilience. Cathy has been a clinical mental health counselor for over 25 years working with both children and adults, specializing in those who have experienced trauma. Currently, Cathy serves as a Professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Department, with a focus on trauma-informed treatment and clinical practice. In this role, she founded Antioch’s Institute on Wellness, providing consultation and training nationally on the mitigation of secondary traumatic stress. Within the Counseling Department at Antioch, Cathy has developed training opportunities for students in trauma-informed, strength-based approaches and has provided expertise in psychological trauma and resiliency to multi-disciplinary teams exploring the effect of climate impacts on youth and families. 

Zachary Lounsbury
Zachary Lounsbury

Colorado College 


Zachary Lounsbury, M.Ed., candidate, is currently a disability services professional at Colorado College. His diverse education experiences range from teaching Shakespeare to middle schoolers to leading instruction in a classroom for students with autism spectrum disorder to helping facilitate post-secondary social justice education curricula. Additionally, he’s worked at a DS provider at a large, flagship public institution. His master’s work focused on direct application of critical theory (critical race theory, critical whiteness studies, discrit) to higher education practices. Though diverse in range, each of these experiences focused on increasing accessibility and diversity in the classroom. 

Adam Meyer 
Adam Meyer 
University of Central Florida

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. 

Morgan Strimel
Morgan Strimel
George Mason University

Morgan Strimel is a doctoral candidate in the Policy and Research-Intensive Special Educators (PRISE) doctoral training program at George Mason University, where she worked as an Access Consultant for Disability Services and a Learning Strategist for the Mason Autism Support Initiative (MASI Program). Based on her time in higher education, Morgan’s current research is focused on enhancing postsecondary education experiences for disabled college students through the framework of socially-just disability resources. 


Annie Tulkin
Annie Tulkin
Accessible College

Annie Tulkin, MS is the Founder and Director of Accessible College, as well as an author and public speaker. She is an expert in the area of college preparation and transition for students with physical disabilities and health conditions. She supports students and families across the country. Annie was the Associate Director of the Academic Resource Center at Georgetown University for nearly 6 years. In that position she supported undergraduate, graduate, and medical students with physical disabilities and health conditions and oversaw academic support services for the entire student body. Annie has worked in the disability field for her entire professional career, including positions as a Regional Disability Coordinator for Humanitas, Inc. working on the Job Corps disability support contract for The Department of Labor, and as a Project Specialist with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) where she worked with both the National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP) and University Centers of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) Technical Assistance projects. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Secondary Education from DePaul University, a Masters in Special Education from The University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Certificate in Health Coaching from Georgetown University. Annie was a Peace Corps Volunteer (Mongolia, ‘03-’05) and a Fulbright Fellow (Mongolia, ‘07-’08).  She resides in Silver Spring, MD with her husband and daughter. 

Katy Washington
Katy Washington
Virginia Commonwealth University 

Katy Washington, J.D., PhD., is the inaugural Chief Accessibility Officer at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Office of Institutional Equity, Effectiveness, and Success and serves as the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator. She currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for AHEAD. She has spent over eighteen years working with faculty and staff to facilitate an inclusive campus environment for disabled students. In her current role, Katy uses an innovative approach to proactively remove physical and digital barriers to equal access by collaborating with workgroups and partners across the university; administering the employment-related accommodation process; and ensuring university compliance with relevant state and federal laws which directly impact equal access and inclusion of disabled employees, students, and visitors. Katy received a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology from the University of Central Arkansas. She also holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Arkansas.  

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