Affiliate Updates

Katy Washington, BOD Affiliate Liaison & Carey Busch, Lead Affiliate Representative

Did you know that AHEAD now has 37 regional affiliates across the United States? In the next upcoming issues of the HUB, we will feature a different region of the United States, highlighting the affiliates located in that particular area. We will share contact information and unique information about each of the affiliates located in our focused region. This issue our focus will be on the Southeast!

Alabama AHEAD will celebrate thirteen years as an AHEAD affiliate this July. Founded in 1985 as the Alabama Postsecondary Network, the organization was spear-headed by Auburn University Montgomery and the Center for Rehabilitation Resources. By 1988, the network had grown to include 36 member institutions from across the state, hosting annual conferences and publishing a network newsletter.
Website: http://alahead.org/
President: Brittany Gregg, Brittany.Gregg@ua.edu

Ark-AHEAD (Arkansas) was established as a statewide organization in 1995 after a small number of disability resource professionals in Arkansas had been members of national AHEAD and attended the national conference, but thought it would be helpful to build local resources within Arkansas. It became an AHEAD affiliate in November 2002.
Website: https://arkahead.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arkahead/
Email: info@arkahead.org
President: Andrea Neal, alneal@ualr.edu

Florida AHEAD. The mission of FL-AHEAD is to enhance professional knowledge and educational initiatives that affect the full participation of individuals with disabilities in post-secondary education.
Website: http://flahead.org/
President: Brad Held, Brad.Held@ucf.edu

Georgia AHEAD became an affiliate in April 2004. Membership has grown to over 85 persons representing 2- and 4-year public and private colleges and technical schools around the state.
Website: http://www.ga-ahead.org/
President: Sonja Wright-Smith, slwrightsmith@valdosta.edu

KY AHEAD (Kentucky) saw its roots in a series of informal meetings in Louisville and Lexington; disability services professionals from around the state came together to share information with colleagues. In 2001, they became an affiliate of AHEAD.
Website: http://kyahead.org/
Email: info@kyahead.org
President: Ronda Purdy, rpurdy@bellarmine.edu

Mississippi AHEAD (inactive)
We are currently looking for leaders in Mississippi to help revitalize Mississippi AHEAD. Contact Katy Washington, katy.washington@unt.edu if interested.

North Carolina AHEAD had its beginnings at an informal get together of 27 North Carolina postsecondary disability service providers attending the National AHEAD Conference in Columbus, Ohio in 1994. This summer, NC AHEAD will celebrate its sixteenth year as an AHEAD affiliate.
Website: https://www.ahead.org/about-ahead/about-overview/affiliates/north-carolina
President: Maranda Maxey, maxeymr@appstate.edu

South Carolina AHEAD formerly known as SUCCEEDS (South Carolina University & College Council of Educators Empowering Disabled Students). SC AHEAD has been an AHEAD affiliate for 13 years.
Website: http://scahead.org/index.html
President: Deborah Mihal, mihaldf@cofc.edu

Tennessee AHEAD is in its twenty-fourth year.
Website: http://www.tnahead.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TN-AHEAD-Tennessee-Association-on-Higher-Educat...
Email: info@tnahead.org or tennesseeahead@gmail.com
President: Kim Ochsenbein, koch@tntech.edu

AHEAD in Virginia was voted by the AHEAD Board of Directors to become an affiliate in November 2004. The affiliate hosts an annual conference each spring.
AHEAD in Virginia Website
President: Beth Callahan, bcallahan@tcc.edu

West Virginia
AHEAD does not currently have a formulized affiliate for this state. To learn about how to create an affiliate in the state of West Virginia, please visit our Affiliates page for more information.

Updates from regional affiliates:

MI-AHEAD is holding our annual Spring Conference May 30 (pre-conference 1-4); May 31 full conference day 8-3:15. This dynamic event will be held on the campus of Calvin College, in Grand Rapids Michigan. The pre-conference presenter is Robin Jones from the Great Lakes ADA Center. The Keynote topic for Friday is Reframing Disability Services: A Cultural Conversation, with DisArt Directors Jill Vyn, MSW and Christopher Smit, PhD. We are trying a new format this year and will have a featured speaker all afternoon. Join AHEAD past president and current ADA Coordinator/504 Compliance Officer for The Ohio State University L. Scott Lissner as he shares his expertise. Registration information can be found at this link mi-ahead.org/.

MO AHEAD will be hosting its annual spring conference, centered around “Compliance vs. Inclusion.” The conference will take place May 30^th and 31^st at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. Melanie Thornton will be one of our keynote speakers. Conference sessions and topics include how to approach service delivery, accessible and usable course design, intersectionality and identity, roundtable discussions, and a visit from Claire Fitzgerald, an attorney with the Kansas City office of the Office for Civil Rights. For more information, please visit our MO AHEAD website or contact MO AHEAD President, Justin Lozano, at jlozano@missouristate.edu.

ORAHEAD Spring conference will be held at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon on Friday April 19, 2019. ORAHEAD is pleased to welcome our keynote speaker, Gaeir Dietrich. Her presentation “Universal Design and Technology: A Nexus for Accessibility” will be followed by a facilitated round table discussion of “Matching Technology to Student Needs”. For more information, please contact Karen karen.alexander@chemeketa.edu or phone 503.399.5192.