You probably were not able to go to every session, keynote, or presentation that you wanted to during the Bridge to the Future II conference in San Diego last week. It was great getting some heat and sun compared to Wisconsin (it was a high of 3 degrees that day).
Maybe there were two sessions that were at the same time, or you were just enjoying the 80 degree weather they were having. Either way, there was so much going on that you might have missed something, so I put together a list of the major news and happenings of the conference.
In no specific order:
- It started with the Coulston family taking us through the process of the educational system in Delaware. They explained that through communication and self-advocacy, you can bring about positive social change. Chris is a high school senior who is an advocate for FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) and plans to work in the field of healthcare, Clem is a Teacher Education major at the University of Delaware and their mom, Ellen was instrumental in bringing Social Thinking(R) to Delaware schools.
Ellen Coulston, thnx for teaching so many of us about self advocacy. U R inspiring! #bridge2future2015pic.twitter.com/APfWW3DyK1
— Ann Sebek (@annsebek) February 11, 2015
- Sue Sawyer, President of CA Transition Alliance gave a talk on the basics of transition planning. She discussed best practices and how to achieve a goal of competitive employment for all.
- The team at Sacramento City USD talked about self-advocacy– something we are truly passionate about. They talked about putting together a city-wide conference for youth coming together to hear about stories for success. Oh, and Susan McKellar is currently using Conover Online too! It was great to meet her.
- Kimberly Osmani talked about the impact of WIOA on transition services. The overview of the law, intent, designation of funds and what exactly “pre-employment services” look like.
This is an example of ‘pre-employment services’ Work Samples provides an opportunity for youth to explore a given career field based off of their interests.
- There were a lot of sessions about self-advocacy. I thought I was just overly aware of them because of the solutions we offer for self-advocacy, but the CA Department of Education discussed how to maneuver a rocky road, Dr. Sax emphasized the importance of transitioning youth taking charge of their futures, and Robin Dewey discussed working safely and speaking up for yourself.
- Sarah Kesty is a published author and speaker. She presented about empowering students through the IEP process, but she does so much more in her community in Sacramento. Check out her site for more information.
- Chris LeRoy from San Bernardino City USD gave his thoughts on what the next 30 years of WorkAbility will look like. He discussed expanding the programming, increasing accountability, resetting commitments, promoting balanced partnerships, and building strength through engagement.
- Roadtripnation.org brought their big green RV to the conference to discuss how you can do work that you love. They travel the country interviewing and connecting with leaders in their communities. Youth can see what is possible if they explore and reflect on their own lives.
RoadTripNation’s big green RV!
This doesn’t cover everything that happened at the conference, but these were the things that stuck out to me. It was a great time meeting like minded professionals that have that same passion that we do at The Conover Company.
Please feel free to share this post or let me know in the comments what your favorite moments were of the conference!
