2025 Pre-Conference Offerings
Announcing APSE's 2025 Pre-Conference Sessions!
Join us on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
Afternoon Sessions (1:30-4:30pm EST) - 4 options!
NOTE: There are no morning pre-conference sessions. Instead, APSE's Day on the Hill training will be taking place from 9-11am.
Building a Strong Professional Development Curriculum
Presenter: Ryan Aldrich
Description:
When organizations stand behind staff development with organic, organization-facilitated training, employees see more value in their jobs, increasing retention. Organizations often rely completely on external training to grow their staff. When paired with internal curriculum development, external training can be capitalized on to build even more capacity. This session will help attendees see the value of creating an internal professional development curriculum in theit organization that goes beyond mandatory compliance training. Attendees will create a framework focused on assessing available resources and people, training needs beyond mandatory training, and setting a future vision for engaging professional development. This framework can be used after the session to build a professional development curriculum in your organization!
Empowering Employment: Integrating Benefits Counseling for Individuals with Disabilities
Presenters: Ian Robert Armitstead & Vicki Ferrara
Description: In this session, we provide a framework for proactively addressing benefit work incentives in vocational services to empower individuals with disabilities to navigate employment while maintaining important benefits.
We will discuss practical strategies for integrating benefits counseling into the process, including the “Why I Might Want Benefits Counseling” tool, talking points to dispel common myths, and embedding crucial touchpoints in vocational exploration and job retention employment plan.
Participants will have the opportunity to practice using the tools, skills, and knowledge learned through examples and case study and leave armed with actionable insights and resources to empower individuals with disabilities to confidently pursue and maintain employment.
Improving Employment Outcomes for Youth & Young Adults Through Tailored Trauma-Informed Mental Health Training for Employment Professionals
Presenter: Adene Karhan & Kim Osmani
Description: This session will make a direct connection between mental health and re-traumatization symptoms in youth and young adults (Y&YA) and employment trajectory, recognizing employment and community connection as critical components of mental health recovery for Y&YA, especially those with disabilities. An overview will be provided of how symptoms of anxiety and depression or trauma responses can impact employment and engagement with systems, as well as brief counseling techniques which professionals can use to enhance therapeutic alliance and support Y&YA in regulating emotions. Participants will also explore strategies and resources for building self-determination skills, which can be introduced in the process of "business as usual" with Y&YA to increase resilience and promote positive mental health.
Smarter Support, Stronger Careers: Using AI Tools to Empower Employment for People with Disabilities
Presenter: Steve Pelton
Description: Discover how artificial intelligence (AI) can transform the employment journey for people with disabilities—making it easier to find job opportunities, craft standout resumes, streamline applications, and prepare for interviews with confidence. Whether you're entering the workforce or helping others achieve career goals, this session will introduce powerful, easy-to-use AI tools that save time, boost productivity, and enhance support services. Learn how to work smarter—not harder—while advancing employment equity and creating meaningful pathways to success.