Day 1 Keynote
Holding the Moment Together: Professional Development, AI, and Equity Minded Leadership in a Changing Higher Education Landscape
Presented by Quay Dorsey of WestEd Center for Economic Mobility
Professional development leaders are being asked to help campuses respond to a rapidly changing higher education landscape while also creating spaces for connection, reflection, and action. Many are doing so while under-resourced, carrying multiple roles, responding to changing administrations and state expectations, and building systems without a manual or predecessor. The opening keynote will recognize that reality and help both new and experienced practitioners see themselves not simply as event coordinators, but as strategic connectors, facilitators, culture builders, and sensemakers.
Using AI as a timely case study - not the only topic and not a product demonstration - the session will model how PD leaders can help a campus move from uncertainty to responsible practice. The discussion will distinguish between academic and student-use questions and operational uses that can support campus work; center verified student perspectives from a spring 2026 WestEd survey of 3,595 California community college students; and consider equitable access to learning for faculty, classified professionals, administrators, and other employees. It will also make clear that AI can support human work and efficiency, but should not be used as a substitute for adequate staffing, human judgment, or organizational responsibility.
The keynote will connect these lessons to other fast-moving issues, such as accessibility requirements, policy shifts, and changing campus priorities. Through a concise framework, relevant examples, brief reflection, and a closing commitment, participants will leave feeling recognized and empowered, with practical questions and starting points they can use throughout the conference and in their campus PD planning.
By the end of the keynote, participants will:
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Identify key shifts and pressures shaping professional development, including the realities of limited resources and rapidly changing campus expectations
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Recognize and articulate the role of professional learning practitioners as connectors, facilitators, culture builders, and sense-makers.
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Apply a simple, transferable sense-making approach to artificial intelligence and other emerging issues with attention to student voice, campus context, policy, equity, and the needs of different employee groups.
About Quay Dorsey
Day 2 Keynote
Designing for Everyone: A Human-Centered Approach to Access and Learning
Presented by Dr. Denise Maduli-Williams of
Accessibility begins with the choices we make before anyone walks through the door, logs into a course, or opens a document. In higher education, those choices belong to all of us. In this keynote, Dr. Denise Maduli-Williams explores how a human-centered approach to accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) shifts the conversation from compliance to shared responsibility. Drawing from higher education and professional learning, she shares practical examples of how small, intentional changes in communication, course design, and everyday decisions can reduce barriers and increase access.
Designed for faculty, classified professionals, administrators, and HR professionals, this session offers practical ideas that participants can apply in their own work while encouraging a broader way of thinking about accessibility. Participants will leave with practical ideas they can use right away, and a deeper understanding of how small design decisions can make a big difference for the people we serve.
About Dr. Maduli-Williams
Dr. Denise Maduli-Williams is a Professor of English and ESOL at San Diego Miramar College, where she teaches composition, critical thinking, and multilingual learners in both online and face-to-face courses. Her work focuses on creating human-centered learning experiences through accessibility, inclusive course design, culturally responsive teaching, and thoughtful integration of AI. Denise enjoys helping educators find practical ways to make teaching and learning more accessible without making it more complicated. She has led professional learning for educators across California and internationally, serving as a U.S. Department of State English Language Specialist and a Stanford EPIC Community College Faculty Fellow. She is also an Online Faculty Mentor and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.
Whether she is working with students or faculty, Denise believes that small design decisions can make a big difference in creating learning environments where more people can participate, connect, and succeed.
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