2025 Winter summit

Click here for the draft agenda as of February 6, 2025

We will kick things off at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, February 10 with our popular State Issues Forum where all attendees are invited to join in the conversation on issues occurring in individual states around the country. This is an opportunity to learn from each other, and we encourage attendees to bring with them (or send to us in advance) any state legislation, proposed legislation or any other documents that they would like to share.

Tuesday, February 11, and Wednesday, February 12, will feature a wide range of speakers, informative sessions, and the opportunity to network with attendees. Our Summit will wrap on Wednesday around 5:15 p.m. so you can book travel for that night or Thursday. Speakers include:

• Julia Adams-Scheurich, President, Oak City Government Relations
• Zach Anner, Author, Speaker, Comedian, Internet Sensation, and Overall Extraordinary Human Being
• Lisa Biggica, President & Chief Executive Officer, UniqueSource; Immediate Past President, SUPRA
• Thomas Buckley, Executive Director, The Roland Center; Chair, ACCSES Health, Aging, Alzheimer’s, and Dementia Care Committee
• Thomas Cook, Executive Director, San Gabriel Residential Facilities; Chair, ACCSES Advisory Council
• Angela Duckett, M.Ed., Developmental Disabilities Services Programs Director, Dale Rogers Training Center
• Edgar Figueroa, Director of Human Services, ACHIEVE Human Services
• John Foote, Consultant, Behavioral Health and Crisis Response Specialist
• JW Gibbs, CIE Subject Matter Expert, U.S. Department of Labor; Apprenticeship Development & Alignment Coordinator, Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston
• Sydney Evelyn Gibbs, MSGH, Grant Administrator, Medical University of South Carolina
• Ann Gillmore, Corporate Vice President, Peckham, Inc.; Chair, ACCSES Board of Directors
• Doug Golub, President & Chief Executive Officer, Data Potato, LLC; Chair, ACCSES Artificial Intelligence and Accessible Technology Committee
• Jaime Gonzalez, MSW, Behavioral Health Technician III, ACHIEVE Human Services; Lead, ACHIEVE Behavioral Health Employment Program; Community Rehabilitation Program and Service Provider Representative, Arizona State Rehabilitation Council
• James Helm, MPA, CPACC, Public Relations Director, Dale Rogers Training Center
• Rob High, Co-Founder and Director of Training, Deescalating Officer Patrol Encounters
• Matthew Janicki, Ph.D.,  Co-President, National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices (NTG); Professor, Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago
• Amy Jensen, Deputy Executive Director, U.S. AbilityOne Commission (Virtual)
• John Konst, Director, Oversight and Compliance, U.S. AbilityOne Commission
• Peter Leidy, Trainer & Consultant
• Kate McSweeny, President & Chief Executive Officer, ACCSES
• Erik Nelson, Executive Consultant, Provider Strategy, SETWorks
• The Honorable Jon Porter, Founder/Chief Executive Officer, The Porter Group
• Brad Saathoff, Chief Executive Officer, Black Hills Works Inc.
• Rick Terrazas, Vice President, Government Affairs, SourceAmerica
• Jesse Weller, Executive Director, San Gabriel Pomona Regional Center
• Amy Westling, Executive Director, Association of Regional Center Agencies (ARCA)
• Kim Zeich, Executive Director, U.S. AbilityOne Commission (Virtual)

Read about our Keynote Speaker:

Zach Anner, author, speaker, comedian, viral sensation, and overall extraordinary human being will keynote the ACCSES Winter Summit. Born with Cerebral Palsy, Zach entered Oprah Winfrey’s competition, "Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star," thinking he had no chance. He won, and subsequently traveled the country for his own travel series on the Oprah Winfrey Network, Rollin’ with Zach, attempting to conquer his "top five" list of things to do in each city. His win made him the first person with CP to host a television show, and an internet sensation. Since then, he has hosted his own comedy exercise series on YouTube, Workout Wednesday, encouraging audiences to, “be good sports . . . even when they’re not good at sports,” and hosted two other shows. He was a writer and guest star on the ABC sitcom Speechless, and a writer for AppleTV+’s Emmy-winning family comedy Best Foot Forward. Zach also serves as an Ambassador for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation and has worked with UCPLA Wheels for Humanity, which supplies wheelchairs to people in developing countries. He’s worked with brands including Microsoft and BraunAbility to create informative and entertaining viral content. Zach’s memoir, If at Birth You Don’t Succeed: My Adventures with Disaster and Destiny, (which is now on our bookshelf) is a funny, irreverent, and heartfelt memoir about “finding your passion and your path, not by overcoming challenges, but by embracing them.”

But wait, there’s more!  There’s a post-Summit fourth-day event!

The Roland Center has kindly invited all Summit attendees to visit and tour their La Puente location on Thursday, February 13. The Roland Center, the first disability service provider in the country to be CARF-certified for Dementia Care Specialty Programs, has invited Summit attendees to visit and learn more about the important work The Roland Center is doing in California, not just in their dementia care programs, but also in employment, day habilitation, and community living. The tour will leave the hotel at 9:15 a.m. and should conclude before noon.