2026 AHEAD Start

AHEAD Start: An Introduction to Access for New and Newer Disability Resource Professionals, October 6, 8, 13, 15, 20,22

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For the past eight years, the AHEAD Start Academy has offered a foundational experience to disability resource professionals who are just building or continuing to grow their fundamental knowledge and skills. This year’s Academy will again be a virtual experience that includes a year-long mentoring component to again offer newer professionals the opportunity to explore, discuss, and apply concepts important to building equity on college campuses. 
 
AHEAD membership through the end of the calendar year is included in the conference registration fee!
 
As always, the Academy is designed to orient, refresh, and engage. Topics include:
 
  • Disability as a civil right: examination of the history of the disability rights movement, discussion about disability in society today, and how it informs service delivery.
  • Legal concepts from Section 504, the ADA, case law, and settlement agreements: the interactive process, “reasonableness,” fundamental alteration, undue burden, and direct threat.
  • Exploration of the concepts of disability, substantial limitations, functional limitations, and barriers to access within a framework to guide reasonable accommodation determinations.
  • Outreach and consultation: campus leadership and influence.
  • Taking care of ourselves as professionals.

To build community and provide opportunities for networking and group support, the online Academy will be synchronous. Therefore, to be fully immersed in the content, discussions, and activities, we recommend participants connect away from the daily demands of their jobs, from a home office or a private location if possible. While we appreciate the challenge of finding that space and will record sessions for later viewing for necessary absences, participating in this event as though it were an in-person training will provide the most benefit. Please review the Academy schedule to block the time out of your schedule now.

 
During the Academy, participants will have the option to be paired with a small cohort group led by a long-term AHEAD member mentor. The schedule will include an initial opportunity for engagement with the group mentor and peers to establish relationships that will provide connections and support over the course of the 2026-27 academic year in ongoing discussions and Q&A sessions.
 
If you are in your first three years of higher education / disability resource work, have gaps in your knowledge that a review of foundational concepts would help to fill, or are interested in a sustained cohort/mentoring opportunity, this training/mentoring program may be exactly what you’re looking for. Whether you work alone, with a large staff, or address disability as one component of a larger role, join us for this comprehensive introduction to a dynamic field. 


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Academy Schedule

Each session will involve synchronous learning via Zoom. Participants should plan to be involved with the Academy in real time. Attendees will benefit the most if you dedicate these time blocks to the Academy and separate yourselves from your daily work during this time, so you can ask questions, engage with other participants, and immerse yourself in the learning.

The schedule is as follows:

All times each day: 2-4:30pm Eastern / 11am-1:30pm Pacific/Arizona / 8-10:30am Hawaii

  • Tuesday, Oct 6: Legal Foundations of Our Work
  • Thursday, Oct 8: Introductory/Foundational Information on Disability (History, Narratives, Models, Perspectives)  
  • Tuesday, Oct 13: Campus Leadership and Influence; and Taking Care of Ourselves as Professionals
  • Thursday, Oct 15: Interactive Process: Student Interview, Documentation, and Decision-Making in Context 
  • Tuesday, Oct 20: Applied learning with Scenarios/Activities 
  • Thursday, Oct 22: Q&A panel with all faculty, first optional small group mentor meeting*

*Some of the optional mentorship meetings will occur at another time—small group assignment and meeting time details will be emailed individually to each participant,

Small Group Mentor Meetings:

Most of the initial, optional small group mentor meetings will take place during the last hour of the AHEAD Start training. For a few groups whose mentor isn’t available then, an alternate initial meeting time will be arranged within your group. Please check your email for details. 
 
During the first mentor cohort meeting, the group will choose a mutually agreeable date and time to meet on a regular basis for the rest of the academic year. This time can be used however the group finds most beneficial—for sharing information, asking questions, sounding board opportunities, or moral support.

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Academy Pricing

AHEAD Start Academy Pricing

Registration on or before September 15, 2026

  • AHEAD members: $395 
  • Non-AHEAD members: $495 

Registration after September 15, 2026

  • AHEAD members: $470 
  • Non-AHEAD members: $570

Refund Policy

Registration canceled before September 15 will incur a $75 charge. No refunds are available after September 15.

Register Now Online


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Academy Faculty

Bea Awoniyi
Bea Awoniyi, Ph.D. is the recently retired former Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs at Santa Fe College, where she oversaw the disability resource center, served as Ombudsperson, and helped to oversee grant awards among many other different aspects of her role. Dr. Awoniyi has had a long career in higher education, previously having worked in other universities at their disability resource centers and serving in vast leadership roles. She is a Past President and Board member of AHEAD.




Jamie Axelrod

Jamie Axelrod, M.S. is the Director of Disability Resources at Northern Arizona University and Past-President of AHEAD. Jamie presents regularly on topics related to disability access and higher education, having expertise in disability law and policy, communication and information technology (ICT) access, and the reasonable accommodation process. Jamie is a regular and well-respected contributor to professional listservs, including AHEAD’s discussion boards, and is a go-to consultant for complex issues. He has worked for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s athletic department, as a mental health therapist, and for Protection and Advocacy Systems, Inc., a disability rights advocacy law firm where he served as an advocate for individuals with disabilities who were claiming that their civil rights had been violated. Jamie has served as co-chair of Northern Arizona University’s Commission on Disability Access and Design and on AHEAD’s Board of Directors.


Headshot: Margaret Camp

Margaret Camp, M.Ed. , a former School Psychologist, has worked with students with disabilities for over 25 years, with the past 20 spent in higher education. She has served as ADA Coordinator and Director of Disability Resource offices on multiple campuses. She has designed and managed accommodated testing centers on campuses, and designed and oversees the Spectrum Program on the Clemson University campus. She enjoys presenting on the transition from high school to college, disability misrepresentations in media, and most recently on the prevention of burnout and demoralization for professionals in our field.



Headshot: Sue Kroeger

Dr. Sue Kroeger is currently an Associate Professor of Practice in the Dept. of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies at the University of Arizona where she teaches disability studies, coordinates the undergraduate program in rehabilitation, serves on doctoral committees, and advises students. Previously, she was the Director of Disability Resources at the University of Arizona from 1999-2017 and at the University of Minnesota from 1985-1999. She managed staffs of 32+ full and part-time employees that guided by a social model of disability and principles of inclusive design, provide services to faculty, staff, and students with disabilities, offer competitive athletic opportunities, assist the University in meeting its legal obligations, and provide consultation and education on designing inclusive learning and working environments. Dr. Kroeger, in addition to her teaching and administrative duties, has presented at numerous national and international conferences, published articles on disability and higher education, and co-edited a book entitled “Responding to Disability Issues in Student Affairs.” She has been Treasurer and President of the National Association of Higher Education and Disability. In her spare time, she plays wheelchair tennis, volunteers, participates in a book club, and hangs out with her family, which includes two young grandsons.



Adam Meyer, Ph.D.

Adam Meyer, Ph.D., is the Director of Student Accessibility Services at the University of Central Florida. He was previously the Director of disability resource offices at Eastern Michigan University and Saint Louis University. Adam has served on the AHEAD Board of Directors and AHEAD Standing Committees while routinely involved with other AHEAD projects. He regularly presents on documentation, the social model of disability, leadership and office operations, initial student interviews, office data, and budgetary basics. Adam worked in the intellectual disability field for nearly 10 years prior to working in higher education.

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