Wednesday

Title:  Agility in Manufacturing Education and Training (A dynamic approach to a fast paced world)

Speaker: Adam Switzer, Dan Nightingale
Description: Within the Workforce department of SUNY Corning Community College, our primary objective is to provide the relevant training and best learning opportunities for our students, opening new doors to the Labor market. The Manufacturing Technician program builds critical foundation skills aimed at helping graduates gain employment in the local area.

Title: Building the Framework: Leadership Lessons from SUNY's Apprenticeship Evolution
Speaker: Mary Kohan, Angelina Sanfilippo

Description: This presentation traces the evolution of the Apprenticeship Programs at SUNY—from its early foundations and support systems to the creation of the Apprenticeship Business Developer role. It explores implementation lessons learned while “building the plane in flight,” highlights successful outcomes and partnerships, and shares strategies and blueprints to guide future growth and innovation.

Title: The Bureaucracy Detox: Cleaning Out the Crap that Kills Productivity
Speakers: Nicole Stephenson, Kathryn Watson
Description: Facing shifting environments and tight resources? Learn how SUNY Oswego’s Division of Extended Learning "Timewasters Taskforce" systematically audits workflows to reclaim time and efficiency. This case study delivers proven change management strategies and practical tools to help leaders dismantle procedural roadblocks, optimize departmental operations, and empower teams to thrive through uncertainty.

Title: Building the Workforce Pipeline: Empowering High School Students Through Paid Internships and Career Exploration
Speakers: Darlene Blanco
Description: Discover how strategic partnerships among colleges, high schools, workforce organizations, and employers can create meaningful paid

Thursday

Title: From Access to Academic Momentum: Reimagining Dual Enrollment for Institutional Impact
Speaker: Kristin Fields, Alexandra Wilcox 
Description: New York State's dual enrollment policy is reshaping early college programs across SUNY and CUNY. Explore the policy, funding opportunities, and practical strategies for implementing high-quality dual enrollment programs that strengthen enrollment, student success, K–12 partnerships, and institutional impact.

Title: Spoiler Alert: That Performance Plan Was the Strategy Subtitle: How Performance Planning, AI, and a Few Unexpected Insights Quietly Reshaped Budgeting, Staffing, and Growth
Speaker: Amy Dumas
Description: What started as routine performance reviews unexpectedly became a catalyst for smarter staffing, budgeting, and strategic growth. In this engaging and candid session, we'll explore how performance planning evolved into a leadership tool—and how AI helped uncover insights, streamline analysis, and support better decisions. Participants will leave with practical strategies, fresh ideas, and perhaps a few surprises. Bring your coffee and a sense of humor; this journey from performance plans to strategy is more fun than it sounds.

Title: The Conversation You're Avoiding: A Framework for Hard Conversations Under Pressure
Speaker: Amira Davis, Sam Davis
Description: Most workplace conflict traces back to a conversation someone avoided. This interactive workshop gives leaders a clear, repeatable method for opening a hard conversation and staying composed when it heats up. Participants practice in the room and leave with language they can use the next day.

Title: Beyond the Award: Turning Workforce Grants into Student Success Stories
Speaker: Alexis Greene
Descrption: Winning workforce grants is only the beginning. Learn practical strategies for transforming grant funding into successful workforce programs that drive enrollment, credential attainment, employer engagement and economic mobility. Participants will leave with actionable tools and implementation strategies they can apply immediately.

Title: Camp at a Crossroads: Balancing Tradition, Innovation, and Impact
Speaker: Liz Brown, Kate McHargue
Description: This session explores how summer camps must evolve to balance recreation with skill-building, technology, equity, and career exploration. Using SUNY Canton’s model, participants will learn strategies to design impactful, inclusive programs that engage youth, integrate funding sources, and develop future-ready skills while preserving the core spirit of camp experiences.

Title: Leveraging Continuous Improvement Plans to Drive Success
Speaker: Carol Meyer, Anne Marie Armstrong
Description: Continuous improvement plans are effective tools for adapting to the ever-changing realities of the current educational landscape. They provide the structure for a disciplined approach to create meaningful change in the practices and processes of organizations. In thissession, the presenters will show the essential elements of continuous improvement.

Thursday Continued

Title: AI as a Teammate: A Hands-On Lab for Continuing Education Teams
Speaker: Andrea Huda, Rosemary Flores
Description: Feeling stretched thin? This hands-on lab explores how AI can act like an extra teammate for continuing education teams. Learn practical, flexible ways to use AI for planning, communication, outreach, organization, and everyday problem-solving — while keeping people, judgment, and campus guidelines at the center.
Title: Essential Workforce Preparation Program
Speaker: Robert Moyer, Sarah Casscles
Description: This presentation will give participants an understanding of how to build a program for high school students preparing them to enter the workforce after graduation.

Title: Better Together: Building Workforce Ecosystems That Work
Speaker: Danielle Britton, Matt Sheehan David Goguen
Decsription: No institution can address workforce needs alone. This session highlights how SUNY Broome, Broome-Tioga Workforce, and Broome-Tioga BOCES have aligned programs, funding, and employer engagement to create seamless learner pathways. Partners will share lessons learned, collaboration strategies, and practical approaches for building and sustaining effective workforce partnerships.

Title: From Curiosity to Opportunity: Engaging K–12 Learners in Career Pathways
Speaker: Christine Martey-Ochola, Danielle Britton
Description: Building a future-ready workforce begins long before learners enter college. This session explores how strategic K–12 engagement, family outreach, and career-connected learning can increase awareness of high-demand careers, strengthen enrollment pipelines, and create meaningful pathways to economic mobility through Power & Energy Management, Hornet Academy, and other innovative initiatives.

Title: From Setback to Success: Connecting Degree and Workforce Education Through Collaborative Advising
Speaker: Denia Tavarez, Alicia Hernandez Banegas
Description: When qualified students are not admitted to competitive healthcare programs, what comes next? Learn how academic and career advisors collaborate to connect students with stackable healthcare credentials, meaningful clinical experience, and clear pathways to long-term career goals. Participants will gain practical strategies for creating seamless, learner-centered connections between credit and non-credit education that support persistence, skill development, and future success.

Title: One Program, One Community: How LaGuardia Community College Piloted a New Approach to Adult Learner Marketing
Speaker: Liesl Fores-Iza, Caridad Munoz, Ada Rosales
Description: This session presents a LaGuardia Community College pilot project that tested a community-specific, culturally responsive digital marketing model with one program, one community, and one geography, producing a framework other institutions can apply to sharpen their own approach.
Title: Beyond Transfer: Building Workforce Pathways Through Strategic Community College–University Partnerships
Speaker: Dan Fogarty, Greg Truckenmiller
Description: Discover how SUNY Empire and Fulton-Montgomery Community College are redefining traditional transfer through a workforce-centered dual admission model. Learn how strategic partnerships, employer engagement, and seamless educational pathways can increase adult learner success, strengthen regional economic development, and create scalable models for institutions across New York.