Saturday October 24, 2026

Conference Center Facility Map

8:00 am (Foyer): Registration & Vendor Booth Set-Up

• Registration Opens
• Vendor Booth Set-Up Begins
• Youth Conference and Conference t-shirts go on sale ($20 each!): to view t-shirt designs click here
  • You can also purchase Youth Conference stickers ($3 each) and postcards ($5 each)
  • A bundle deal is available for $26 which includes 1 t-shirt, 1 sticker, and 1 postcard

8:00 am (Tesla): Sensory Free Room Opens

8:00- 9:00 am (Foyer): Continental Breakfast

9:00 - 11:00 am (Cascade Ballroom): Welcome Session

• Welcome Session with Elissa Ellis, APRIL Executive Director; Kim Gibson, APRIL Board President; Local NY Representatives, Land Acknowledgement, and Native Blessing by Travis Stafford
  • Land Acknowledgement: 

    With the aim of educating our community and acknowledging the many land treaties that overlay the City of Niagara Falls and Niagara Region, we acknowledge and thank the Indigenous peoples who were stewards of this land for a millennia before us. 

    APRIL acknowledges that we are privileged to gather on the lands of the Seneca, Tuscarora nations and other Indigenous communities such as Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples who have stewarded this land throughout generations. We honor their sovereignty, demonstrate respect and correct the stories and practices that have erased Indigenous peoples’ history and culture by inviting and honoring truth.

• National Grassroots Partner Panel with APRIL, National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), and the National Association of State Independent Living Councils (NASILC)

11:00 am - 12:00 pm (Foyer): Break and Visit Vendor Booths

12:00 - 1:30 pm (Cascade Ballroom): Plated Luncheon

1:30 - 2:00 pm: Transition to Workshops

2:00 - 3:00 pm Workshops Block 1

• (Olmsted) Telling Your Center's Story: Video and Podcasting as Section 725 Outreach with Matt Shedd
• (Porter) Higher Education Access: College Students with Physical Disabilities Innovating Campus-Based Solutions to the Caregiver Crisis with Opal Besaw and Drl Meg Traci, University of Montana
• (Red Jacket) Presenting the Living Well Workshop to Diverse Populations with Maria Stout and Charles Alvarez
• (Whitney) Expanding the Circle: Supporting our Independent Living Cousins with Ericka Glick and Ken Mitchell

3:00 - 3:30 pm: Break

3:30 - 5:00 pm Workshops Block 2

• (Olmsted) SILC FAQ and Q&A Jam Session with Mellie Adu, Karen Gridley, and Stephanie Woodward
• (Porter) Steps to Setting Up Rural Transportation Programs with Rehan Hyder and Mike Russell
• (DeVeaux) Connecting to Community Through Engagement Specialists with Sapphire Murphy and Beth Glas
• (Red Jacket) Beyond the Uniform with Sela Mata-Gomez, Maria Osorio, Cristina Solis Wilson, Gabriela Headen, and Karina Licon [Veteran-Focused Session]
• (Schoellkopf) Mental Health as a Disability from a Disabled Youth Perspective with Arias Cruse [Youth-Focused Session]
• (Whitney) Disability-Led Disaster Preparedness and Resiliency Model with Bambi Polotzola, Jake Stukenberg, Nicole DeJean, and Janet Sharkis
• (Castellani Gallery) Environmental Impacts to Disability within Tribal Communities with Jill Sherman-Warne [Indigenous-Focused Session]

8:00 - 11:45 pm (Cataract): Dance for the Youth and Young at Heart

[Light snacks provided]