{"id":5696,"date":"2025-07-08T16:42:27","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T23:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/ihd\/?p=5696"},"modified":"2025-07-09T11:24:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T18:24:14","slug":"2025ihdconference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/institute-human-development\/2025ihdconference\/","title":{"rendered":"Record-Breaking Attendance at the 2025 IHD Evidence for Success Disability Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adi Schaeffer and Kyle W. Beam<\/em><\/p>\n

The Institute for Human Development at Northern Arizona University hosted the 26th annual Evidence for Success Disability Conference from June 22\u201324, 2025, at Gila River Resorts and Casinos \u2013 Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona. While rooted in Arizona, the conference drew a diverse group of professionals, educators, advocates, families, and service providers from across the nation.<\/p>\n

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With record-breaking attendance, this year\u2019s conference brought together over 600 participants for three days of dynamic programming. Featuring 64 educational sessions and over 50 exhibitors, the event offered many opportunities for learning, networking, and professional development. Content strands covered a wide range of topics, including disability-inclusive artificial intelligence (AI), assistive technology, American Indian\/Alaska Native vocational rehabilitation, and disability policy and advocacy.<\/p>\n

Participants praised the conference for its high-quality, focused sessions, the variety of topics tailored to different interests and professions, and the overall positive atmosphere. Attendees singled out the engaging keynote speakers and the impressive display of assistive technology from vendors, noting the wealth of possibilities it presented. Reflecting this positive experience,\u00a097.8% of survey respondents reported being either highly satisfied or satisfied\u00a0with the event overall.<\/p>\n

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Keynote speaker Dr. Lawrence Weru, a biomedical informatics researcher at Harvard Medical School, opened the conference with a powerful presentation titled\u00a0\u201cNavigating the Opportunities and Challenges for Disability-Inclusive AI.\u201d\u00a0His talk explored how emerging technologies are reshaping access and equity in the disability community.<\/p>\n

Closing out the event, bestselling author Rachel Simon delivered an address titled\u00a0\u201cRiding Through Life with Cool Beth: My Sister\u2019s Journey to Independence, My Journey to Embracing My Sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conference also featured a well-attended community networking reception, which was open to the public. Guests enjoyed live entertainment by the Detour Company Theatre, refreshments, and door prize drawings.<\/p>\n

The 2025 Evidence for Success Disability Conference continued its tradition as one of Arizona\u2019s premier disability events, offering attendees a dynamic space for collaboration and innovation. Participants\u2014whether professionals, students, self-advocates, or family members\u2014left the event better prepared and inspired to promote equity and opportunity within their communities.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adi Schaeffer and Kyle W. Beam The Institute for Human Development at Northern Arizona University hosted the 26th annual Evidence for Success Disability Conference from June 22\u201324, 2025, at Gila River Resorts and Casinos \u2013 Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona. While rooted in Arizona, the conference drew a diverse group of professionals, educators, advocates, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":738,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/institute-human-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/institute-human-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/institute-human-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/institute-human-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/738"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/institute-human-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5696"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/institute-human-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5711,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/institute-human-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696\/revisions\/5711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/institute-human-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/institute-human-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/institute-human-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}