A space designed for practitioners.

Every day, advisors, educators, career coaches, navigators, and other learner-facing professionals help students navigate an increasingly complex postsecondary landscape. From emerging technologies and evolving workforce demands to new pathways and persistent barriers to student success, the work of advising has never been more important - or more challenging.

The Practitioner Forum creates dedicated space for the people doing this work every day to learn from one another, strengthen their practice, and build relationships across organizations. Through practitioner-led sessions, interactive discussions, and cross-sector networking, participants will leave with practical strategies, new perspectives, and a stronger professional community.

Why attend?

Practice-Focused Learning. Explore strategies, tools, and promising practices you can immediately apply to your work.

Practitioner-Led Conversations. Learn from colleagues across DC who understand the realities of advising in today's environment.

Cross-Sector Connections. Build relationships with professionals from schools, colleges, nonprofits, workforce organizations, government agencies, and community-based organizations.

Ideas for the Future. Examine emerging trends, policy changes, workforce shifts, and innovations shaping the future of advising.

The Practitioner Forum is a virtual experience designed to make high-quality professional learning accessible to practitioners across DC. Rather than spending the day listening to presentations, participants will engage in interactive breakout sessions, facilitated discussions, and collaborative learning with peers from across the city's postsecondary ecosystem.

Whether you join from your school, campus, office, or home, you'll have opportunities to exchange ideas, ask questions, share promising practices, and build relationships with colleagues facing similar challenges. You'll leave with practical strategies you can apply immediately, new connections across the advising community, and renewed energy for supporting learners in a changing landscape.

The Practitioner Forum is designed for professionals who work directly with learners across DC's postsecondary ecosystem, including:

• College and career advisors

• School counselors

• Postsecondary success coaches

• Career coaches and workforce navigators

• College access professionals

• Adult education practitioners

• Student support staff

• Program managers and direct service leaders

• Anyone helping learners navigate postsecondary and career pathways

Exploring the issues shaping advising today. The 2026 Practitioner Forum is organized around these five themes:

1) Sustainable Practice & Capacity

How can we strengthen advising while supporting the practitioners doing the work?

Explore strategies for navigating capacity limits, supporting practitioner well-being, collaborating across programs for greater efficiency, and expanding advising beyond one-on-one models. Sessions will also highlight promising approaches, including staged or phased advising models and role differentiation by grade band, that help organizations extend their reach while maintaining quality support for learners.

2) The Both-And Approach: Advising Across Multiple Postsecondary Pathways

How can we prepare practitioners to support every pathway a learner might pursue?

Build the skills needed to have effective advising conversations across the full range of postsecondary options. Sessions will explore advising for both degree and non-degree pathways, internships and work-based learning opportunities, and practical approaches for supporting learners whose goals and next steps are still taking shape.

3) Removing Barriers to Access & Persistence

How do we help learners navigate the barriers that stand between them and opportunity?

Explore how practitioners can support learners in making financially feasible pathway decisions while addressing the broader challenges that impact access, persistence, and success. Conversations will include barriers related to documentation and immigration status, academic challenges, disability, chronic absenteeism, housing and food insecurity, language access, mental health, and other factors affecting learners’ journeys.

4) Building the Full Pipeline

How can we create more connected support for learners at every stage?

Explore strategies for expanding career exploration throughout the K12 journey, building stronger cross-sector partnerships for consistent career exposure, staying connected with learners beyond graduation, re-engaging disconnected students, and strengthening coordination across DC’s advising ecosystem, including greater integration of adult education programs.

5) Navigating the Future: Trends & Systems Innovation

How can advising evolve alongside a rapidly changing world?

Explore how practitioners can interpret labor market and workforce data, understand the impact of policy on postsecondary access and success, strengthen education-employer sector relationships, and help learners build sustainable plans aligned with an evolving economy. Sessions will examine how advising practices can remain responsive to emerging trends and the future of work.

Mark your calendar. Stay tuned for key milestones as we prepare for the 2026 Practitioner Forum.

9/14/2026: Tickets Available

11/5/2026: 2026 Practitioner Forum from 11:00-3:30pm

This Forum is built by and for the practitioners who make postsecondary success possible.

The inaugural Practitioner Forum is a community effort. Whether you are interested in sharing your expertise, supporting the event experience, or investing in the growth of DC's advising community, there are multiple ways to get involved.

Share Your Expertise

Have a promising practice, innovative approach, or lesson learned to share?

We will be accepting proposals until 9/11/2026, so click here to submit yours!

Volunteer with the Planning Team

We have a number of volunteer opportunities and welcome your support!

Check out the ways you can get involved and sign up to be a volunteer by clicking here.

Become a Sponsor

Invest in the practitioners who support learners across DC and help make this new annual gathering possible. Sponsorship support helps keep the Forum accessible to all learner-facing professionals, regardless of their organization’s ability to cover registration costs, by providing scholarship opportunities for attendees.

Learn about sponsorship opportunities by clicking here.