Ohio Career Development Association

🚨 Friendly Reminder: Registration Is Still Open!

There's still time to join us for Advancing Career Readiness Through Policy: OCDA Government Relations Committee Progress & Policy Updates on September 10 from 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET.

Learn how advocacy, legislative engagement, and policy awareness can help career professionals strengthen services, build partnerships, and advance career readiness across Ohio.

Hear from Sarah Jan Tausch and Newton Kimberly as they share updates from OCDA's Government Relations Committee and practical ways to engage in policy conversations that matter.

📅 September 10, 2026
🕛 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET
💻 Zoom information will be emailed to registrants

✅ Secure your spot today!

📣 Registration is Open!

How can career professionals help shape the future of career readiness in Ohio?

Join OCDA on September 10 from 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET for:

Advancing Career Readiness Through Policy: OCDA Government Relations Committee Progress & Policy Updates

Presenters Sarah Jan Tausch and Newton Kimberly will share updates on OCDA's advocacy efforts, legislative engagement, and policy priorities, along with practical ways career professionals can get involved and create meaningful impact.

✨ Learn about recent Government Relations Committee accomplishments
✨ Explore tools for advocacy and policy engagement
✨ Discover strategies for strengthening career pathways and partnerships

📅 September 10, 2026
🕛 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET
💻 Zoom details will be sent to registrants via email

Register today!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the OCDA Conference! We were so excited to host the conference in Northwest Ohio for the first time, and we’re incredibly grateful you came and helped make it such a special event.

What a way to kick off Day 1 of the OCDA Conference! 🎉 From incredible sessions during the day to keeping the energy alive into the night, it’s already been an unforgettable start.

A huge thank you to the Visit Greater Lima team for being such phenomenal hosts and making us feel so welcome. We can’t wait to see what Day 2 brings! ☕️✨

Thank you to for the trolley tour of downtown Lima!!!

Speaker Spotlight: Aaron Sturgill from Ohio University

Join us at the OCDA Conference: Reimagining Career Readiness: Building Pathways to Impact, taking place May 28–29, 2026, at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center in Lima, Ohio.

On May 29, Aaron Sturgill will lead a session titled “From Overwhelmed to Action-Oriented: A Brain-Based Approach to Career Development”. This session will introduce key Brain-Based Career Development (BBCD) principles and demonstrate practical strategies such as chunking, prioritization, and feedback loops that help move individuals from overwhelm to focused, action-oriented progress. (BBCD) offers a neuroscience-informed framework that helps practitioners structure career conversations in ways that reduce cognitive overload and increase engagement. By the end of the session, participants will understand how the brain processes career decisions and will be able to apply brain-based strategies to strengthen career readiness conversations across counseling, education, and workforce settings.

Not registered yet? Secure your spot today: https://ocdaonline.org/registration

Speaker Spotlight: Erika Hill, Owner of Careerlog

Join us at the OCDA Conference: Reimagining Career Readiness: Building Pathways to Impact, taking place May 28–29, 2026, at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center in Lima, Ohio.

On May 29, Erika Hill will lead a session titled “The Mindset Bridge: Using Daily Reflection to Anchor Career Readiness in Work-Based Learning”. This session introduces a 30-day framework of interpersonal reflection designed for early career professionals. We will explore how the framework—delivered either as a pre-start "Mindset Prep" or an "Onboarding Navigator"—equips students to decode office culture, manage ambiguity, and track their contributions. Attendees will receive a practical toolkit to help students shift from passive observers to proactive contributors, ensuring they maximize every work assignment for long-term career impact.

Not registered yet? Secure your spot today: https://ocdaonline.org/registration

Speaker Spotlight: Crystal Newman and Terah Campbell from NCUS TEC

Join us at the OCDA Conference: Reimagining Career Readiness: Building Pathways to Impact, taking place May 28–29, 2026, at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center in Lima, Ohio.

On May 29, Crystal Newman and Terah Campbell will lead a session titled “The Work Within: Refueling the Practitioner for Purposeful Impact”. Through self-assessment, powerful metaphors, and practical wellness tools, participants will explore how mindset, boundaries, and community support sustainable practice. Attendees will learn to identify personal energy patterns, distinguish burnout from resilience, and create a personalized refueling plan grounded in actionable habits. They will leave grounded, refueled, and equipped to support students with clarity, balance, and authenticity.

Not registered yet? Secure your spot today: https://ocdaonline.org/registration

Speaker Spotlight: Rabina Anand, M.Ed., CCSP, Owner of R.A. Consulting

Join us at the OCDA Conference: Reimagining Career Readiness: Building Pathways to Impact, taking place May 28–29, 2026, at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center in Lima, Ohio.

On May 29, Rabina Anand will lead a session titled “From Classroom to Career: Empowering the Next Generation Through Work-Based Learning”. This session explores how schools and organizations can foster strategic partnerships and provides tools to develop a scalable internship program that fulfills the needs of students, businesses and the community. The world of work is constantly changing and as educators and workforce managers it can be daunting to implement programs that prepare students to be successful in a world where future jobs have yet to be created. Work-based learning has proven to be an effective approach to educating students that allows them to explore and immerse themselves in potential career pathways.

Not registered yet? Secure your spot today: https://ocdaonline.org/registration