杏吧传媒

Our conference is free of cost but participants must register. Registration is open between July 15 and October 15, 2025.

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What's My Role? Introducing Supported Decision-Making in IEP and Transition Planning with Dr. Talya Kemper and Dr. Sara McDaniel (CSU, East Bay) @ 10:00-11:00 am 
Workshop: This session will equip teachers with practical strategies to embed Supported Decision-Making (SDM) into IEPs and transition planning. Participants will learn how to develop SDM-aligned transition plans, create IEP goals that foster student voice and choice, and apply classroom-based practices that support autonomy and collaboration.

Supported Decision-Making in Nursing and Healthcare with Dr. Rachel Torres (CSU, East Bay) @ 10:00-11:00 am
Workshop:

Using Supported Decision-Making in Legal Settings with Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) @ 10:00-11:00 am 
Panel: This presentation will cover how lawyers, judges, and court personnel can recognize and integrate supported decision-making into legal representation and court proceedings. Together with other reasonable accommodations such as plain language, supported decision making can help disabled clients and court users access our legal system in a meaningful way.

Supported Decision Making in Mental Health and Social Service Settings with Dr. Sarah Taylor and Merisa Rasmussen (CSU, East Bay) @ 10:00-11:00 am
Workshop: This workshop for social service and behavioral health professionals explores SDM’s alignment with professional values and ethics for professionals from a variety of disciplines (including Direct Service Professionals, Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, Psychologists, and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors), legal recognition, and practical implementation. Participants will learn how to use SDM agreements in practice and educate others. Specifically, they will be able to: 1) Understand Supported Decision Making (SDM), how it applies to their professional practice; 2) Describe how SDM aligns with professional values, ethics, and conceptual frameworks; 3) Facilitate conversations about decision-making plans with clients with intellectual disabilities and their families; and 4) Share accurate information about SDM with colleagues and clients that challenges common myths and misconceptions.

Understanding Black Family Motivations with Dr. Jolan Smith (CSU, Long Beach) @ 11:15-12:15 pm
Workshop: When engaging with Black families of youth with disabilities, it is important to understand the context under which they function, including their priorities, resources, and aspirations. This knowledge of Black families and their long-term goals can facilitate the development of cultural awareness service providers need to work with Black families on SDM. Designed for teachers and other service providers, the session will present five motivations of Black families and share practical strategies for discussing SDM with Black caregivers.

Supported Decision Making in Speech Pathology with Dr. Shubha Kashinath (CSU, East Bay) @ 11:15-12:15 pm
Workshop.

System Advocacy vs Self-Advocacy with Alexa Guerrero @ 11:15-12:15 pm 
Workshop: My presentation offers an in-depth examination of System Advocacy and Self-Advocacy. I’ll begin by explaining what System Advocacy is, share examples, and guide the audience on how to write effective public comments on legislation. In the second half, I’ll focus on Self-Advocacy, highlighting its importance in living your best life and making independent decisions. Finally, I’ll share how practicing Self-Advocacy has helped me achieve my current success.

How to Implement Supported Decision-making for Healthcare: Community Conversation with Dr. Kripke (UCSF) @ 11:15-12:15 pm
Community Conversation: In healthcare settings, patients, families, and healthcare providers want to support self-determination, but are uncertain how to do it. This is especially true when a person with a developmental disability's mental capacity fluctuates or when it is difficult to discern the will and preferences of a person with a disability. This session will answer questions about how to implement supported decisionmaking in healthcare settings and provide guidance based on the examples and cases presented by audience members.

Collaborative Support with Teachers and School Nurses with Dr. Talya Kemper and Dr. Rachel Torres @ 2:00-3:00 pm
Workshop: This session highlights practical ways teachers and school nurses can partner to promote student voice and choice through Supported Decision-Making (SDM). Participants will explore cross-disciplinary strategies to integrate SDM into learning and health supports, fostering autonomy while ensuring safety and inclusion.

SDM in Practice with Dr. Sara McDaniel and Dr. Sarah Taylor @ 2:00-3:00 pm
Workshop

Living Our Lives with Supportive Decision-Making with Vivian Do, Bella Santoyo, William Del Rosario and Otto Lana @ 2:00-3:00 pm
Panel: Join us for a panel discussion on how we practically use supported decision-making in our lives in different areas from healthcare, education, finances, and more. Hear about our lived experiences using SDM and how we can ensure everyone regardless of their disability has the right to make choices with support. Learn how professionals can better support self-advocates using SDM and incorporate it in their work.

Family Resource Navigators, Support for Families with Eileen Crumm, Amelia Ott and Cheryl Theis @ 2:00-3:00 pm
Workshop: Over the past year, Family Resource Navigators (FRN) and Support for Families (SFF) have been funded by SDM-TAP to provide training and system navigation for youth and adults with disabilities, as well as families in the highly diverse Bay Area. The project offers assistance from bilingual and/or bicultural peer navigators and focuses on serving the Black community, along with individuals who speak Mam, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, and Vietnamese. This session will discuss the challenges and cultural adaptations that project staff have made in serving these communities and will address recurring themes such as the tradeoff between safety and autonomy, as well as the importance of incorporating the concept of interdependent decision-making.

Our featured artist:

Freeman's art is available at 

Sher-ron Freeman is a talented multimedia artist and painter. Her use of vibrant hues and layered compositions are a common theme in her work and she often looks to wildlife, whether that is animals, flowers, or foliage, as inspiration for her brightly colored pieces. Her drawings and paintings have a dynamic energy found in abstract expressionism and action painting, though Freeman is steady and careful to execute her work. When creating original fashion pieces, pillows, or wall hangings, she utilizes a grab-bag of small textural materials including sequins, paper, lace, and beads. ()

We are grateful to Sher-ron Freeman and Creative Growth for granting us permission to feature Freeman's at our conference. 

Keynote Speakers:

Ayesha Elaine Lewis is a graduate of New York University School of Law, where she earned her J.D. in 2013 and LLM in Taxation in 2015. After law school she clerked for Justice Allison Eid at the Colorado Supreme Court and Judge Juan F. Vasquez at the United States Tax Court. She has completed fellowships at the ACLU National Center for Liberty and the ACLU of Michigan. Ayesha uses her experience from various aspects of civil rights advocacy to inform her work to advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities at DREDF. Her work spans a variety of areas, including marriage equality, the rights of parents with disabilities, and access to the legal system.

Dashiell Meier is a 19-year-old filmmaker, disability advocate and student at Foothill College in the San Francisco Bay Area. He hosts a YouTube talk show called Playing Favorites and is launching a new show about Down syndrome. Dashiell is a National Down Syndrome Society Ambassador and a Special Olympics multi-sport athlete, Health Messenger and Global Ambassador. Dashiell recently joined the National Disability Mentoring Coalition Dinah F.B. Cohen DREAM Fellowship program and loves working with advocates from all over the country with a range of disabilities. Dashiell plays soccer and works to make the sport more accessible and inclusive. He was the 2022 EPIC (formerly VIP) AYSO Ambassador and currently serves on U.S. Soccer’s ADAPT and THRIVE Committee.

Conference presenters (in alphabetical order by last name)

Claudia Center (she/her) is the Legal Director at Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund. She supervises DREDF's legal team and litigates cases that increase civil rights and civil liberties for persons with disabilities. She represents the disability community in legislative, policy, amicus, and appellate work.

Eileen Crumm (she/her) is the Executive Director of Family Resource Navigators in Alameda County. Eileen has worked in a variety of community agencies helping families who have children and adults with disabilities. Eileen is also the parent of an adult with a disability, and she has supported him in his decision-making for over 10 years.

William Del Rosario (he/him), 25, a non-speaking autistic advocate from Orange County, CA, uses AAC and multi-modal communication. He earned his high school diploma one letter at a time and is currently pursuing higher education while actively promoting communication access through writing, public speaking, and advocacy.

Vivian Do (she/her) is the Project Manager for Disability Voices United’s new Supported Decision-Making Training and Information Center where she presents on SDM throughout the state for self-advocates, family members, supporters, and professionals. She is a family member of multiple people with disabilities and wants to see all having choice and control over their lives.

Alexa Guerrero (she/her) is a Self-Advocate. Alexa earned my Bachelor’s degree in Child Development from Sacramento State University. She is currently passionate about advocating for the disability community.

Shubha Kasinath, Ph.D. (she/her) is the Interim Associate Dean of College of Health and Professor in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, and the Department’s Continuing Education Administrator at CSU East Bay. She is a Research Development Faculty Fellow at the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and is Co-Director for the Center for Disability Justice Research: Health Equity, Education, and Creativity.

Talya Kemper, Ph.D. (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at CSU East Bay, the Founder of Think by the Bay and a Parent. Dr. Kemper has worked in special education for over 20 years and is a strong advocate for radical inclusion and autonomy for people with disabilities. She teaches future educators how to include students with disabilities, emphasizing presuming competence and that education is a right for all.

Clarissa Kripke, MD, FAAFP (she/her) is Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California San Francisco. She directs the Office of Developmental Primary Care whose mission is to build the capacity of the healthcare system to serve transition age youth and adults with developmental disabilities. She provides home care to some of the Bay Area's most medically fragile and behaviorally complex adults with developmental disabilities.

Otto Lana (he/him) is a college student and a San Diego native. An award-winning poet, writer, consultant, filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. A self-advocate championing the rights of those with communication disabilities. He is a California State Youth Ambassador for the Center on Youth Voice Youth Choice, informing disabled youth on alternatives to conservatorship.

Ayesha Elaine Lewis (she/her) is a Senior Staff attorney at DREDF. Ayesha uses her experience from various aspects of civil rights advocacy to inform her work to advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities at DREDF. Her work spans a variety of areas, including marriage equality, the rights of parents with disabilities, and access to the legal system.

Sara McDaniel, Ph.D. (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at CSU, East Bay who works to prepare highly qualified special educators. A former high school special education teacher, Dr. McDaniel has contributed to numerous projects in the area of secondary transition. Her other research interests include disability justice, interventions to support TK-22 students with high-incidence disabilities in inclusive settings, autism spectrum disorder, college and career readiness, and effective collaboration amongst school-based practitioners

Amelia Ott (she/her) is a parent, and SDM-TAP program manager at Family Resource Navigators. Amelia has a deep passion for providing support and training to disadvantaged and underserved populations. As a longtime Alameda County resident and parent to a child with an ultra-rare genetic mutation and multiple disabilities, she understands how access to services can change people with disabilities and their caregivers’ lives.

Merisa Rasmussen is an MSW Candidate at 杏吧传媒 and a Lead Social Worker with Golden Gate Regional Center, an organization that provides services and supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the lifespan.

Isabella Santoyo (she/her)  is a 23 year old multimodal communicator from the city of Long Beach. She’s a youth ambassador with the Center on Youth Voice, Youth Choice and a part time college student. Her loves are learning, traveling and advocacy. She believes everyone deserves access to a quality education regardless of their differences. 

Jolan Smith, Ph.D. (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the College of Education at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). She teaches courses on equity in special education research and practice, and assessment and evaluation of students with disabilities. Dr. Smith's research focuses on Black caregiver engagement in special education. 

Sarah Taylor, Ph.D., MSW (she/they) is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Social Work at CSU, East Bay. She is also a Founding Co-Director of the Center for Disability Justice Research: Health Equity, Education, and Creativity. Dr. Taylor recently co-edited a special issue of the Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare on Disability Justice in Social Work. She also serves as a lead faculty for Think by the Bay, an inclusive post-secondary education program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Cheryl Theis (she/her) is the Director of Education at Support for Families of Children with Disabilities in San Francisco, CA. She has two decades of experience working with families of children and youth with disabilities. A primary focus of her work is identifying and removing barriers to meaningful inclusion for disabled children and youth, and educating and empowering families to participate and advocate effectively across all systems to improve outcomes and increase opportunities.

Rachel Torres (she/her), DNP, RN, PHNA-BC (she/her) is the Assistant Professor and Concurrent Enrollment Program Coordinator in the Nursing Department at CSU East Bay.

PARKING
Please use parking lot address: 510 Fallon St., Oakland 94607
provides free parking for conference participants.

• ADA accessible parking is available in the THEATER lot and FORUM lot as well as in the 7th Street lot.
• General parking is free in the 7th Street lot. (cross street Fallon St.). The parking lot is staffed by a security guard.

GROUND TRANSPORTATION
 connects the San Francisco Peninsula with the East Bay and South Bay. The BART connects with .  

• Laney College is located directly off the BART line,.

Jack London Square Station: 245 Second Street, Oakland, CA 94607
 connects the Sacramento region with the Bay Area, and stops at the Jack London Square Station. 

• Laney College is 0.7 miles from the Oakland Jack London Square Station. (Walking is not recommended.) 

AIR TRANSPORTATION

1 Airport Dr, Oakland, CA 94621

• Laney College is less than 9 miles north of the Oakland International Airport.
  You can take the BART from OAK to Laney College. For information: 

Other Bay Area airports include:

OTHER TRANSPORTATION HUBS

: 10 Clay Street, Oakland, CA, 94607 

• Laney College is less than 2 miles from the Oakland ferry terminal. (Walking is not recommended.)

Hotels nears Laney College:

• : 988 Broadway, Oakland, CA, 94607 (near 12th St. BART station)
• 378 11th St. Oakland, CA, 94607 (near 12th St. BART station)
• : 1001 Broadway, Oakland, CA, 94607 (near 12th St. BART station)
• Ramada by Wyndham Oakland Downtown City Center: 371 13th St. Oakland, CA, 94612 (near 12th St. BART station)
• : 1755 Embarcadero, Oakland, CA, 94606 
• : 1717 Embarcadero, Oakland, CA, 94606 

Places to visit: 

• : 649 14th St., Oakland, CA 94612
• : 1000 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94607
• : 472 Water St., Oakland, CA 94607 
• : 568 Bellevue Ave., Oakland, CA 94610
  

The Building Bridges: Advancing Supported Decision-Making in Diverse Communities conference aims to address SDM for professionals in California in education, healthcare, speech pathology, social work, social services, behavioral health, law, nonprofit organizations, and others who work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs), mental health conditions and/or aging concerns. Continuing Education Units  (CEU) can be made available for LCSWs, LMFTs, and LPCC.  

In 2022 California granted formal recognition of Supported Decision-Making (SDM) with the passage of . While the harms of conservatorship gained some recognition in the 2020s, there remains a lack of awareness about SDM as an alternative to conservatorship. Providers who serve individuals with IDDs and their families are in a unique position to recognize the strengths and needs of such individuals and support their ability to exercise self-determination. This conference aims to increase knowledge and application of SDM with professionals, facilitate community dialogue, and work towards a cultural shift to implement AB 1663 to reduce the use of conservatorship.  

Driven by the disability justice principle of intersectionality (, 2015), which recognizes and values the multiple aspects of human diversity that coexist with disability, including but not limited to gender, age, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class, language, immigration status, religion, and more, we seek panels, workshops and community conversation sessions that can increase the capacity for professionals serving diverse people with disabilities and their families to provide relevant and culturally responsive information about SDM. We highly encourage participation by individuals with lived experience with SDM, and professionals and organizations working in vulnerable communities, including rural, urban, non-English speaking, unhoused, system-involved, and Native/Tribal communities.

This conference is made possible by funding from the .