CCCSAA PD Conference 2026
June 24 thru June 26, 2026
The California Community Colleges Student Affairs Association is thrilled to invite you to the 2026 Professional Development Conference at Embassy Suites by Hilton Santa Ana – Orange County Airport North. This year’s theme, “Access Granted: Unlocking Equity Through Technology & Innovation,” centers on breaking barriers and building bridges in Student Affairs through inclusive and forward-thinking practices.
Set in the heart of Orange County, this engaging three-day experience will explore how technology can enhance access and inclusion, while empowering professionals to reimagine student support. From accessible solutions and digital innovation to equity-centered strategies, this conference is designed to connect, educate, and elevate our work in higher education.
Join us as we lead with purpose and create a more connected, accessible future for all students.
Access Granted: Empowering Innovation & Inclusion in Student Affairs
Conference Registration Deadline and Fees
Regular Registration
Full payment must be received on or before Friday, May 1, 2026, to be eligible for the membership discount
- Members: $500
- Non-Members: $600
Late Registration after Friday, May 1, 2026
Payments received after Friday, May 2, 2025, may not be eligible for the membership discount
- Members: $550
- Non-Members: $650
*While CCCSAA is committed to making every effort to accommodate your needs, please understand that we may not be able to fulfill all requests. However, your satisfaction is our priority. Kindly reach out to events@cccsaa.org with any accommodations required to enhance your experience, and we'll do our best to ensure it's excellent!
Opening and Closing Presentations
Designing for Liberation: Rethinking Access in Higher Education
In her sessions, Dr. Karen D. (KD) Harris invites participants to move beyond surface-level inclusion and toward transformative, justice-driven action in student affairs. Drawing on her lived experience and scholarship as a disabled woman of color and scholar-practitioner-activist. Dr. Harris challenges institutions to examine how power, identity, and systemic design shape access for neurodivergent and historically marginalized students. Grounded in critical disability studies, trauma-informed practice, and neuroaffirming leadership, this session will explore how student affairs professionals can shift from compliance-oriented approaches to equity-centered systems change.
Through a relational and power-attuned lens, participants will reflect on how campus structures, policies, and daily decisions either expand or restrict belonging. Dr. Harris will offer a framework for redesigning educational environments so that accessibility is not an accommodation afterthought, but a foundational principle. Attendees will leave with both a deeper critical consciousness and practical strategies for embedding inclusion into leadership practice, program design, and institutional culture.
Dr. Karen D. (KD) Harris is an educator, scholar-activist, and nationally recognized advocate for neurodiversity, equity, and systemic transformation in education. She serves as Executive Director and Chief Learning Officer of Let’s Talk Learning Differences. She is the CEO of Neurodiverse*City, where she leads intersectional, neuroaffirming, and culturally responsive initiatives that advance access and belonging for historically minoritized learners. Dr. Harris earned her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where her award-winning dissertation examined the formative educational experiences of gifted neurodivergent adults with historically minoritized identities. Her work bridges research, advocacy, and practice, centering critical disability studies, identity formation, and systems change. A published scholar, podcast producer, and national presenter, she is known for translating complex research into actionable strategies that empower educators and institutions to dismantle ableism and expand opportunity. Dr. Harris has received multiple honors, including the 2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the American Educational Research Association. Through her leadership, she challenges educational systems to move beyond compliance toward justice-driven, human-centered transformation that truly supports neurodivergent learners across the lifespan.
Opening Keynote
From Access to Action: Impact-Driven Student Affairs
Student affairs professionals are invited to move beyond treating access, innovation, and inclusion as aspirational ideals and instead embrace them as daily leadership commitments. This session challenges participants to examine how their everyday decisions, practices, and systems directly shape students' lived experiences. Through a human-centered approach, attendees will explore how campus structures, policies, and professional roles influence belonging and opportunity. Rather than focusing solely on intention, this keynote centers on impact—the kind students can genuinely see and feel. Participants will rethink access as something dynamic and relational, shaped by people, processes, and institutional culture. They will learn to apply human-centered innovation to redesign services and remove barriers to student success.
The session also emphasizes that inclusion is not the responsibility of a single office or program, but a shared commitment across all student affairs roles. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to transform good intentions into meaningful, measurable outcomes. Ultimately, this experience calls leaders to translate purpose into action and ensure their work advances real, sustainable student success.
Dr. Pilar Huffman brings more than two decades of experience in learning, leadership, and organizational development across both higher education and corporate settings. She currently serves as the Director of Professional Development at Compton College, where she leads the design and implementation of innovative, equity-focused professional learning experiences for faculty, classified professionals, managers, and students. Dr. Huffman earned her Doctorate in Education in Organizational Change and Administration and holds graduate degrees in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Organizational Leadership. Her work is grounded in human-centered leadership, culturally responsive practice, employee engagement, and the creation of sustainable systems that advance student success.
A dedicated champion for access, belonging, and lifelong learning, Dr. Huffman contributes her expertise to multiple statewide and national boards, including initiatives centered on mentorship, student basic needs, and institutional effectiveness within the California Community Colleges system. As a first-generation college graduate, she remains deeply committed to uplifting others and cultivating leaders who act with authenticity, intention, and care.
Reservation Information
Book your hotel room at the Host Conference Hotel website. The last day to make reservations at the special rate is by Friday, May 29, 2026. Due to limited hotel rooms and low costs, the Hotel reservation will need to be accompanied with a registration to the conference.
Check-in: Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Check-out: Friday, June 26, 2026
Room Rates: $169 standard; $199 double occupancy
*If you are wanting to come up to three days earlier or stay three days later, discount price may still be eligible via contacting the Hotel directly or emailing the Events Chair.
Destination Fee
The destination fee for the hotel will be waived for all guests staying at the property. The fee includes:
- High-Speed Wi-Fi throughout the hotel
- Free made-to-order breakfast
- Evening Reception
- Non-smoking rooms
- Digital Key
- Airport shuttle
- On-site restaurant
- Indoor pool
- Fitness center
- Pet-friendly room
- Visit the hotel website for additional amenities.
Discounted Self Parking $16 per night/vehicle.
Email the Hotel
Professional Development and Training Conference
Review the Schedule at a Glance
We are looking for Conference Sessions to inspire, motivate, and
Share Knowledge with your Colleagues.
Submit a Proposal today. Email Events Chair for more information.
If you need any further information, please email CCCSAA Events Chair, Dr. Nicky Damania at events@cccsaa.org