Author: Amy Frederick

CEU Information

September 25, 2026
11:00am-12:30pm CST
1.5 CEs for LCSW/LSW and LCPC/LPC
$10 for CEs, free for no CEs

CQI is often a “watchdog” function in organizations, reactive to regulation, infrequently viewed as integral to strategy. Consequently, external threats to services can be doubly concerning for non-direct service functions like CQI, putting CQI staff in survival mode, sometimes just able to do the minimum. Our function is and can be so much more.

The enduring contribution of CQI can be demonstrated by strategically (and consistently) aligning its support function to the position of an organization along a continuum of measurement and data use practices. This alignment can advance strategic and CQI objectives while establishing CQI’s seat at the table. Acting upon “positional awareness” can benefit organizations, programs, as well as individual CQI professionals wanting to cultivate skillsets to grow within their current organization, or to prepare themselves for their next career stage somewhere else. This session will introduce the logic of the measurement and data use continuum, how it has related to the Quality & Evaluation department’s strategic approach at Nexus Family Healing, and how the continuum has broad applicability at multiple levels. Cornerstones of Care will share how it can apply the continuum to its CQI structure and planned evolution. This session is intended to be a discussion of this concept and the presenters welcomes audience reflections and insights.

This workshop is hosted by the CQI Community Group. The mission of the CQI Community is to promote and enhance the value of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) through a community of human services professionals providing opportunities for professional development, peer support, and collaboration. The CQI Community Group connects professionals across the nation who are interested in sharing resources, engaging in professional development, and networking with peers in the areas of CQI. 

Learning Objectives:

• Ways to nudge both infrastructure (macro) and projects (micro) along a growth continuum to demonstrate CQI value.
• CQI department structures that promote growth and benevolent reliance on CQI.
• Insights on how individuals performing CQI work can position themselves for career growth by developing skills that align with organizational growth needs.
• Understand the facilitative role that CQI can play in nudging organizational growth.

Registration Options:

If you do NOT need CEUs for LCSW/LSW or LCPC/LPC, register via the link below:

NON-CEU REGISTRATION

If you DO need CEUs for LCSW/LSW or LCPC/LPC, register via the link below:

CEU REGISTRATION

Workshop Presenters

Anita Larson has worked in quality improvement and evaluation for over 30 years, including her current position as Vice President of Quality & Evaluation at Nexus Family Healing where CQI was recently intentionally restructured to be a more effective and resilient function for the organization.

Paige Webb is Senior Director of Performance Excellence at Cornerstones of Care, where she leads quality assurance, performance improvement, and data systems. She is focused on building practical PQI structures that connect measurement, organizational learning, and continuous improvement to strengthen services and advance meaningful outcomes.

CEU Information

July 24, 2026
11:00am-12:15pm CST
1.25 CEs for LCSW/LSW and LCPC/LPC
$10 for CEs, free for no CEs

This workshop will focus on how to engage people with lived experience (PWLE) such as patients and caregivers in quality improvement (QI) processes. It will include opportunities for engaging PWLE in each phase of Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles. This includes:

• Clarifying goals and key questions during the Plan stage of a QI project
• Identifying relevant and feasible data sources during the Do stage, including designing collection of any patient data in collaboration with PWLE partners
• Making sense of learning together with PWLE partners during the Study stage, including exploring additional interpretations of data and asking what may be missing
• Deciding together how to take action during the Act stage, including monitoring for intended and unintended impacts of any implemented changes
• The workshop will highlight ways that patient and caregiver insights can guide QI work, and will share suggested discussion questions and prompts for engaging PWLE in QI processes. This will include conversation starters for inviting PWLE into QI efforts, and tips for building authentic partnerships.

This workshop is hosted by the CQI Community Group. The mission of the CQI Community is to promote and enhance the value of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) through a community of human services professionals providing opportunities for professional development, peer support, and collaboration. The CQI Community Group connects professionals across the nation who are interested in sharing resources, engaging in professional development, and networking with peers in the areas of CQI. 

Learning Objectives:

• Identify opportunities to engage people with lived experience in each of the Plan-Do-Study-Act stages of quality improvement work.
• Understand best practices for building partnerships with people with lived experience as part of quality improvement work.
• Learn how to engage people with lived experience through discussion questions, prompts, and conversation starters.

Registration Options:

If you do NOT need CEUs for LCSW/LSW or LCPC/LPC, register via the link below:

NON-CEU REGISTRATION

If you DO need CEUs for LCSW/LSW or LCPC/LPC, register via the link below:

CEU REGISTRATION

Workshop Presenter

Ellen Schultz is a health policy consultant specializing in partnering with patients and communities to center measurement, research, and evaluation on what matters most to their health and wellbeing. She helps clients understand what works, measure success, and communicate effectively through inclusive learning activities that foster collaboration and build trust.

CEU Information

May 22, 2026
10:30am-12:00pm CST
1.5 CEs for LCSW/LSW and LCPC/LPC
$20 for CEs, $10 for no CEs

This webinar invites participants to deepen their understanding of how cultural narratives and personal and collective histories shape the ways we see ourselves and others. Together, we will explore how these forces can reinforce “us-versus-them” dynamics and contribute to inequality within institutions and communities. Participants will also be encouraged to reflect critically on their own social location, including experiences of othering and areas of privilege, as a way to build greater self-awareness. Through this process, this session aims to support the development of more thoughtful, responsible, and justice-oriented approaches to engaging with clients across diverse cultural contexts. This webinar will be presented in an interview-style format and will cover the cultural competency requirement for LCSW/LSW and LCPC/LPC licenses in the state of Illinois.

Learning Objectives:

• To learn to understand clients within the context of cultural narratives and personal and group histories, and to recognize how these histories and narratives produce and sustain us-versus-them dynamics and inequality in institutional and community contexts
• To critically examine your own social location, experiences of othering, and areas of privilege to strengthen self-awareness and cultivate justice-oriented practices.
• To learn how to use your knowledge of identity, privilege, and social context to engage clients thoughtfully and responsibly across cultural differences.

Registration Options:

If you do NOT need CEUs for LCSW/LSW or LCPC/LPC, register via the link below:

NON-CEU REGISTRATION

If you DO need CEUs for LCSW/LSW or LCPC/LPC, register via the link below:

CEU REGISTRATION

Workshop Presenters

Dr. Antonio Pizarro holds a Master’s degree in Christian Ministry and Restorative Arts and a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching, where his research focused on prophetic preaching for social justice within predominantly white churches. Dr. Pizarro is an itinerant prophetic preacher.

He is the founder and owner of Kintsugi LLC. Through Kintsugi LLC, he creates teaching and learning spaces that encourage individuals to embrace their full selves and recognize their brokenness as a valuable asset. A proud Baltimore, Maryland native, Dr. Pizarro embodies the transformative journey of turning brokenness into beauty.

Dr. Pizarro serves as the Program Manager for Illinois Humanities’ Envisioning Justice statewide initiative, adjunct professor with Lewis University’s Higher Education in Prison bachelor’s degree program, and the co author of Inside-Out: Journeys of Transformation

Katie Shumway works in community engagement at the University of Illinois School of Social Work and has been with the Community Learning Lab (CLL) since 2014. In her role, she is interested in building reciprocal, meaningful partnerships between local community organizations and university resources. Her work centers on service-learning project matching, while also supporting other collaborative, community-engaged initiatives.

CEU Information

April 2, 2026
12:00-1:30pm
1.5 CEUs for LCSW/LSW and LCPC/LPC
$10 for CEUs, FREE for no CEUs

In collaboration with the Housing Authority of Champaign County and the Rock Counseling Group, join us for a session meant to empower individuals to combat burnout by shifting from momentary stress relief to building long-term, sustainable self-care habits. Participants will identify personal barriers, explore evidence-based resilience strategies, and develop tailored, practical routines to improve mental health and work-life balance. This event is free for those not seeking CEUs, but we ask that you still register via the links below.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to recognize signs of compassion fatigue, differentiate between empathy and compassion, and apply self-compassion tools on the job.
• Participants will be able to identify at least three personalized, accessible, and low-cost self-care activities (e.g., mindfulness, boundaries, physical activity) that can be realistically integrated into their daily routines.
• Participants will be able to develop a written, actionable self-care plan that includes strategies for setting boundaries, reducing burnout, and seeking support, ensuring their wellbeing is maintained proactively rather than reactively.

Registration Options:

If you do NOT need CEUs for LCSW/LSW or LCPC/LPC, register via the link below:

NON-CEU REGISTRATION

If you DO need CEUs for LCSW/LSW or LCPC/LPC, register via the link below:

CEU REGISTRATION

Workshop Presenter

Lauren Duggins, MSW, LCSW is a dedicated clinician in private practice providing evidence-based therapy to children, adolescents, and adults. A graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s MSW program, she specializes in anxiety, depression, trauma-informed care, and life transitions. Lauren utilizes a compassionate, person-centered approach (such as CBT, DBT, and play therapy) to help clients navigate life challenges and foster resilience in a safe, supportive environment.

How Deep Listening Eases Conflict

June 3, 2026
12:00-2:00pm CST
2.0 CEs for LCSW/LSW and LCPC/LPC
$40 for CEs, $20 for no CEs

Civil discourse asks us to listen not to what people say about us, but for the needs they’re trying to meet. Why do we get tangled up in their words? How do our own unmet needs interfere with our ability to hear others? Through deep listening, we can cease to react and instead offer presence which leads shared power for all. Using Nonviolent Communication as a foundational framework, this workshop uses role plays to help participants improve how they communicate for increased human connection and agency.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize why they may get tangled up in the hostile words of others.
• Identify how unmet needs impede deep listening.
• Speak with agency during conflict.
• Listen with empathy and equanimity to others during conflict.

REGISTRATION:

If you do NOT need CEUs and are planning to attend virtually, register via the link below:

If you DO need CEUs and are planning to attend virtually, register via the link below:

Presenter:

Dr. Phillip M. Wilder is an associate professor of literacy at Clemson University where his research explores the intersection of language, identity and nonviolence. His current research investigates how youth in Tanzania, the Philippines and the United States practice nonviolent communication. Dr. Wilder views research as a tool for building consensus across stakeholders and engendering more humanizing policies and practices in communities.

With over two decades guiding and evaluating global community partnerships, Dr. Wilder is the Senior Advisor to Mwangaza Education for Partnership in Tanzania whose current Safe School Initiative works alongside educators, parents and community members to support the emotional and physical safety of over 12,000 Tanzanian youth. Dr. Wilder also serves as an advisor and moderator for the award-winning fellowship, the Student DREAMers Alliance, a youth leadership accelerator modeled after the Aspen Institute approach to values-based leadership development, which in 2018 was one of only six global programs recognized with the prestigious McNulty Catalyst Award. Dr. Wilder consults with a wide array of organizations and leads conscious communication efforts in communities because he believes in the power of human connection to transform our world.

CEU Information

March 13, 2026
12:00-1:30pm
1.5 CEUs for LCSW/LSW and LCPC/LPC
$20 for CEUs, $10 for no CEUs

Rural communities are often treated as a monolith in policy design and public discourse: white, agricultural, conservative, and homogeneous. This assumption, the “monoculture myth,” obscures the demographic, economic, and geographic diversity of rural America and contributes to policies that fail rural communities. Compounding this problem, rural policy is rarely made by rural people. This session examines the evidence that challenges the monoculture myth, explores why rural voices are underrepresented in policy development, and distinguishes between consultation and genuine partnership with rural communities. Participants will apply session content to their own areas of practice, identifying assumptions and implications for equitable social work at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the “monoculture myth” about rural America and describe demographic, economic, and geographic evidence that challenges assumptions of rural homogeneity.
• Distinguish between consultation and partnership approaches to rural policy development, and explain the consequences of excluding rural voices from policy design.
• Apply session content to the participant’s own area of practice by identifying one assumption about rural communities relevant to their micro, mezzo, or macro social work role, and articulating an implication for equitable practice.

Registration Options:

If you do NOT need CEUs for LCSW/LSW or LCPC/LPC, register via the link below:

NON-CEU REGISTRATION

If you DO need CEUs for LCSW/LSW or LCPC/LPC, register via the link below:

CEU REGISTRATION

Workshop Presenter

Through AB Contractor, LLC, Annie Contractor partners with mission-driven businesses, nonprofits, foundations, and public agencies on policy strategy, stakeholder engagement, and equity-centered research. Annie’s work spans rural economic and community development, childcare and education policy, and participatory governance, with a focus on ensuring that policy decisions are informed by the people they affect.

With 20+ years of experience in policy research and community organizing, Annie has led stakeholder engagement for federal legislation, developed policy playbooks for states, designed community-based research protocols, and published peer-reviewed scholarship on housing justice and environmental equity.