Mini Conference 2025 Workshop Descriptions

Mini Conference 2025 Schedule and Workshop Descriptions

Below is a description of workshops and the schedule throughout the day.

Register for LVCA's Mini Conference here

Arrival and Breakfast 8:45-9:10

Light breakfast refreshments, including generous donations of: donuts by Sbrocco's and coffee by Grit. 

Welcoming: 9:10-9:20

Session 1: 9:30-10:30

Community Partner Presentation: Virginia Career Works, Charlottesville Center
From Earning to Learning: Resources to Support Student Success
with Brookes Sims, One-Stop Center Manager with Rappahannock Goodwill Industries and Virginia Career Works

This workshop provides an overview of local workforce and support services available to students. It covers employment resources, training opportunities, and community programs that help individuals transition from building literacy skills to pursuing meaningful career pathways. Participants will learn how to connect students to job readiness workshops, hiring events, and supportive services through Virginia Career Works and partner organizations. The session offers practical tools and referral information to better support students’ personal and professional growth.

Community Partner Presentation: Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center
Resources for Tutors from the VALRC
with Ali Buchanan, VALRC Communications and Assistance Specialist

Trying to find some more professional development as a new tutor? Looking for more resources to use with your learner? In this interactive presentation, we will explore resources from the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center (VALRC), including resources and activities for tutoring. We will explore the VALRC site, professional development opportunities, and will model some of the activities you can use with your learners.

English grammar: Nouns, Adjectives, and Prepostions!
with Steven Reid, LVCA Program manager

Join Steven as he explores some of the tricky aspects of English grammar. Specifically, this workshop will focus on troubles with nouns, adjectives, and prepositions. How well do students work with countable vs uncountable nouns? What’s the correct order of adjectives when several are strung together? Why are prepositions so confusing? Steven will be answering these and other questions in this exiting look at English grammar.

Session 2: 10:40-11:40

Community Partner Presentation: CVille Tulips
Best Practices in English and Health Education for Refugee Women: Insights from CVille Tulips
with Marjan Omranian, CVille Tulips co-founder and co-director

This workshop shares insights from over three years of working with Afghan and Syrian refugee women through Cville Tulips. We will discuss how we identified the community’s evolving needs and the culturally responsive strategies we developed to support community-building, English language learning, and health education.

Cat Got Your Student's Tongue?
with Charlotte Harmon, LVCA tutor and TJACE instructor

Is your student hesitant to practice speaking English or lack opportunities outside of class? Speaking can be one of the scariest parts of learning a new language. In this workshop, we will discuss strategies to encourage nervous students and activities you can implement in your own tutoring sessions with various levels of English language learners.

Oh, the Places You'll Go: Incorporating Field Trips into Lesson Plans
with Catherine McCall, LVCA Citizenship Coordinator

In this workshop, we will share ideas for locations and outings we could use to help our students develop their language skills, and brainstorm ways we can make connections from various sites back to our regular skills and content. We will also consider virtual field trip options for less mobile or adventurous folks. 

Lunch and Speaker: 11:45-12:50

What's Happening with Immigration in 2025?
with Alyson Ball

Would you like to understand more about what’s happening with US immigration? Come join the discussion and hear about 2025 changes in immigration policies, Executive Orders that affect immigrants, and how these changes are affecting communities nationwide.

Session 3: 1:00-2:00

Community Partner Presentation: International Rescue Committee, Charlottesville
The State of Refugee Resettlement in the Charlottesville Area
with Kendall RePass, IRC Deputy Director

Kendall RePass, IRC Deputy Director, will present on the current state of IRC's programming in the Charlottesville area. This programming includes but is not limited to our refugee resettlement services. A main focus will be how the IRC has adapted and responded to recent Executive Orders and changing policies at the national level.

Community Partner Presentation: Blue Ridge Literacy
English and Health Literacy: Connecting Language Skills with Health Access and Communication
with Dr. Ahoo Salem, Blue Ridge Literacy Executive Director and Sara Geres, Blue Ridge Literacy Program Director

Adult English learners face language barriers and information gaps that hinder their ability to communicate with healthcare providers and access health information, which in turn limits their access to primary care. This workshop explores how Blue Ridge Literacy’s collaborative English and Health Literacy program supports immigrant and refugee adults by combining English instruction with practical, health-related content. Through hands-on workshops and partnerships with local healthcare professionals, the program helps learners build confidence, understand health systems, and navigate real-world healthcare settings—ultimately improving access to services, supporting prevention efforts, and strengthening long-term health and economic outcomes.

Designing Lessons for All Learners: Understanding Universal Design for Learners (UDL)
with Rebecca Thomas, LVCA Communications Coordinator 

Universal-Design for Learners (UDL) is framework for designing flexible learning environments for all learners. In this workshop, we will go over the basic tenets of UDL, identify different kinds of needs that our learners have, and explore ways that we can diversify and adapt our lessons to meet our students' needs.

Level Debrief: 2:10-2:55

These informal conversation circles will allow you to meet with other tutors and instructors who work with similarly-leveled students. Share advice, ask questions, and come away inspired with new ideas! 

Closing: 3:00-3:15

We hope that you will join us for the 2025 LVCA mini conference. You can return to the conference's main page here. 

Click to learn more about our presenters