88th Annual Conference (2026)

The 88th Annual International ACHE Conference, themed “Navigating Uncharted Waters: Leadership, Resilience & Renewal,” will take place October 26–28, 2026, in Norfolk, Virginia. This conference will explore how continuing higher education can navigate the evolving tides of change with courage and creativity—embracing new challenges, fostering resilient leadership, and charting innovative pathways that strengthen communities and institutions alike.

Important Deadlines

Early Bird Registration

• Now through July 31, 2026

Regular Registration

• August 1 - August 31, 2026

Late Registration

• September 1 - October 16, 2026

Conference Newsletters

Keynote Speakers

Military Ready: A gateway to CPL

Dr. Kratzer serves as a Senior Partner with the Center for Academic Innovation (CAI), a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting higher education institutions. In this capacity, he focuses on the implementation of military credit for prior learning programs and promotes workforce engagement through educational attainment. 

Prior to CAI, he served as a:

• Senior Fellow for Academic Excellence and Student Success with KY Council on Postsecondary Education. He led an initiative to expand credit for prior learning (CPL) at state schools across Kentucky.
• Faculty Evaluator with the American Council on Education (ACE), evaluating military workplace learning and official training courses to recommend the awarding of college-level credit. His contributions have directly benefited service members from all military branches, as reflected in their Joint Service Transcript (JST).
• Training consultant with the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), conducting CPL/M-CPL seminars at colleges and universities nationwide.
• Senior Associate at the Kentucky Commission on Military Affairs, where he advised senior staff on educational and workforce initiatives related to the military community in Kentucky. Dr. Kratzer also represented the Commission on the Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board and served as co-chair for the Veterans and Transitioning Service members sub-committee.
• Visiting Scholar at the University of Louisville’s SKILLS Collaborative, a research and program center that examines and delivers services in areas at the intersection of education, workforce, and policy.

Dr. Kratzer received his B.S. in Management/Human Resources from Park University, a M.Phil. in Military Strategy from Air University, a M.A. in Christian Education from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D in Educational  Leadership and Organizational Development from the University of Louisville. He brings over 35 years of leadership and management teaching and experience from his time in the U.S. Air Force, having served in numerous senior advisor positions.

From Leadership to Humanship: Reimagining the Future of Continuing Higher Education

Dr. Yannuzzi currently serves as the Executive Director & CEO of the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, a 78,000 square foot comprehensive cultural arts center located in Downtown Suffolk, VA. As an international practitioner-scholar in human interaction and social systems, He brings to the Center over thirty years of experience teaching and leading socially responsible, humanly inclusive change processes for organizations around the globe. His career started at the Wharton School of Business where he directed their Leadership Communication program. While at Wharton, he was commissioned by the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) to develop an international leadership course for their newly formed MBA and EMBA programs. The program evolved into RSM’s Personal Leadership Develop program and became required for all RSM students. Dr. Yannuzzi served as Director and Lead Faculty until 2017. Working with over 200 students per year representing more than forty countries allowed Dr. Yannuzzi to develop a deep appreciation for the influence of culture on human sensemaking and organizational behavior, heightening his commitment to developing and sustaining diverse,inclusive social systems. Dr. Yannuzzi has been commissioned by organizations such as Merrill Lynch, Booz, Allen, Hamilton, Johnson & Johnson, Ortho McNeil, and others to develop thoughtful, productive and inclusive processes that enhance organizational growth. He has also coached over two dozen international executives through in-company change efforts. His commitment to and appreciation of diverse voices as an organization’s greatest asset allows him to thrive in the dynamic, sometimes contentious interactions needed for true change to occur, andhe has become adept at navigating such dynamics to mutually beneficial, collaborative, and productive initiatives. He continues to coach international executives and organizations from around the globe, helping them align human processes, operational procedures, and budgetary realities in support of organizational missions and visions. Dr. Yannuzzi was recently added to the Suffolk Downtown Advisory Committee and is directly involved with the downtown being designated as an Arts and Culture district (WATCH Downtown). Dr. Yannuzzi received his B.A. from California State University Fullerton, M.A. from Temple University, and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

As we face unprecedented and complex unknowns, what capacities must we develop—within ourselves, with each other, and in our institutions—right now, so that we do not unknowingly perpetuate the very problems we hope to transform? Adjunct professor, biopsychosocial educator, trauma-informed practitioner, and resilience researcher Lu Hanessian  invites us to reimagine resilience not as a bouncing back but a forward spiral that calls us to cultivate capacity, community, and interdependence to learn, lead, and navigate uncharted waters with relational resilience. Through a unique blend of science, story, and practice, Lu reframes transformative learning as a radical act of hope, and offers us a different kind of compass and map to guide us forward: The only way through is with.