PDC 2025 Highlights
Success Education Colleges’ 2026 Professional Development Conference will be held on Friday, December 4, 2026!
Welcome to SEC’s 2026 Professional Development Conference
Welcome to PDC 2026!
This year marks an extraordinary milestone as we celebrate 60 Years of Student Success—our Diamond Anniversary! For six decades, Success Education Colleges has helped students transform their lives through education, opportunity, and the dedication of extraordinary Team Members. As we honor this remarkable legacy, we also look ahead to the generations of students whose futures we have yet to shape.
At SEC, we believe that “Our Students Are at Their Best When We’re at Our Best.” That belief is at the heart of PDC. Just as diamonds are shaped and refined over time, our strength as educators, leaders, and professionals comes from continually learning, growing, and striving for excellence. Every skill we sharpen and every insight we gain makes us better equipped to serve our students.
This year’s conference continues our tradition of inspiring general sessions and engaging learning labs, now featuring five specialized learning tracks: Leadership, Nursing Faculty, Compliance, Faculty, and our newest addition, Enrollment Services. Each track offers meaningful opportunities to develop new skills, exchange ideas, and gain fresh perspectives that strengthen both our individual contributions and our collective impact.
Our Diamond Anniversary is more than a celebration of longevity. It is a tribute to the thousands of lives changed, the countless opportunities created, and the extraordinary Team Members who have made it all possible. Each of us plays a vital role in carrying that legacy forward.
As you participate in today’s sessions, I encourage you to embrace new ideas, connect with colleagues, and reflect on how your own growth contributes to the success of our students. The knowledge and inspiration we take from this conference will help shape the next chapter of SEC’s story.
Sixty years of student success is an achievement worth celebrating. The opportunity to build on that legacy for generations to come is even more exciting.
Let’s make PDC 2026 a celebration of our past, an investment in our present, and an inspiration for our future.
Welcome to PDC 2026, and thank you for being part of our diamond legacy!
2024 Highlights
2023 Highlights
2022 Highlights
2019 Highlights
2018 Highlights
PDC 2026 Schedule
Friday, December 4, 2026 | 7:15 am – 4:35 pm
Schedule Legend
7:15am – 8:15am Registration and Continental Breakfast
Check in, enjoy a light breakfast, and connect with colleagues as the day begins.
8:30am – 10:15am Opening General Session (Ballroom A, B, & C)
10:15am – 10:30am Break
10:30am – 11:20am Learning Lab Block #1
Conext Pt1
Coming Soon
*Mandatory for team members in enrollment services
Teaching Future Professionals: Developing Employability Skills Through Classroom Management
Classroom management extends beyond maintaining order—it is an opportunity to reinforce the professional behaviors students will need in the workplace. This session focuses on integrating employability skills such as communication, teamwork, punctuality, accountability, critical thinking, and professionalism into daily classroom expectations. Faculty will learn strategies to help students develop workplace habits while preparing them for success in clinical, externship, and industry settings.
Learning Outcomes:
- Reinforce workplace expectations within the classroom.
- Teach professionalism through everyday classroom interactions.
- Connect classroom behaviors to employer expectations.
- Prepare students for success during externships and employment.
Part 1: Redeveloping your Course with the End in Mind
The purpose of this session is for the participant to be able to redevelop their course with intentionality, focusing on the Course Learning Outcomes and Content Objectives. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of using a scaffold approach for the concepts of safety, clinical judgment, communication, professional standards, etc.
Nicole Bowyer
Coming Soon
How to Be an “A Player”
Becoming an “A Player” doesn’t happen by accident. It takes intentional training, practice, ownership, and a commitment to mastering your role. This Learning Lab provides a practical playbook for getting the most out of the training process, building confidence through hands-on learning, and turning what you learn into consistent execution. Participants will explore how to take ownership of their development, seek the support and feedback they need, and build the skills and habits that make them valuable, dependable members of their team.
The Overloaded Learner
A quarterly scorecard is most valuable when it drives action—not simply reporting. In this interactive session, participants will learn how SEC teams can translate scorecard performance into focused SMART goals, select measurable interventions, and use quarterly results to determine what is working, what is not, and what needs to change. The presenters will share a practical SEC example demonstrating how disciplined SMART-goal development created clearer accountability and made progress visible over time. Participants will also learn how to avoid solving the wrong problem by returning to root-cause analysis when an intervention does not produce the intended outcome.
Learning Objectives
- Translate quarterly scorecard findings into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals aligned with the outcome that needs improvement.
- Use defined measures and quarterly scorecard trends to evaluate whether an intervention is producing the intended result and determine whether to continue, modify, or stop the strategy.
- Apply root-cause thinking when outcomes do not improve so teams can refine the problem statement, address the right drivers, and develop the next SMART goal.
Compliance
Coming Soon
11:20am – 11:30am Break
11:35am – 12:25pm Learning Lab Block #2
Conext Pt1
Coming Soon
*Mandatory for team members in enrollment services
Part 2: Moving the Plan into Practice
The purpose of this session is for the participant to engage in clinical judgment classroom activities that support the UDL-framework
Learning Objectives
- Describe the process of course redevelopment.
- Analyze a current course with intentionality to promote its redevelopment.
- Apply course learning outcomes and content objectives to scaffold concepts of safety, clinical judgment, communication, and professional standards supporting the UDL-framework.
- Evaluate various clinical judgment learning activities.
Nicole Bowyer
Coming Soon
Creating a Culture of Accountability: Classroom Management for Adult Learners
Adult learners bring diverse life experiences, responsibilities, and expectations into the classroom. This session equips faculty with practical strategies to establish clear expectations, foster mutual respect, and create an environment where students take ownership of their learning. Participants will learn techniques for setting classroom norms, addressing disruptive behaviors professionally, and maintaining consistency while balancing empathy with accountability.
Learning Outcomes:
- Establish classroom expectations from Day One.
- Implement proactive classroom management strategies.
- Address disruptive behavior with professionalism and consistency.
- Build student accountability through clear communication and expectations.
Compliance
Coming Soon
Ask The Executive Committee Anything
Anonymous questions and candid answers from SEC’s executive team. Like a Town Hall!
The Overloaded Learner
A quarterly scorecard is most valuable when it drives action—not simply reporting. In this interactive session, participants will learn how SEC teams can translate scorecard performance into focused SMART goals, select measurable interventions, and use quarterly results to determine what is working, what is not, and what needs to change. The presenters will share a practical SEC example demonstrating how disciplined SMART-goal development created clearer accountability and made progress visible over time. Participants will also learn how to avoid solving the wrong problem by returning to root-cause analysis when an intervention does not produce the intended outcome.
Learning Objectives
- Translate quarterly scorecard findings into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals aligned with the outcome that needs improvement.
- Use defined measures and quarterly scorecard trends to evaluate whether an intervention is producing the intended result and determine whether to continue, modify, or stop the strategy.
- Apply root-cause thinking when outcomes do not improve so teams can refine the problem statement, address the right drivers, and develop the next SMART goal.
12:25pm – 12:35pm Break
12:35pm – 1:45pm Lunch & Midday Holiday Celebration (Ballroom A, B & C)
- 2026 Pacesetter Awards
- Years of Service Awards
- State of SEC
- Fuerst Family Foundation
- 3 Minute Mingles
2:00pm – 2:50pm Learning Lab Block #3
Nicole Bowyer
Coming Soon
Growing People From Within: Mapping Your Next Move at SEC
Career growth doesn’t happen by accident. Building on one of last year’s popular Learning Labs, this interactive session brings together SEC leaders who have grown their careers within the organization to share the experiences, decisions, and lessons that shaped their professional journeys. Participants will gain practical insights into developing new skills, seeking mentorship, demonstrating initiative, and identifying opportunities for continued growth within SEC.
Anatomy of a Referral Event
Coming Soon
Beyond Your Campus
A networking-focused Learning Lab designed to bring colleagues from across SEC together to connect, share ideas, and learn from one another. Participants will have the opportunity to exchange perspectives, discuss what’s working at their campuses, and build relationships across locations and departments that extend beyond the session.
The Overloaded Learner: Cognitive overload, how today’s students learn differently and what AI is doing to both.
Dinez “Dee” Swanson, DNP, MBA, RN
Room 200C
The Overloaded Learner
Our students want to learn they’re just running on empty. Between 12-hour shifts, family responsibilities, and a fast-paced program, the thing they’re shortest on isn’t motivation. It’s mental bandwidth. This session breaks down the science of cognitive overload in everyday terms and shows how the behaviors that frustrate us most skipping directions, asking questions we just answered, freezing on multi-step problems, pasting assignments into AI are usually signs of an overloaded brain, not a lazy student. We’ll also look at how students raised on Google, YouTube, and chat apps really learn, and get honest about AI: when it becomes a crutch that does students’ thinking for them, and when it’s a helpful tool that boosts practice and understanding. You’ll walk away with six simple teaching strategies, practical ways to show students how to use AI well, and a quick “overload audit” of one of your own assignments.
The Art of Crucial Conversations
Learn practical strategies for navigating difficult conversations with team members and students. This interactive learning lab will focus on communicating effectively, addressing sensitive issues, managing conflict, and fostering accountability while maintaining professionalism and positive relationships.
Compliance
Coming Soon
2:50pm – 3:20pm Cookies & Connections (Ballroom A, B, & C)
- Enjoy a sweet break with colleagues and take a moment to reflect
- Traditional SEC Raffles
3:20pm – 4:45pm Closing General Session (Ballroom A, B, & C)
- Campus of Distinction Awards
- First Circle Inductees
- SECret Santa
- Event Check-Out
○ A new QR code will be displayed at the conclusion of this session for all attendees to scan before departure.
PDC Presenters
Meet our esteemed presenters. Click on any of them to learn more!
(Updated often, please be sure to check back)
Dinez “Dee” Swanson, Nursing Education Specialist, Elsevier
As a nursing education specialist at Elsevier, Dee provides faculty with invaluable guidance on implementing active teaching strategies and effectively utilizing digital resources. Drawing from a diverse nursing background that includes family practice, women’s health, and pediatrics, Dee brings a wealth of expertise to her role. Dee’s teaching experience spans various educational environments, encompassing lab, clinical, simulation, and didactic instruction at all educational levels, whether in-person or online. She advocates for the integration of clinical practices into the classroom to enhance students’ critical thinking and clinical judgment abilities. Furthermore, Dee’s extensive knowledge in curriculum design, program evaluation, and accreditation processes enhances her capacity to assist faculty in delivering top-tier nursing education.
Nicole Bowyer, Entrepreneur, Founder, Motivational Speaker
Nicole Bowyer is an entrepreneur, founder, and motivational speaker whose story is defined by resilience, leadership, and reinvention. A USC graduate in International Relations and Global Business, Nicole began her entrepreneurial journey while working in pharmaceutical clinical trials and waiting tables nights and weekends. She invested her first pharmaceutical bonus in herself, launching what would become COCO on the go—a luxury activewear brand she built from the ground up and expanded into resorts, spas, fitness destinations, and retailers nationwide. Nicole’s leadership was tested when her family became caught in the intense public scrutiny surrounding the sports-betting scandal involving Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, a client of her husband. Facing financial uncertainty, emotional pressure, and her husband’s eventual federal prison sentence, Nicole chose to turn adversity into action. She held her family together, leaned on the strength of her team, and renewed her commitment to growing her business. Today, Nicole inspires others to lead under pressure, take ownership of what they can control, and transform life’s most difficult moments into sources of strength and purpose.
Karin J. Sherrill, Nurse Educator
Karin is a nurse educator passionate about student success, scrambled teaching strategies, and immersing clinical judgment into nursing education. Since retiring after 30 years of teaching in ADN and BSN programs, she now works as a consultant to facilitate educators in developing safe and competent nurses. As a consultant with F.A. Davis, Karin has been involved with the development of content in the Davis Advantage products, and motivating faculty through webinars and conferences.
Kelli Blocher, Accreditation & Compliance Expert
Kelli Blocher has been involved in private post-secondary education since 2007 and brings a wealth of unique experience—having served in both accreditation and compliance roles. She has worked as an Accreditation Specialist for a national accrediting agency and as a Regulatory Affairs Specialist on the school side in Corporate Regulatory Affairs.
Kelli spent nearly eight years with the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) before transitioning to the private sector, where she supported a college system with seventeen campuses. She later moved into consulting, drawing on her extensive regulatory background and knowledge. Having conducted more than 300 site visit evaluations, served as a liaison on the Programmatic Accreditation Committee for Medical Assisting, and participated in numerous commission meetings, Kelli is skilled at making complex compliance standards clear and actionable. Beyond her regulatory expertise, she combines comprehensive policy, procedure, and process assessments with personalized coaching to help institutions bridge compliance gaps effectively.
Kelli holds a Bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion and a Master’s degree in Human Services from Liberty University.
Angela Fleming, Education Leader
Experienced education leader with over a decade of expertise in online learning, curriculum development and academic administration. Adept in program development and strategic leadership across higher education and healthcare sectors, Angela has demonstrated a consistent track record of improving student outcomes, ensuring compliance with accreditation standards, and driving innovation in instructional design. Known for her ability to build effective support systems, she manages faculty and program operations to foster student success and retention. Angela’s dedication to academic excellence, commitment to fostering collaborative learning environments, and proficiency in aligning educational programs with institutional objectives make her a dynamic leader in higher education.
Videos From 2025 PDC
Thank you to our Distinguished Sponsors!
Location
Ontario Convention Center: 2000 E Convention Center Way, Ontario, CA 91764