When professional learning consultants Ildi Laczko-Kerr and Alissa Reicherter met at the 2025 Learning Forward Annual Conference in Boston, they developed a close professional bond that has turned into a writing partnership. Their article will appear in a future issue of The Learning Professional.

How did you two meet?

AR: When I checked in at the Learning Forward Annual Conference, volunteers at the welcome desk encouraged me to go to the game night hosted by (keynote speaker) Cornelius Minor. I had previously worked with Cornelius so I stopped by to say hi. I didn’t intend to stay, but it was so welcoming and nice I decided to. It was joyful and fun, and that was great because I was really nervous about attending a new conference and starting a new stage of my career.

ILK: I was a singleton at the conference, and I wanted to find opportunities to network. On the first night, I got an alert on the conference app about a game night. I decided to take a chance because it sounded like a fun, low-key way of meeting people. Alissa and I sat next to each other, and we really enjoyed chatting, so when game night broke up, we decided to go to dinner together.

Why was that connection meaningful? 

AR: When we went to dinner, I found a lot of comfort and excitement in hearing Ildi’s perspective. There was sort of a mentorship energy. She’s worked in many different roles in schools and as a consultant, and I was just starting out as an independent consultant, so she had a lot of insights to share. As we talked we also realized we have a lot of common interests, especially in Universal Design for Learning.

The next morning, we spotted each other and said hi, and then we touched base via text throughout the conference. A week or two later, we connected via email and phone and decided to write an article together about integrating adult learning theory and Universal Design for Learning. We brainstormed and collaborated through a Google Doc and then submitted it to The Learning Professional.

How did you get involved with Learning Forward and the conference?

ILK: Learning Forward and my career path have intersected for decades. I first became a member when I was in charge of curriculum, instruction, and assessment for a large school district in Arizona. We were using the Standards Assessment Inventory as part of our professional development plan and then I began getting the journal and Learning Forward’s other resources.

AR: One of my professional goals was to present at a conference, and a mentor of mine had told me about Learning Forward. When I saw it was in Boston the location and the timing lined up for me, so I collaborated with one of my clients on a proposal and we got accepted. The conference was a beautiful intersection of my goals. 

What do you think other educators should know about Learning Forward?

AR: Whereas some conferences are about a product or a strategy, the Learning Forward conference feels like a professional community. The reason many of us become coaches is that we love learning and helping people learn, and Learning Forward very much embodies that. Also, the rigor of the application process really sets a tone — you know the presentations are going to be high quality.

ILK: I go to lots of national conferences and Learning Forward’s is one of the friendliest I’ve been to. Every staff member and volunteer is welcoming and helpful.

Learning Forward’s resources are helpful for people at all career stages. In higher ed and professional learning, there’s only so much time to help educators know how to impact kids. It matters that the content is super relevant to adult learning.

Download pdf here.