Building Bridges: Advancing Supported Decision-Making in Diverse Communities Conference
Saturday, October 25, 2025
9:00 am-5:00 pm
Contact email: sdmconference@csueastbay.edu
- Education
- Healthcare
- Social work
- Behavioral health
- Social services
- Speech Pathology
- Law
- Non-profit organizations
The focus of this conference is geared towards professionals in California, however, all are welcome including, pre-service providers, students, families, and self-advocates.
Continuing Education Units (CEU) can be made available. More information available soon.
The goal of this conference is to ensure professionals in California have a strong understanding of SDM and that it is a viable option for people with disabilities. We aim to share resources that can increase the capacity for professionals serving diverse people with disabilities and their families and provide relevant and culturally responsive information about SDM.
Artwork: Flower and People SF 65 by She-ron Freeman. Descrption: Image of red, orange, yellow, green, blue flowers on a pink and blue background.
Hosted by the Center for Disability Justice Research (CDJR) at 不良研究所, and the , with funding from the .
Conference information
Our conference is free of cost but participants must register. Registration is open between July 15 to October 10, 2025.
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Schedule of presenters including room location and time will be made available in mid-August.
8:30-9:15 am: Registration
9:15-9:45 am: Welcome address
10:00-11:00 am: Workshops and panels
11:15-12:15 pm: Workshops and panels
12:15-1:45 pm Keynote and lunch. Lunch will be provided
2:00-3:00 pm: Workshops and panels
3:15-3:30 pm: Closing and post-conference survey
The Building Bridges: Advancing Supported Decision-Making in Diverse Communities conference aims to address SDM for professionals in California in education, healthcare, speech pathology, social work, social services, behavioral health, law, nonprofit organizations, and others who work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs), mental health conditions and/or aging concerns. Continuing Education Units (CEU) can be made available for LCSWs, LMFTs, and LPCC.
In 2022 California granted formal recognition of Supported Decision-Making (SDM) with the passage of . While the harms of conservatorship gained some recognition in the 2020s, there remains a lack of awareness about SDM as an alternative to conservatorship. Providers who serve individuals with IDDs and their families are in a unique position to recognize the strengths and needs of such individuals and support their ability to exercise self-determination. This conference aims to increase knowledge and application of SDM with professionals, facilitate community dialogue, and work towards a cultural shift to implement AB 1663 to reduce the use of conservatorship.
Driven by the disability justice principle of intersectionality (, 2015), which recognizes and values the multiple aspects of human diversity that coexist with disability, including but not limited to gender, age, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class, language, immigration status, religion, and more, we seek panels, workshops and community conversation sessions that can increase the capacity for professionals serving diverse people with disabilities and their families to provide relevant and culturally responsive information about SDM. We highly encourage participation by individuals with lived experience with SDM, and professionals and organizations working in vulnerable communities, including rural, urban, non-English speaking, unhoused, system-involved, and Native/Tribal communities.
This conference is made possible by funding from the .
Our featured artist:
Freeman's art is available at
Sher-ron Freeman is a talented multimedia artist and painter. Her use of vibrant hues and layered compositions are a common theme in her work and she often looks to wildlife, whether that is animals, flowers, or foliage, as inspiration for her brightly colored pieces. Her drawings and paintings have a dynamic energy found in abstract expressionism and action painting, though Freeman is steady and careful to execute her work. When creating original fashion pieces, pillows, or wall hangings, she utilizes a grab-bag of small textural materials including sequins, paper, lace, and beads. ()
We are grateful to Sher-ron Freeman and Creative Growth for granting us permission to feature Freeman's at our conference.
More featured speakers to be listed as conference nears.
PARKING
provides free parking for conference participants.
- ADA accessible parking is available in the THEATER lot and FORUM lot as well as in the 7th Street lot.
- General parking is free in the 7th Street lot. (cross street Fallon St.). The parking lot is staffed by a security guard.
GROUND TRANSPORTATION
connects the San Francisco Peninsula with the East Bay and South Bay. The BART connects with .
- Laney College is located directly off the BART line,.
Jack London Square Station:
AIR TRANSPORTATION
1 Airport Dr, Oakland, CA 94621
- Laney College is less than 9 miles north of the Oakland International Airport.
You can take the BART from OAK to Laney College. For information:
Other Bay Area airports include:
OTHER TRANSPORTATION HUBS
: 10 Clay Street, Oakland, CA, 94607
- Laney College is less than 2 miles from the Oakland ferry terminal. (Walking is not recommended.)
Hotels nears Laney College:
- : 988 Broadway, Oakland, CA, 94607 (near 12th St. BART station)
- 378 11th St. Oakland, CA, 94607 (near 12th St. BART station)
- : 1001 Broadway, Oakland, CA, 94607 (near 12th St. BART station)
- Ramada by Wyndham Oakland Downtown City Center: 371 13th St. Oakland, CA, 94612 (near 12th St. BART station)
- : 1755 Embarcadero, Oakland, CA, 94606
- : 1717 Embarcadero, Oakland, CA, 94606
Places to visit:
- : 649 14th St., Oakland, CA 94612
- : 1000 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94607
- :
- : 568 Bellevue Ave., Oakland, CA 94610