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We’re excited to officially welcome you to this year’s gathering of adult education professionals, advocates, and leaders.
Date & Time:
Thursday May 21, 2026, 8:00am - 5:00pm
Location:
Anne Arundel Community College (Arnold campus), 101 College Parkway; Arnold, MD 21012-1895; Student Union Building - SUN on this campus map: https://www.aacc.edu/media/college/images/maps/Campus-Map_WEB_08282025-(1).pdf

Deborah Kennedy is a nationally recognized leader in adult education. She is the founder of Key Words and brings more than 25 years of experience supporting adult English language learners and the educators and systems that serve them. Her work has focused on workplace English, life skills English, and professional pathways for multilingual adults.
An experienced teacher, program director, curriculum developer, and teacher trainer, Ms. Kennedy has taught and led programs serving adult English learners at all proficiency levels, in both face‑to‑face and online settings. She previously served as Associate Vice President for Adult English Language Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics, where she helped shape national thinking around adult ESL program design and quality.
This year’s conference is special—and intentionally designed with YOU in mind. Over the summer, as many of you experienced firsthand, adult education faced a period of crisis. Federal funding was frozen, programs were forced to pause services, and uncertainty rippled through our entire field. Even after funds were released, it was clear the landscape had shifted.
Here’s what we did:
1️⃣ We moved the conference to a community college to reduce costs.
A more affordable venue = more savings directly passed on to our members.
2️⃣ We lowered member registration fees by about 25%.
Yes—lower than last year because we know every dollar matters right now.
3️⃣ We secured an inspiring, nationally respected keynote speaker.
We are thrilled to welcome Deborah Kennedy, former Executive Director and President of the National Coalition for Literacy. Her powerful advocacy has shaped adult education nationwide, and she’ll also lead a special workshop on strengthening your voice and impact through advocacy.
We hope these changes make it easier for you, your team, and your program to participate. This conference is more than an event—it’s a place to reconnect, learn, recharge, and move our field forward together.
We can't wait to see you there!
Register now and share the link with colleagues who should join us:
Date & Time:
Thursday May 21, 2026, 8:00am - 5:00pm
Keynote Speaker:
Deborah Kennedy, former Executive Director and former President of the National Coalition for Literacy
Location:
Anne Arundel Community College (Arnold campus), 101 College Parkway; Arnold, MD 21012-1895; Student Union Building - SUN on this campus map: https://www.aacc.edu/media/college/images/maps/Campus-Map_WEB_08282025-(1).pdf
This year’s conference is special—and intentionally designed with YOU in mind. Over the summer, as many of you experienced firsthand, adult education faced a period of crisis. Federal funding was frozen, programs were forced to pause services, and uncertainty rippled through our entire field. Even after funds were released, it was clear the landscape had shifted.
Here’s what we did:
1️⃣ We moved the conference to a community college to reduce costs.
A more affordable venue = more savings directly passed on to our members.
2️⃣ We lowered member registration fees by about 25%.
Yes—lower than last year because we know every dollar matters right now.
3️⃣ We secured an inspiring, nationally respected keynote speaker.
We are thrilled to welcome Deborah Kennedy, former Executive Director and President of the National Coalition for Literacy. Her powerful advocacy has shaped adult education nationwide, and she’ll also lead a special workshop on strengthening your voice and impact through advocacy.
We hope these changes make it easier for you, your team, and your program to participate. This conference is more than an event—it’s a place to reconnect, learn, recharge, and move our field forward together.
We can't wait to see you there!
Register now and share the link with colleagues who should join us:
Our sponsorship form is being updated. Go to the sponsorship page for details on levels available. To hold your sponsorship you can email the below address for confirmation. *Confirmation of sponsorship takes 24-48 hours, all correspondences for sponsorship will come from conferencemaacce@gmail.com.

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Maryland Association for Adult, Community and Continuing Education.
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