Event Overview
JFF's Project ACCESS: Accelerating Career Connections and Employment Success Strategies Annual Convening
Join us for JFF's Project ACCESS: Accelerating Career Connections and Employment Success Strategies second annual in-person convening on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at the Harold Washington College, City College of Chicago. Many thanks to City Colleges of Chicago for hosting us this year!
Registration closes on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, and is by invitation only.
Each participating college will have two (2) representatives paid for by JFF. If any college wants to bring an additional team member at its own expense, please indicate your interest in the form and inform your assigned coach. Space is limited, and we will do our best to accommodate these requests.
This in-person convening will provide ample opportunity for JFF and community colleges to engage in relationship building, collaborative planning, and peer learning within and across community college teams. Please note that all attendees, except those local to Chicago, are expected to arrive by Monday, June 15, stay for all programming on Tuesday, June 16, and depart on Wednesday, June 17.
During the convening, you will be able to:
- Develop a deeper understanding of the innovative programs of focus across Project ACCESS colleges.
- Share successes and challenges with your JFF coaches and community college partners from across the country.
- Network, collaborate, and problem-solve with your community college partners.
- Participate in an exciting activity showcasing City Colleges of Chicago and their partners (more to come soon!).
Travel and Hotel Information
Registration includes lodging at the L7 Hotel in Chicago, IL; breakfast, lunch, and snacks during convening programming; and a networking reception. JFF will arrange and cover your hotel room for the nights you request when you register (Mon-Wed). You do not need to make a hotel reservation; JFF will do so for you after you register and will send you a confirmation number closer to the event date.
All participants must be registered by May 12, 2026. Please email your coach by Tuesday, May 12, 2026 if you need to cancel your registration or amend your hotel reservation.
Participants will book and pay for their own travel to the convening. JFF will not arrange transportation. Attendees should book and pay directly for airfare or train travel, as well as local transportation and other related expenses (e.g., taxi, public transportation, mileage, incidentals, and meals not included in the event program).
To help cover these costs, JFF will provide additional funds by increasing the travel budgets for participating institutions. These funds will be managed through each college rather than reimbursed directly by JFF. Additional details will be shared shortly.
To help manage costs, we ask participants to book their airfare by Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Schedule
- The one-day convening will be held on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. All times are Central Time.
- Registration and breakfast start at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16, and the opening session will begin at 9:00 a.m.
- The meeting will end at 5:00 p.m., and we will then go together to an evening reception that concludes at 7:00 p.m. Please plan to stay for the duration of the event and check out on Wednesday, June 17.
- We will meet for an optional dinner on Monday, June 15, 2026, for those who arrive earlier. Please indicate during registration if you will be attending dinner.
Contact Ginger Avila at gavila@jff.org with any questions about the event.