The ForwardWorks Learning Collective
Bringing people together to advance inclusive learning, share what works, and shape what comes next.
A place for people advancing inclusive learning
The ForwardWorks Learning Collective connects practitioners, program leaders, educators, advocates, and people with lived experience — everyone working on inclusive learning from a different angle, in one room a few times a year.
Each session runs about an hour and is built around a guest doing notable work in inclusive learning, employment, or youth transition. The rest is conversation: what people are seeing, what is actually working, and where the gaps still are.
The Collective grew out of the ForwardWorks Skills Lab, and Skills Lab learners, alumni, and team members are part of it. It is not limited to one program. Anyone whose work touches inclusive learning is welcome — including organizations running programs of their own.
What the Collective is for
Good practice in inclusive learning is scattered across programs, agencies, campuses, and community organizations that rarely get to compare notes. The Collective exists to close that gap — and to let what we learn together shape what gets built next.
What the Collective does
- Connects people who care about inclusive learning
- Shares ideas, practices, and what is working now
- Keeps learning grounded in real-world needs
Where it leads
- Creates space to build and deliver new content
- Expands awareness, connection, and collaboration
- Sparks new ideas, partnerships, and possibilities
Getting involved
What membership involves
The commitment is deliberately light. Members are generally expected to:
- Join a one-hour session each quarter, live or by catching the recording
- Bring what you are seeing in your own work — questions count as much as answers
- Share candid, constructive feedback when we ask for it
- Point people toward the Collective when it would be useful to them
Who is in the room
The Collective is intentionally mixed. Members include:
- Practitioners and program leaders in disability employment and youth transition
- Educators, advocates, and self-advocates with lived experience
- Organizations running inclusive learning programs of their own
- ForwardWorks Skills Lab learners, alumni, and team members
Practitioner-led and community-informed — learning that grows with the people it serves.
Join the Learning Collective
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you are working on. We will follow up with details for the next session.