Southeastern Postsecondary Education Alliance (SEPSEA) is celebrating 10 incredible years! As I look back on the journey, it's clear how much we've grown—from a few individuals dreaming of regional collaboration, to an organization that brings together people and programs across the Southeast as an example for the entire country. Here's a look at how SEPSEA started, and the milestones that shaped us into the thriving community we are today.
2013–2014: Planting the Seeds for Regional Collaboration
In 2013 and 2014, I took two groups of faculty from Georgia universities to visit UNC Greensboro’s Beyond Academics program, and to attend a Tennessee Alliance meeting at Vanderbilit’s Kennedy Center in Nashville. These visits sparked the idea to bring together college programs for students with intellectual disability in the Southeast to foster collaboration and learning. I started to get really excited about this possibility for collaboration.
I went to my supervisor at the time, Dan Crimmins, the director of the Center for Leadership in Disability (CLD) at Georgia State University. I told him that this idea had come up, and I asked if I could pursue having a meeting in Atlanta and inviting programs from across the Southeast. He told me I could as long as it didn’t cost us anything. With his permission, I started making plans. I reached out to Cate Weir at Think College to make sure they had no issues with us pursuing this type of event and to get her thoughts. She then thought it would be a great idea to pull people together that November at the State of the Art Conference to gauge interest.
On November 20, 2014, at the State of the Art Conference, this idea gained momentum when over 40 people attended SEPSEA’s first meeting. The strong interest in making regional connections across the Southeast confirmed that there was a growing desire for an organized network. This gathering became the foundation upon which SEPSEA was built, and its mission to promote inclusive postsecondary education was born. Many of the founding board members were in that room (Danie Roberts-Dahm, Misty Parsley, Maurice Williams, Cate Weir, Deb Zuver, Edie Cusack, Carol Britton Laws, Erica Walters… I hope I didn’t forget anyone!)
2015-2016: The First SEPSEA Conferences in Atlanta
SEPSEA's inaugural conference was held in Atlanta, GA, in 2015 in rooms I was able to get for free through the CLD. I even got a stellar room rate at the Ritz Carlton in downtown Atlanta! It was a pivotal moment as educators, program coordinators, advocates, and students came together for the first time, sharing their vision of inclusive postsecondary education across the Southeast. This marked the beginning of SEPSEA as a platform for collaboration and learning.
With growing interest and participation but little infrastructure other than the time I got to work on it, SEPSEA held its second conference in Atlanta, further solidifying the community and strengthening its mission to promote inclusive education.
2017: Formalizing SEPSEA
The third SEPSEA conference, held at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, became a turning point for the organization. A meeting was held to formalize SEPSEA, and it was here that the first Board of Directors was formed. This was a critical step in ensuring SEPSEA’s sustainability and impact. The organization’s first set of bylaws were drafted, and the Board held its first meeting at the State of the Art Conference later that year. We had our first meeting in the lobby of the Sheraton at Syracuse University.
2018: Expanding the Vision and Making Our Mark
At the fourth SEPSEA Conference in Memphis, TN, SEPSEA’s influence was beginning to spread beyond the Southeast. The success of SEPSEA inspired the Midwest to form Midwest Inclusive Postsecondary Alliance (MIPSA), furthering the national movement for inclusive higher education through regional groups.
2019: SEPSEA's Achievements Keep Growing
SEPSEA achieved another key milestone when it received its employer identification number (EIN) from the IRS, establishing itself as an official nonprofit. The same year, the SEPSEA conference was held in Charleston, SC. That year, Cate Weir received the first SEPSEA Leadership Award, a recognition of her dedication and advocacy in the field of inclusive postsecondary education. This was the year we decided we wanted to be more than a conference, and launched an official membership organization; we began signing up members at the conference!
2020–2021: Adapting During the Pandemic
Like many organizations, SEPSEA had to adapt to the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the 2020 and 2021 conferences were held virtually, but despite the shift to an online format, the spirit of collaboration and learning remained strong. We also began offering some webinars for professional development.
2022: Honoring Leadership and New Beginnings
The 8th SEPSEA Conference, hosted at Auburn University, marked a return to in-person gatherings. We drank lemonade, ate popcorn, and got to take pictures with the Auburn eagle! This year also saw significant changes within the organization—Danie Roberts-Dahm and I both transitioned to new roles at Think College, launching the Inclusive Higher Education Network. I GOT MY DREAM JOB! I was hired to expand regional alliances across the country utilizing what I’d learned through my work with SEPSEA. A humbling moment that year was when it was announced the SEPSEA Leadership Award was renamed the “Susanna Miller-Raines Leadership Award” in honor of my leadership contributions. And, to top it off, my right-hand gal and work bestie, Danie received the award.
2023: A New Era for SEPSEA
SEPSEA continued to make strides, hosting the 9th annual conference at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. That same year, SEPSEA also took a significant step toward engaging with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by hosting the 2nd HBCU Summit in Atlanta. The summit provided a critical platform for HBCUs to connect, learn, and contribute to the movement of inclusive postsecondary education.
2024: Our 10th Conference!
In May 2024, SEPSEA held its 10th annual conference in Clearwater, FL, marking a decade of progress and collaboration. The theme, “People, Purpose, and Passion,” encapsulated the heart of SEPSEA’s mission—to empower individuals, foster purpose in inclusive postsecondary education, and ignite passion within the community. The conference was a celebration of how far SEPSEA has come and a reflection on the many milestones achieved over the past ten years.
As we celebrate SEPSEA’s 10th anniversary, we acknowledge the dedication of everyone who has been part of this journey. From the early days of traveling to learn from other programs, to forming a regional alliance, to becoming a beacon of collaboration, SEPSEA has grown into an influential force for inclusive postsecondary education throughout the nation. Here's to another decade of progress and making dreams of higher education accessible to all! Visit the SEPSEA website and follow them on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the continued impact this group is having.
About the post author: Susanna Miller-Raines is a program manager at Think College working for the Inclusive Higher Education Network supporting the growth and creation of state and regional alliances across the nation. Susanna is a co-founder of the Southeast Postsecondary Education Alliance.