Learning Forward Florida hosted its statewide affiliate conference September 22-24, 2025, bringing together educators and professional learning leaders from across the state to learn, connect, and grow. This year’s theme, Unleashing Brilliance: Inspiring Excellence in All Educators, set the stage for three powerful days of collaboration and inspiration.

The conference opened with an energizing general session led by Kendall Zoller, author of The Choreography of Presenting. Zoller captivated participants with strategies to leverage nonverbal communication as a powerful tool for engaging audiences. His interactive approach modeled how professional learning can be both dynamic and practical.

Tuesday’s general session featured Michelle Bowman, senior vice president of continuous improvement at Learning Forward, who brought the principles of continuous improvement to life, engaging attendees in hands-on practice with the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle and demonstrating its role as a driver of effective professional learning systems.

The conference also highlighted a new partnership with Learning Forward Texas by welcoming Kathryn Laster, who led two high-impact sessions on facilitation strategies and the use of AI in professional learning, as well as many concurrent sessions facilitated by professional learning leaders from across Florida.

During the conference, participants had time to gather in groups according to their geographical regions and the size of their districts. These sessions, which are a perennial favorite feature of the conference, provided space for leaders to collaborate with colleagues facing similar challenges and to strengthen the statewide professional learning networks.