RIHETC Spring 2026 Workshop Schedule

A limited number of seats may be available for staff from non-member higher education institutions. Please send inquiries to amclean@rihetc.org.

Reconnecting to Your Own Career Journey + Connecting with Your Teammates

Our worlds have been turned a bit upside down these past several years. We have each had to focus our energy on everyone else: students, colleagues, and family. But what about you? For a well needed change, this session will provide the space and literal breathing room to pause and assess your own work life. We will use mindfulness, reflection and journal writing to tap into what you love about your work and what talents make you feel alive, and break into small groups to share what you discover. Flow, values, and daily gratitude are some of the concepts we will discuss as paths to increased happiness and engagement at work.

Thursday, February 26, 2026 9:00 am to 12 pm

Facilitator: Sabrina Woods

Providence College, Slavin Center Rm 116, 1 Cunningham Square, Providence

From Paper to Pixels: Organizing Your Digital Life & Building a Smarter Hybrid Workflow

In today’s fast-paced, tech-driven world, disorganization—both digital and physical—can lead to missed opportunities, wasted time, and unnecessary stress. Many people feel stuck between cluttered digital files, overflowing inboxes, and stacks of paper they’re afraid to let go of. This interactive workshop addresses these common pain points by exploring how to organize digital information effectively while also evaluating the role of paper tools in a modern workflow.

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Tuesday, March 10, 2026 9:00 am to 12 pm

Facilitator: Lisa Griffith

Location: Bryant University, Academic Hall Rm MRC3, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield

Strategic Planning: Developing A Plan That Engages Your Team and Meets Your Organization’s Needs

Setting goals within your sphere and helping employees set and reach goals is a critical part of every manager’s job. Staff members at all levels want to see how their work contributes to the larger Organizational strategy, and setting the right targets makes this connection clear for everyone.

Thursday, March 26, 2026 9 am to 12 pm

Facilitator: Dr. Peter Langton

Bryant University, Academic Hall Rm MRC3, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield

AI-Enhanced Communication: Writing with Clarity and Confidence

Hands-on skill-building

A 3-hour practical session where participants learn to use AI tools to improve their professional writing efficiency. Through guided practice with real scenarios - difficult emails, policy explanations, time-sensitive communications - participants gain concrete skills they can apply immediately.

Thursday, April 9, 2026 9 am to 12 pm

Facilitator: Ann Grieves

Bryant University, Academic Hall Rm MRC3, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield

Speak with Impact: Mastering Public Speaking, Presentations & Storytelling

Whether you're leading a team, influencing stakeholders, or inspiring a crowd, your ability to communicate with clarity and confidence is essential. This interactive workshop is designed to help leaders at all levels elevate their public speaking and presentation skills in ways that feel authentic, grounded, and effective. Through a blend of practical tools and experiential learning, participants will gain techniques to structure impactful messages, engage diverse audiences, and harness the power of their voice, presence, and storytelling. You’ll build greater awareness of your natural speaking style, learn how to strengthen your presence in high-visibility moments, and walk away with simple frameworks you can immediately apply to communicate with greater confidence and influence.

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 9 am to 12 pm

Facilitator: Ilhiana Rojas Saldana

Location: University of Rhode Island, Memorial Union Atrium 2

Reconnecting to Your Own Career Journey + Connecting with Your Teammates

Thursday, February 26, 2026

9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Facilitator: Sabrina Woods

Providence College, Slavin Center, Rm 116,

As we turn from personal reflection to the collective experience of work, a key factor in feeling energized and fulfilled is often a sense of connection and belonging. Together, we will look at what strengthens (or weakens) that sense of connection. Through collaborative dialogue, we’ll generate ways to build more meaningful relationships, encourage reciprocal support, and create a team culture that feels welcoming. Whether you’re a supervisor or a colleague alongside others, you’ll walk away with actionable practices to enhance belonging for yourself and those around you.

Optional Prework:

You will receive a handout related to your values. You will be given 5 mins to review and complete this during the session, but if you prefer you can work on it beforehand.

9:00 – 9:30 Coffee & Connection

9:30 – 12:00 Program

Facilitator: Sabrina Woods is a holistic career coach and international trainer with 20 years in the higher education field within career services at universities including Northeastern, Harvard and the University of London. In her private practice, her joy comes from tapping holistic and mindfulness-based practices while helping people with major career and life transitions. Sabrina also facilitates workshops, staff retreats and train-the-trainer sessions ranging from the Myers Briggs to Mindfulness to Building the Foundations for Career Advancement. Her workshops combine her insights, enthusiasm and infectious energy. Sessions have been taught in the US, UK and Middle East for organizations ranging from MIT and Princeton to Cook County Health and Vanguard.

Program Fee: A fee of $90.00 per participant will be billed to each institution.

From Paper to Pixels: Organizing Your Digital Life & Building a Smarter Hybrid Workflow

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

9 am to 12 pm

Facilitator: Lisa Griffith

Bryant University, Academic Hall Rm MRC3

Participants will learn best practices for managing digital documents, taming email overload, optimizing cloud storage, and selecting the most useful digital tools such as apps and software. At the same time, the session explores the benefits and drawbacks of paper-based systems and how a thoughtful hybrid approach can offer the best of both worlds. Practical organizational techniques for both digital and paper information are covered with an emphasis on simplifying workflows, improving follow-through, and reducing daily overwhelm.

This presentation is not platform-specific and focuses on universal strategies for both work and personal life. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how to choose, combine, and sustain organizing systems that match their work style, goals, and environment—so they can regain control, boost productivity, and de-stress their daily routines.

Facilitator: Lisa Griffith, Griffith Productivity Solutions

Lisa S. Griffith is a Productivity Coach, Certified Professional Organizer®, and speaker who draws upon her thirty-year career as a teacher, director, and administrator of performing arts in schools, churches, and community organizations. Since 2008, she has worked with individuals and organizations to improve personal and professional productivity through her business, Griffith Productivity Solutions. She utilizes her extensive skills to coach and teach those who want to understand how to best organize their workspaces, inboxes, calendars, and to-do lists. Her mission is to generate positive change in people’s personal and professional lives by helping them create sustainable structures and systems that encourage and stimulate growth through outer order and inner calm.

Program Fee: A fee of $90.00 per participant will be billed to each institution.

Strategic Planning: Developing A Plan That Engages Your Team and Meets Your Organization’s Needs

Thursday, March 26, 2026

9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Facilitator: Dr. Peter Langton

Byrant University, Academic Hall, Rm MRC3

https://site.corsizio.com/event/696124865522fa2ea43b375d

For goals to be meaningful and effective in motivating employees, they must be tied to the larger organizational vision. Employees who don’t understand the roles they play in the success of the Organization are more likely to become disengaged. By setting goals at the division, department and individual level that are clearly in alignment with the Organization’s strategic plan and vision, the likelihood of achieving the goals and obtaining the necessary resources is greatly enhanced. In this session, managers/supervisors will learn how to:

• Set effective goals and coach employees to do the same

• Bridge the gap beginning with organizational level strategy and ending with individual goal setting

• Act as a translator for your staff—making sure employees understand the Organizational mission, values and strategy and how their day-to-day tasks fit into the big picture.

Facilitator: Dr. Peter Langton

Dr. Langton started as therapist and quickly transitioned to working with organizations to select, develop, and coach leaders. After over 20 years working in Training and Development, Human Resources, and Strategic Planning, Dr. Langton saw the need to focus on developing confident leaders as an organizational priority.

Dr. Langton has served as a Training Coordinator, Director of Training and Development, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources, Vice President of Human Resources, and Executive Vice President in various industries serving retail, insurance, finance, manufacturing, and higher education. Dr. Langton has also served as a Visiting Professor at Wheaton College and is currently an Adjunct Faculty in the Management Department at Stonehill College

Through his various positions and experience, Peter has seen firsthand how hiring and developing the right person can be the spark the moves an organization from mediocrity to success. We’ve all experienced ineffective management and poor supervisors. The difference between success and failure is a combination of the right organizational culture and the right support.

AI-Enhanced Communication: Writing with Clarity and Confidence

Thursday, April 9, 2026

9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Facilitator: Anne Grieves

Bryant University, Fisher Student Center Rm 2AB

Hands-on skill-building

Key outcomes:

Writing effective prompts for better AI outputs
Maintaining authentic voice while using AI assistance
Reducing writing-related stress and time pressure
Applying AI ethically and strategically

Facilitator: Anne Grieves

Anne Grieves is an Associate Director in Career Development at Northeastern University as well as a Gallup Certified CliftonStrengths Coach. Anne enjoys guiding individuals, groups, and teams towards identifying and achieving their goals. Collaborating with Anne, her clients learn how to focus on their individual strengths in order to maximize their personal and professional potential. Anne’s unique approach provides people with the tools they need to experience a paradigm shift in how to explore new possibilities and re-imagine their goal-setting. Her two daughters, husband, and dog fill the unscheduled hours in her day

Program Fee: A fee of $90.00 per participant will be billed to each institution.

Speak with Impact: Mastering Public Speaking, Presentations & Storytelling

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Facilitator: Ilhiana Rojas Saldana

University of Rhode Island Memorial Union Atrium 2

Key Highlights

Basics to Speaking with Impact: Learn the essential elements that make communication clear, confident, and engaging—across presentations, meetings, and everyday interactions.
Understanding Your Speaking Style & Presence: Increase awareness of how your voice, energy, and body language shape your impact, and how to show up with greater confidence and credibility.
Structuring Messages That Land: Gain a practical framework to organize your ideas so your message is easy to follow, memorable, and aligned with your intent.

Facilitator: Ilhiana Rojas Saldana

Ilhiana Rojas Saldana is a Transformation Strategy Coach & Consultant, a Diversity & Inclusion Catalyst, a Hispanic advocate, and an international motivational speaker. She is a possibility thinker and a firm believer that nothing is impossible. Her mission is to empower professionals to move from ordinary to extraordinary through meaningful transformation by helping them embrace their purpose, elevate their voice, expand their potential, and thrive through personal empowerment. Ilhiana graduated with honors as a Chemical Engineer in Mexico City and moved to Rhode Island 9 years ago with her husband and two daughters.

Program Fee: A fee of $90.00 per participant will be billed to each institution.