Administrative Professionals

2027 Administrative Professionals Retreat

Thursday, February 11, 2027

8:30 AM - 1:00 PM (EST)

The Inn at Swarthmore

10 South Chester Road
Swarthmore, PA 19081-1305
United States

* Registration open until 2/3/27 at 11:59 PM (EST)

Join fellow administrative professionals from independent schools across the region for a day built entirely around your growth, your connections, and your role. Step away from the front desk and the inbox to sharpen the skills that matter, trade insights with people who truly understand your work, and reconnect with the purpose that brought you here in the first place.

Through hands-on sessions, candid conversation, and plenty of time to breathe, you'll leave with practical tools you can use right away and a network of peers who get it.

What you can expect:

Skill-building sessions designed for the realities of your day
Meaningful connection with peers who share your challenges and wins
Space to reflect, recharge, and reconnect with your purpose
Fresh ideas and practical takeaways you can put to work immediately

You do so much to support everyone around you. This is your time to invest in yourself.

Register today. Save your spot and own your impact.

The Admin FACTOR:
Finding Your Repurposed Purpose

presented by: Vonetta Watson-Edwards,
Owner, TechGem Educational Technologies

You are the factor. Not supporting the outcome, not standing beside it, but helping to create it. This session begins with that truth and challenges the room to fully embrace it.

Vonetta Watson-Edwards, Owner at TechGem Educational Technologies, invites administrative professionals to step into their influence, own their seat at the table, and recognize that professional growth, especially technology upskilling, is not just another item on an already full to-do list. It is an essential investment in the administrative profession itself.

Drawing on more than two decades of technology training and a coaching practice centered on helping people recognize their value before anyone else names it for them, Vonetta delivers a message designed specifically for this audience. Grounded in the realities facing the administrative professional today. This session offers a clarion call to see themselves not as support to success, but as a critical factor in creating it.

About Vonetta Watson MA Ed., CPC, MCT

Vonetta Watson-Edwards is the Founder and CEO of TechGem Educational Technologies, where she works at the intersection of technology and human potential. A Microsoft Certified Trainer, Microsoft Innovative Educator, Professional Certified Coach (PCC), and Certified Executive Coach and Mentor (CECM), she brings two decades of software training experience together with a coaching practice built to help people find clarity, confidence, and momentum in their work.

Vonetta holds a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Training and has earned more than 60 technical certifications, but what sets her apart is her ability to translate that expertise into something usable for the people in the room. She has spent her career helping professionals see technology not as one more thing to keep up with, but as a tool that gives them back time, energy, and focus for the work that matters most.

She is a published author and speaks internationally on leadership, purpose, and navigating change with intention. Her sessions are known for going beyond information delivery into real reflection, helping audiences reconnect with why they do what they do and equipping them with practical next steps they can use immediately.

Vonetta believes that the people who hold institutions together often do so quietly, and that real growth starts with recognizing your own value before anyone else names it for you.

Registration Options

Registration Options	Credits	Price
Member Ticket		$175.00 Price will increase to $195.00 on 12/5/26 12:00 AM EST
Non-Member Ticket		$390.00 Price will increase to $450.00 on 1/29/27 12:00 AM EST

ACT 48 CREDITS

• You may request credit up to 7 days after the event.

• Per the PA Department of Education, ADVIS is required to report your successful completion of Act 48 evaluation within 30 days of the event.

• Available to members only.

• Contact Dena Torino (dtorino@advis.org) for more information.

ACCESSIBILITY

We strive to make our events inclusive and accessible for all. Request accommodations on the registration form, or contact Dena Torino (dtorino@advis.org) with accessibility questions. Please give at least two weeks’ notice to help us ensure seamless access.

EVENT CONTACT

Dena Torino (dtorino@advis.org)

Vice President of
Strategy, Learning & School Services