This training introduces advocates to how geographic information systems ("GIS") can be used to further advocacy goals. The presentation will highlight the intersectionality of housing, location, poverty, and race. The presentation will include case studies examples from The Ohio State University's Office of Outreach & Engagement and Center for Urban and Regional Analysis.

Presenters: 

Dr. Jason Reece is an associate professor of city and regional planning at the Knowlton School and Vice Provost for Urban Research & Community Engagement in the Office of Academic Affairs at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Harvey J. Miller is the Bob and Mary Reusche Chair in Geographic Information Science, Professor of Geography and Director of the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis at The Ohio State University.

The Committee on Regional Training (CORT) is co-sponsoring, with the Management Information Exchange (MIE), an in-person Supervising Legal Work Training for legal aid managers and supervisors. The Supervising Legal Work Training is designed to help managers with fewer than 3 years of supervisory experience develop those skills through a combination of substantive presentations and facilitated small group discussions. 

This three-day training targets new, direct supervisors of legal work (with 0-3 years of supervising experience). While this training event includes many general management elements, the content is geared toward managers supervising paralegals, staff attorneys, or pro bono attorneys who provide civil legal services to low-income communities and is aimed at current supervisors of legal work or those preparing to take on that role soon. Topics essential to a new manager's success will be covered, including employment law basics, individual and team dynamics, feedback and evaluation, time management, workplans, and more! 

LOCATION

Weber’s Boutique Hotel,

3050 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan

EVENT DATES

Wednesday, August 12th, 2026 (beginning at 8:00 a.m.) to

Friday, August 14th, 2026 (ending by 12:00 p.m. ET)

CLE

CORT will apply for Ohio, West Virginia and Indiana CLE credits for this training.   

REGISTRATION FEES

As a CORT-sponsored event, there is no registration fee for CORT member programs from Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, and Indiana.

HOTEL ROOMS AND MEALS

After registration closes and attendees are confirmed, more information will be provided about booking overnight rooms in the hotel room block. For planning purposes, the nightly group rate is $114, plus taxes, fees, and parking. CORT will also provide more details about meal costs associated with the training after the attendee list is confirmed.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: CORT has 32 seats reserved at this training for managers and supervisors from CORT programs. Registering does not guarantee acceptance into the training. After registration closes (on May 8th), CORT will work with each state/program to fairly allocate seats among the CORT member programs.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Friday, May 8th, 2026

Presenters: Marianne Conrad, Managing Attorney, Indiana Legal Services (ILS)

Andrea Rossi, Executive Director and Brian Smith, COO of Legal Services of Eastern Michigan (LSEM).

Civil legal aid organizations are often called upon to respond when disaster strikes—but effective response starts long before the emergency. This session will explore how legal aid programs can build practical, sustainable disaster preparedness structures that support both community-facing legal needs and internal staff safety. Presenters will discuss why disaster planning matters, how to begin developing protocols, and how funder expectations, partner agency collaboration, and real-world experiences can shape an organization’s approach. The session will also examine the difference between natural and non-natural disasters, including how existing disaster procedures can be adapted for events such as building fires, utility shutoffs, displacement, workplace safety concerns, and threats of violence. Participants will leave with lessons learned, practical starting points, and resources to help their organizations create or strengthen disaster preparedness teams, policies, checklists, and response plans.

Presenters: 

Matthew Horwitz, Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, District Civil Chief

Michael Downey, Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, District Civil Rights Coordinator

This workshop style training will bring together members of Ohio taskforces to strengthen systemic advocacy planning skills. While taskforces often identify important systemic problems affecting our clients, it can be difficult to move projects forward without a clear structure. Without defined goals, timelines, stakeholder strategies, and accountability mechanisms, promising ideas can lose momentum. The Racial Justice Taskforce is bringing this training forward to help groups with actionable advocacy initiatives through project management and strategic planning tools. The training will explore how systemic legal issues often sit at the intersection of poverty and race, and how structured advocacy planning can help advocates more effectively address these inequities.

The intent is for Taskforces to identify a group of members working on a particular advocacy project to attend the workshop together.

Prior to the workshop, each group will be asked to identify a systemic problem within its practice area to use during the training exercises. Participating groups may include representatives from the Community Economic Development, Consumer, Education, Employment, Family, Health & Public Benefits, Housing, Immigrant Advocacy, and Racial Justice Taskforces, their subcommittees, and other affinity groups, including those centered around Veterans, Tax Law, Court Access, and Medical-Legal Partnerships. 

Join us for sessions on Medicaid changes, social security work, administrative hearing skills, medical legal partnerships, and more! National and regional public benefits experts will join our CORT program experts to present on these topics.

Network with other legal aid advocates in the trenches working to secure benefits for our clients. The training is open to attorneys, paralegals, and other legal aid advocates working in the public benefits field. 

BLST is the first in CORT's curriculum of skills trainings for legal services attorneys. This training is aimed at those with less than 18 months' experience, and its focus is the practical day-to-day skills of lawyering in the context of legal services work. Law graduates are welcome to attend.