Professional Development

BALTIMORE – October 30, 2026 -- Greg Abel, CEO and founder of Abel Communications, will serve as President of the newly formed Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Maryland Chesapeake chapter, following the merger of the PRSA Maryland and Central Chesapeake chapters.

Members and boards of both chapters approved the merger, as did PRSA's national leadership. It takes effect immediately, with a strategic focus on the Greater Baltimore region.

Board draws on agencies, higher education, public media, philanthropy and advocacy groups

Abel will work alongside a board representing public relations agencies, higher education, public media, philanthropy, and advocacy organizations. The board aims to strengthen programming and create more opportunities for members to learn and build relationships.

Abel said the combined chapter is committed to delivering "high-quality and consistent programming" for its members.

BOULDER, Colo. – October 29, 2026 -- Creative Educators Network (CEN) will host a Nov. 11 benefit in Boulder to fund 30 Colorado public educators at the inaugural Colorado Educators Summit, held during the Sundance Film Festival, Jan. 27-29, 2027.

The event, called The Power of Story, starts at 6:30 p.m. at eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St. Tickets cost $65. All proceeds go to the Summit, which coincides with the festival's first edition in Boulder.

CEN selected 30 educators from more than 80 applicants

The first cohort includes film and media instructors as well as general education teachers. Every dollar raised covers the following:

Astana – October 15, 2026 -- World Tennis has awarded Gold-level recognition to the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation's coach education system, valid until 31 December 2030.

The decision followed a review of the documentation submitted by the Federation. According to the announcement, the system met all criteria set by World Tennis and its Coaches Commission for Gold status.

Gold status lets Kazakhstan certify coaches up to High Performance level on its own

The Federation can now independently provide coach education and certification up to High Performance level. This equips coaches to work with high-level athletes. The recognition also grants the Federation the right to use the World Tennis logo on its coach education materials and resources, including coach licence cards.

Kuala Lumpur – October 12, 2026 -- INTAC 2026 has received an ASEAN Records title as the first international tourism, arts and culture exhibition and conference to offer licence-renewal education points for tourist guides alongside an academic research conference. The organiser, WEX Malaysia Sdn Bhd, secured 6 MOTAC-approved CTRE points across 6 sessions held 1-3 October 2026.

Six sessions give tourist guides 6 licence-renewal points

Participants could earn a total of 6 MOTAC-approved CTRE points, which count toward licence-renewal education requirements for tourist guides. The points were earned while attending tourism, arts, culture and heritage content at the event.

The format places continuing education inside a commercial exhibition and conference setting, linking professional accreditation with industry exposure.

Boston – – October 06, 2026 -- Students at one Texas elementary school achieved nearly twice the national average in academic growth in both reading and science during the 2024–25 school year, according to a new research brief from NWEA, a K-12 assessment and research organization.

Researchers identify three interconnected practices driving the growth

The study, titled "The Power of Connectedness: A Case for a Coherent Instruction System for Reading and Science Improvement," attributes the results not to a single initiative but to a coherent instructional system combining a shared instructional vision, aligned professional learning, and regular coaching and feedback. The school was identified using national MAP Growth data as a statistical outlier.

Palmyra, Wis. – – October 05, 2026 -- Wholistic Matters, powered by Standard Process, has launched an expanded continuing education catalog pricing courses between $29 and $79, undercutting an industry standard of $30 to $50 per credit hour.

Pricing structure targets rising CE costs for practitioners

The self-paced, on-demand courses are tiered at $29 for 1-credit offerings, $59 for 3-credit courses, $69 for 4-credit courses, and $79 for 5-credit courses. The courses carry accreditation across multiple practitioner boards, including ND, DC, LAc, CNS, ACBN, BCHN, NTP, and California RN.

Chicago – September 29, 2026 -- The Society of Actuaries (SOA) has elected five new Board members and named Sherry Chan, FSA, EA, MAAA, FCA, as President Elect and Vice Chair for the 2026-2027 term, positioning her to become the organization's 79th President and Chair.

Five actuaries join the SOA Board for the 2026-2027 term

The newly elected Board members are Jessica Dang, FSA, FCIA, Ph.D.; Murshid Kuttihassan, FSA, MAAA, CERA, FCIA, FIA, CFA, FRM; Taylor Pickett, FSA, MAAA; Greg Warren, FSA, MAAA, FCA; and Andy Wieduwilt, FSA, MAAA. All will assume duties following the SOA ImpACT Annual Conference at the end of October 2026.

Lebanon, Ore. – September 23, 2026 -- Western University of Health Sciences Heatherington College of Osteopathic Medicine (WesternU HCOM) hosted its second annual A.P. Howells, DO, Endowed Lectureship on Aug. 29-30, 2026, training physicians in the Fascial Distortion Model (FDM) for musculoskeletal treatment.

Todd Capistrant, DO, led hands-on FDM training combining online modules with supervised clinical practice

Capistrant, a Medical Director at Foundation Health Partners since 2013 and a board-certified family medicine physician, taught participants to identify fascial distortion patterns and apply introductory osteopathic manipulative treatment techniques. He emphasized that patient activity levels remain a stronger predictor of long-term health outcomes than pharmaceutical interventions for reducing heart disease, stroke, dementia and cancer risk.

Munich – September 16, 2026 -- Up to 3,000 registered pharmacists, pharmacy technicians (PTA) and pharmacy clerks (PKA) are set to attend the APOTHEKENTOUR in Munich on September 12-13, the event's second stop after Berlin drew more than 2,500 attendees and a 15% year-on-year increase in visitors.

Munich stop packs 170 talks and pharma-partner cases into one weekend

The Munich edition, powered by APOTHEKE ADHOC and PTA IN LOVE, will feature more than 170 lectures, several live talks and new product showcases connecting attendees directly with pharmaceutical industry partners. The event is scheduled deliberately the weekend before the Deutscher Apothekertag, where Health Minister Carsten Linnemann (CDU) is expected to address the sector's political future.

Lincolnshire, Ill. – September 15, 2026 -- 95 Percent Group has launched 95 Principles to PracticeTM—Literacy, a facilitator toolkit aimed at closing the gap between science of reading training and actual classroom instruction in K-3 schools.

82% of K-3 teachers report science of reading training, but only 52% say instruction reflects it

The disparity, cited from a Fordham Institute report, illustrates what the company calls the "knowing-doing gap" in literacy education. Research reported by the International Dyslexia Association found that without dedicated implementation teams, it takes 17 years on average to embed roughly half of a new initiative into routine classroom practice.