Technology Conference
A FREE online conference for DS agency leadership
What's it about?
On April 8, 2025 from 9am to 3pm there is a FREE online mini-conference for DS agency leaders, designed to showcase the software and technology that other agencies are using. The conference will focus on new software (or new ways of using software) that have not been extensively presented in the past. See the agenda.
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Live demos on actual products being used by peer DS leaders, presented by those DS leaders.
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Full cost transparency (where permitted).
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Short presentations, followed by Q&A.
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No sales pitches; just peer-to-peer sharing.
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Deeper dives on select products to be hosted on The REAL Xchange at later dates (where requested).
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Agency leaders only. Please do not share the registration link more broadly without permission.
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Jointly hosted by:
CL Windsor, CL Essex County, and CL Toronto
Conference Agenda (tentative)
In descriptions below, $=affordable, $$=typical, $$$=expensive
9am- Introductions
Brandon Pottie
CL Windsor
Welcoming remarks
Welcome all. Please enjoy the online conference and feel free to come and go as you please. We will try our best to stick to the rapid-fire agenda, bringing you exposure to as many tech innovations as possible.
9:05am- Formstack
Dan Logan
CL Windsor
#1) Formstack & Workflows ($$)
Take online forms to the next level by integrating them with Google Sheets and making your data do tricks. Next, learn about "workflows," allowing you to implement approvals and rejections to your online forms.
9:30am- MyCommunityHub
Shawn Ratnasingam
CL Toronto
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#2) MyCommunityHub (free)
It's free to use! MyCommunityHub can help you successfully manage your program registrations. Features include:
- Payment processing made simple with easy checkout
- Download and print Receipts
-View and print your registration calendar
-Manage attendance
-Access to built-in marketing and engagement tools - Generate a Waitlist and Wishlist to help with future planning
-Add questions, images, and waivers to your registrations
-Download or automate your financial and registration reports
9:55am- AI Chatbots
Brandon Pottie
CL Windsor
#3) AI Chatbots for DS ($)
Learn how you can get your very own Chatbots that you can use to empower your staff. Policies, collective agreements, guides, manuals, software docs, website, and anything else... Your people ask, AI answers. It only knows what you train it on, and it's easy!
10:10am- PowerDMS
Dan Logan
CL Windsor
#4) Power DMS for Policies ($$$)
Learn about how PowerDMS can help you get your policies and procedures in order. Completely online, custom approval processes, URLs to all your docs, and side-by-side comparison to any version. Easy to learn and doesn't require you to change your existing format.
10:35am- Maintenance Care
Cheryl Conick
CL Tillsonburg
#5) Maintenance Care ($)
Maintenance Care is a Canadian based software solution designed to help organizations manage their maintenance operations.
Work order management: Tracking and assigning maintenance tasks.
Preventive maintenance: Scheduling routine maintenance to prevent breakdowns.
Asset management: Keeping track of equipment and their maintenance history.
11:00am- MyJobMatch
Sarah MacDonald
CL Toronto
#6) MyJobMatch (Free)
It's free to use! MyJobMatch is digital platform that uses a community approach to employment services. MyJobMatch allows disability services agencies to join forces to find employment for more people with disabilities. It uses a collaborative/relationship-building approach to employment support services and scales it using technology.
11:25am- AI Labs
Julie LaSorda ​
CL Essex County
#7) AI Labs for DSPs
AI Labs for Direct Support Workers- ChatGPT and CoPilot. CLEC introduced AI Labs as a way to help our staff get hands-on experience with generative AI in a way that felt approachable and relevant to their work. Instead of just talking about AI, we created interactive sessions where employees could try it out for themselves—brainstorming, drafting support plans, even playing around with conversation starters. We kept it engaging with on-the-job sample exercises and a bit of gamification, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Join me to learn more.
12pm(ish)- Lunch Break
Please return just before 1pm
1:00pm- Connecteam
Brandon Pottie
CL Windsor
#8) Connecteam ($$)
Learn how CL Windsor manages within-shift assignments for a mobile workforce, keeping track of employee whereabouts, shift-specific duties, employee notes, and more. Highly advanced software made easy, especially for employees. *Has applicability for J2B
1:15pm- PowerBI
John Van Dijk ​
Karis Disability Services
#9) PowerBI ($$)
PowerBI is a potent data visualization and reporting platform. This session is an overview of the core features and uses of PowerBI. In this session you will be introduced to what PowerBI can do for your organization. Technology and operations leaders will gain an overview of whether they can use PowerBI to share data with managment and employees.
1:40pm- Sihata
Tracy Humphrey ​
Brantwood
#10) Sihata ($$)
SihataCare has helped us bring together, planning, scheduling and funding for people. In the past this was managed through numerous applications and spreadsheets and SihataCare has enabled us to put it all in one place and allow us to gather meaningful data to drive decisions.
As journey To Belonging moves forward SihataCare can play a vital role in managing individualized budgets from the planning stage to achievement of outcomes.
2:05pm- ShareVision
Julie LaSorda
CL Essex County
#11) ShareVision ($$)
Maximizing ShareVision: Smarter Use Without the Cost. See how Community Living Essex County has optimized ShareVision, a person-centered database, to improve efficiencies, track goals, and manage properties, vehicles, and service locations—all without costly customizations. Learn practical ways to get more from your system and enhance its functionality.
2:30pm- Amazon Business
John Kirk
CL Windsor
#12) Amazon Business
Learn about how Amazon Business can help your organization save money, reduce credit card use, and streamline financial processes.
2:50pm- Deeper Dive
Julie LaSorda
CL Essex County
Closing Remarks & Next Steps
Discover next steps for deeper dives into select software, hosted on The REAL Xchange.
Technology Needed
In order to access this conference, you will need to use Microsoft Teams.
If you need help downloading or using Teams, please click this link.
MS Teams
