District Convention 2026 will be February 20th-22nd, 2026 at The Ohio State University. The annual district convention is an amazing way for students to recap on a successful service year and also elect the new board.
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Schedule
Friday
Time
Event
Location
4:30 PM
Registration Opens
Hotel Conference Room (Fairfield Inn- 3031 Olentangy River Rd, Columbus, 43202)
5:30 – 6:30 PM
Fellowship Activity
Hotel Conference Room
6:30 – 7:30 PM
Meet the Candidates
Hotel Conference Room
7:30 PM
Dinner
Hotel Conference Room
Saturday
Time
Event
Location
9:00 – 9:30 AM
Opening Session
Cartoon Room, Ohio Union
9:30 – 10:30 AM
Keynote
Cartoon Room, Ohio Union
10:30 – 11:30 AM
Caucusing
Cartoon Room, Ohio Union
11:30 – 12:30 PM
Lunch
Cartoon Room, Ohio Union
12:30 – 1:45 PM
Workshop Sessions (2 sessions, 25–30 min each)
Ohio Union – 3rd Floor Rooms
2:00 – 5:00 PM
House of Delegates
Cartoon Room, Ohio Union
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Workshop Session (Non-Delegates)
Union 3rd Floor Rooms
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Fellowship Activity (Non-Delegates)
Union 3rd Floor Rooms
6:00 PM
President’s Banquet Doors Open
Cartoon Room, Ohio Union
6:30 – 8:30 PM
President’s Banquet
Cartoon Room, Ohio Union
9:15 – 10:00 PM
Alumni Association Desserts
Hotel Conference Room
Sunday
Time
Event
Location
9:30 – 11:00 AM
Service
TBD
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Lunch on High Street
Off-site
12:30 PM
Senior & Award Recognition
Interfaith Prayer & Reflection Room
1:30 – 2:30 PM
Closing Session
Interfaith Prayer & Reflection Room
3:00 PM
District Informal Board Meeting
Interfaith Prayer & Reflection Room
Keynote Bio
Charlene Free is an award winning, prolific, transformational leader. She is often sought after by various groups and organizations, as a professional development trainer, keynote speaker, retreat presenter and moderator, both in Ohio and in other states. She is a leader who has a passion for helping other leaders to level up and to excel in life and leadership and she accomplishes this through her business, Flow Of Life, LLC.
Charlene served as a continuing education instructor for 9 years, in her field of study. She authored and taught the curriculum entitled, “ Assessing Apraxia in Speech and Swallowing, In Children and Adults”, during that tenure and she traveled to and taught in every state in the US, with the exceptions of Alaska and Hawaii. She has spoken in various church and civic conferences for over 30 years.
Charlene has been a keynote speaker for the Women in Thought Conference and for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, for which she serves as an international presenter. Additionally, she is a co-author of the Great Lakes Academy for the sorority and serves on the academy’s Operations Board. Charlene served as the emcee for the Annual State Of The County Luncheon, sponsored by The Franklin County Board Of Commissioners and as the moderator for the panel discussion during the Women’s Leadership Tea, which was sponsored by State Representative Meredith Lawson-Rowe. She has also been a retreat presenter and trainer for the African American Male Wellness Agency and a moderator for Uplift Her events. Additionally, she has served as a workshop presenter for WinUp and as a retreat presenter for the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Charlene is the author of a book, entitled, “The Leader’s Ship, Navigating And Team Building, which she released in 2023 and she has a weekly podcast called, “Mind Your Mind Moments”, which is shown weekly on Facebook and Instagram. Charlene developed this and the live Mind Your Mind Virtual Series, during the pandemic, to help men and women cope with mental health and life challenges. She is also the Director Of Women’s Ministries at Gospel Lighthouse Church, in Columbus Ohio and she founded the Let’s Talk Ministry and wrote and initiated the curriculum for the Let’s Talk Mentoring Ministry for Women for the First Church Of God, which is also in Columbus, Ohio.
Among her notable achievements are: receiving the Outstanding President Of A Large Chapter Award, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Great Lakes Region in 2021, receiving the WELD Award from the (Women’s Economic Leadership Development) Group in 2023 and she is a recipient of the Who’s Who In Black Columbus Award and Recognition in 2025.
Workshops
Attendees will have the opportunity to choose which workshop to attend during each workshop block. At the start of each block, participants may select the session that best fits their interests, leadership goals, and club needs.
Session Title
Presenters
Description
Social Media, Marketing, and Recruitment for Your Club
Mathew Anderson & Isabel Gracon
Learn how social media, marketing, and real-life connection work together to help clubs stand out, recruit effectively, and retain members. This session shares practical strategies for promoting your club, increasing visibility on campus, and creating experiences that keep members engaged and coming back.
Bet on Yourself
Grace & Leviticus Justice
An interactive workshop focused on confidence, self-advocacy, and personal growth in leadership. Participants will explore imposter syndrome, learn to speak up for their needs, navigate difficult conversations, and build intentional habits that support growth. Walk away with actionable tools, stronger resilience, and greater clarity as a leader.
A Gambler’s Guide to Membership and Collaboration
Abby Shipe & Willie Malkoski
A discussion-based workshop with a short collaborative activity exploring what draws people to service organizations and what keeps them involved. Participants will reflect on CKI culture, collaboration with other campus groups, and ways to strengthen recruitment and retention through authentic connection.
Project EDSA: Eating Disorder Support and Awareness on Campus
Aida Gesink & Taylor Thompson
Learn about Project EDSA’s mission to bring eating-disorder awareness, education, and peer support to college campuses. This session highlights resources, programming ideas, and ways to create supportive environments for students.
Entering the Flow State: Practical Time Management Tips from CKI Leaders
Neha Pasupuleti, Sanya Patel & Katy Helton
This interactive session explores realistic time-management strategies for balancing academics, leadership, and personal well-being. Participants will learn about productivity styles, prioritization, and flow state techniques, and practice applying these strategies through scenario-based activities.
Service as a Lifestyle (Keynote Workshop)
Charlene Free
An interactive keynote roundtable that challenges participants to think about service beyond college. Through guided discussion and activities, attendees will explore how to build and sustain a lifelong commitment to service and leadership in their communities and careers.
ServiceProject
We will be partnering with the organization I Support the Girls. Their mission is to collect and distribute bras, underwear and menstrual hygiene products to organizations that help support people experiencing homelessness, distress or impoverishment. Organizations include shelters, schools, pantries, street outreaches and more. We also accept make up bags, new make up, perfume samples and travel sized toiletries.
At DCON we will be helping to make gift bags that the organization uses when they do pop up events. At these events clients shop from organized, sized totes of bras and underwear, get tampons/pads and ‘extras’. These gift bags will be the ‘extra’. Our goal will be approximately 1000 gift bags filled with mascara, lip gloss, eye shadow, blush and more.
District Convention
District Convention 2026 will be February 20th-22nd, 2026 at The Ohio State University. The annual district convention is an amazing way for students to recap on a successful service year and also elect the new board.
Schedule
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Keynote Bio
Charlene Free is an award winning, prolific, transformational leader. She is often sought after by various groups and organizations, as a professional development trainer, keynote speaker, retreat presenter and moderator, both in Ohio and in other states. She is a leader who has a passion for helping other leaders to level up and to excel in life and leadership and she accomplishes this through her business, Flow Of Life, LLC.
Charlene served as a continuing education instructor for 9 years, in her field of study. She authored and taught the curriculum entitled, “ Assessing Apraxia in Speech and Swallowing, In Children and Adults”, during that tenure and she traveled to and taught in every state in the US, with the exceptions of Alaska and Hawaii. She has spoken in various church and civic conferences for over 30 years.
Charlene has been a keynote speaker for the Women in Thought Conference and for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, for which she serves as an international presenter. Additionally, she is a co-author of the Great Lakes Academy for the sorority and serves on the academy’s Operations Board. Charlene served as the emcee for the Annual State Of The County Luncheon, sponsored by The Franklin County Board Of Commissioners and as the moderator for the panel discussion during the Women’s Leadership Tea, which was sponsored by State Representative Meredith Lawson-Rowe. She has also been a retreat presenter and trainer for the African American Male Wellness Agency and a moderator for Uplift Her events. Additionally, she has served as a workshop presenter for WinUp and as a retreat presenter for the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Charlene is the author of a book, entitled, “The Leader’s Ship, Navigating And Team Building, which she released in 2023 and she has a weekly podcast called, “Mind Your Mind Moments”, which is shown weekly on Facebook and Instagram. Charlene developed this and the live Mind Your Mind Virtual Series, during the pandemic, to help men and women cope with mental health and life challenges. She is also the Director Of Women’s Ministries at Gospel Lighthouse Church, in Columbus Ohio and she founded the Let’s Talk Ministry and wrote and initiated the curriculum for the Let’s Talk Mentoring Ministry for Women for the First Church Of God, which is also in Columbus, Ohio.
Among her notable achievements are: receiving the Outstanding President Of A Large Chapter Award, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Great Lakes Region in 2021, receiving the WELD Award from the (Women’s Economic Leadership Development) Group in 2023 and she is a recipient of the Who’s Who In Black Columbus Award and Recognition in 2025.
Workshops
Attendees will have the opportunity to choose which workshop to attend during each workshop block. At the start of each block, participants may select the session that best fits their interests, leadership goals, and club needs.
Service Project
We will be partnering with the organization I Support the Girls. Their mission is to collect and distribute bras, underwear and menstrual hygiene products to organizations that help support people experiencing homelessness, distress or impoverishment. Organizations include shelters, schools, pantries, street outreaches and more. We also accept make up bags, new make up, perfume samples and travel sized toiletries.
At DCON we will be helping to make gift bags that the organization uses when they do pop up events. At these events clients shop from organized, sized totes of bras and underwear, get tampons/pads and ‘extras’. These gift bags will be the ‘extra’. Our goal will be approximately 1000 gift bags filled with mascara, lip gloss, eye shadow, blush and more.