ODKM Continuing Education: Building a Lifelong Learning Community

When ODKM graduates walk across the stage, they don't stop being students of organization development and knowledge management — they simply change classrooms. That's the idea behind our ODKM Continuing Education Program, designed to keep our alumni community learning, growing, and connected long after graduation.

The program was launched in late 2025 with five offerings including three webinars, speed networking, and small-group career coaching. Right before we know it, the 2026-2027 program is emerging with more ways to continue learning and growing with our perpetual learning community.

The field we work in doesn't stand still. New models for organizational change emerge. Knowledge management practices evolve alongside new technologies. The skills that made you effective five years ago may need a refresh today. The challenges your organization faces tomorrow may call for capabilities you haven't built yet. Continuing education isn't a luxury in a field like ours — it's a professional necessity. Learning intentionally is part of the path we began to traverse as ODKM students.

And there's something else driving this program, something just as important as staying current: community.

Graduate school gave us more than coursework — it gave us a network of people who think deeply about how organizations learn, adapt, and thrive. That kind of intellectual companionship is rare, and too easy to lose touch with post-graduation. ODKM Continuing Ed is built to keep that community alive. Every session, workshop, and seminar we offer is led by one of our own alumni, who understand the frameworks we all learned, and who are now out in the field applying, testing, and evolving that knowledge in real organizations.

This isn’t continuing ed as a transaction; it's a gathering for graduates to teach, learn, and stay tethered to the community that shaped them.

Details for our 2026-2027 continuing education events are coming soon. We will be sending out emails, so make sure Tojo (thatchen@gmu.edu) has your most recent email. In the meantime, please mark your calendars and save the dates below. You can learn about the September LearnComm in this newsletter article. 

2026-2027 ODKM Continuing Education Calendar (when not listed, exact dates TBA)

*Lauren also teaches an elective course in the program by the same title during the summer semester. If you’re interested, this March event will give you a preview.