2026 Keynote Address by Dr. Ashanti Hands

Joy in the Journey: Reclaiming What Was Ours All Along

What if joy is not something we have to find, earn, or wait for, but something that has been ours all along? Joy in the Journey: Reclaiming What Was Ours All Along explores joy as a lens through which we see ourselves, one another, our students, and the work before us.

This keynote invites us to reconnect with the purpose that called us to this work, refocus on what is truly ours to carry, and reimagine what becomes possible when joy shapes how we lead, learn, and collaborate. Rather than ignoring the very real challenges of this moment, joy offers a radical and liberating way to move through them, allowing us to hold what is hard without giving it the power to define what we see, what we believe is possible, or what we choose to do next.