We are thrilled to introduce our newest ACE initiative: ACE Professional Peers! Read on to learn more and to sign up via our 2026-2027 interest form.

ACE Professional Peers is an initiative that seeks to provide supportive, communal spaces for colleagues who share a core professional identity.  ACE Professional Peers provides advisors and related student affairs/academic affairs staff working at UCLA with the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and grow alongside their peers.

This academic year we will be running a pilot featuring two peer groups.  Each group will meet once per quarter via Zoom in an informal setting—no advanced prep required!  Our 2026-2027 pilot peer groups will be:

Flying (and Advising) Solo

Fall quarter meeting: Thursday, November 19th from 11 am – 12 noon via Zoom

Are you the sole advisor for your department, unit, or program?  We invite you to join forces with other solo advisors to swap best practices, problem-solve, and support one another!  Meeting topics may include balancing the many hats that solo advisors wear; supporting undergraduate and graduate programs simultaneously; reporting to supervisors that may or may not have advising expertise; building an advising network around campus; and anything else you’d like to discuss!

Advising in Uncertain Times

Fall quarter meeting: Tuesday, November 17th from 3 pm – 4 pm via Zoom

Academic affairs and student affairs professionals have been navigating an uncertain landscape for several years now.  We invite you to come together in this group to discuss how we can best support our students and one another when faced with ever-shifting conditions.  Meeting topics may include: financing an education in the current economic climate; supporting international and undocumented students; navigating student demand for remote learning and use of generative AI; and anything else you’d like to discuss.

Interested in joining ACE Professional Peers?  All you need to do is complete this short interest form!

Not sure if you can attend the Fall meeting(s,) but want to stay in the loop?  That’s ok!  You can let us know on the interest form linked above.

Questions? Feel free to reach out to Steph Bundy (stephanie@english.ucla.edu) or Jaclyn Robbin (jaclyn@psych.ucla.edu).