ABC Apprenticeship Trust Academy

Are you a current or prospective apprenticeship trustee? Are you a plan administrator?

If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, the ABC Apprenticeship Trust Academy at ABC Convention 2026 is a must-attend event.

This year’s academy will feature new topics and additional presenters! Even if you’ve attended in the past, you will have many new insights to gain at this session.

Register for the Academy!

Topics include:

  • New! Plan Administration and Procedural Prudence
  • New! The Role of Fiduciary Insurance
  • New! Investing for Fiduciaries
  • New! Financial Controls and Managing Grants
  • New! The Chapter as Service Provider
  • New! Expense Reimbursement Policies

Plus, many more topics traditionally included in the academy, such as:

  • ABC Basic Requirements for Chapter-Sponsored Apprenticeship Programs
  • Prohibited Transactions
  • Essential Policies and Procedures
  • Trust Reserves and Investing Plan Assets
  • Expense Reimbursement Policies
  • Selecting and Monitoring Service Providers

What Is the ABC Apprenticeship Trust Academy?

The ABC Apprenticeship Trust Academy equips new and experienced apprenticeship fiduciaries with the essential knowledge and tools to confidently lead programs that develop the next generation of construction professionals.

You’ll also connect with fellow plan fiduciaries, share best practices and gain insights from national experts. Make the ABC Apprenticeship Trust Academy a cornerstone of your 2026 continuing education plan—you won’t want to miss it.

Why Should You Attend?

Often when an ERISA Trust is audited, one of the first questions from the U.S. Department of Labor is whether your fiduciaries have completed continuing education. By attending this training, you’ll be able to answer with a resounding “yes.”

While other organizations offer similar fiduciary training—often at nearly twice the cost— this is the only program designed specifically for administering merit shop apprenticeship programs. The academy covers risk management, fiduciary obligations and the full scope of trustee roles and responsibilities.

Register to:

  • Gain a clear understanding of your role as a trustee or staff leader
  • Deepen your knowledge of fiduciary responsibilities to ensure full compliance with DOL requirements
  • Learn directly from national experts and get answers to your top compliance questions
  • Fulfill your fiduciary continuing education requirements
  • Connect, network and exchange best practices with fellow trustees

For information about sponsorship opportunities during the ABC Apprenticeship Trust Academy, contact Charlie Asmar at [email protected]or (301) 653-8168.

Schedule:

Your Apprenticeship Trust registration provides you all benefits of a full convention registration.

Wednesday, March 18

8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Construction Management Competition
3:30-5 p.m. Exhibit Hall Grand Opening and Reception
5:30-7 p.m. Opening General Session With Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, Fighter Pilot, Folds of Honor Founder, PGA Pro and Bestselling Author Followed by the Construction Workforce Awards
7:15-9:30 p.m. Opening Night Celebration

Thursday, March 19

7:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Trust Academy Day 1—Part 1
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Viewing of the Construction Management Competition Presentations
12 p.m. Lunch in the exhibition hall
12-3 p.m. National Craft Competition Viewing and Exhibit Hall Open
3:15-4:30 p.m. Trust Academy Day 1—Part 2
5:30-9 p.m. Excellence in Construction® Awards Gala
(Separate ticketed event)

Friday, March 20

8:30-9:45 a.m. Morning Keynote Breakfast With Jason Hewlett, Award-Winning Entertainer and Author
10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Trust Academy Day 2
5-7 p.m. Careers in Construction Awards
7:15-10 p.m. Closing Night Celebration


Speakers

Clarkson

Christopher J. Clarkson, CFA
Senior Vice President and National Director of Planning, Bernstein Foundation & Institutional Advisory

Clarkson works with donors, nonprofits and tax-exempt associations nationwide to ensure their finances are best positioned to fulfill their philanthropic mission. He has expertise in a variety of complex investment planning issues, including charitable giving, selling a business, multigenerational wealth transfer and diversification of concentrated stock and option portfolios. Clarkson is a frequent lecturer to groups of tax and legal professionals and charitable organizations throughout the western United States.

Crystal Coleman

Crystal Coleman
Audit Principal, CliftonLarsonAllen

Coleman joined CliftonLarsonAllen as an audit principal in January 2017 when GALLINA LLP joined the firm. Before CLA, Coleman worked for five years as the controller of a privately held sales and distribution company. Previously, she worked for six years as an operations manager with two large financial institutions. In addition to her responsibilities at CLA, she has taught various courses at California State University Sacramento since 1997 and currently teaches courses at the University of California, Davis.

Sarah Ivy, Esq.
Attorney, Pierson Ferdinand

Sarah Ivy, Esq., focuses her practice in the areas of employee benefits law, executive compensation and taxation. She has more than 20 years of experience analyzing regulations under the Internal Revenue Code and Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Ben Lucas

Ben Lucas
Wealth Advisor, Bernstein Private Wealth Management

Lucas specializes in working with nonprofits, including trade associations and their associated trusts, as well as founders of privately held businesses and their families, across the country. Lucas provides guidance on financial planning and investment management. He assists with the creation and implementation of investment and gift acceptance policies, board education, operating and investment reserves analysis, donor development and the sharing of research on best practices in the field.

Roy Tyson

Roy C. Tyson III, CPCU, AFSB
Vice President and Multiemployer/Public Sector Plan Project Leader, Chubb North America Financial Lines

Tyson is responsible for fiduciary liability product and strategy development for multiemployer, multiple employer and public sector plans, as well as cross-selling other coverage lines including employee benefit plan fiduciary dishonesty. Tyson joined Chubb as a surety underwriter and has held several key management positions. Prior to his current role, he was responsible for creating growth and profit strategies for employment practices and fiduciary liability both inside and outside the United States.

David P. Wolds
Attorney, WoldsVanderWal

David Wolds advises clients on establishing and administering ERISA-covered employee benefit plans. Wolds represents employee benefit plans and fiduciaries in litigation involving ERISA preemption, benefit claims and fiduciary duty matters, and provides ongoing counsel to fiduciaries of pension, health and medical, vacation and apprenticeship training plans.