Starting a new position is intimidating for us all, at any stage of our careers. A solid plan for your first 90 days in a new role makes all the difference in the world. In this session, presenter Ellen Whitlock Baker will walk participants through a tangible plan for how to approach the first three months of a new job with confidence. Topics covered will be who to meet with, what questions to ask, how to write and present your 90-day plan, and how to assess your first 90 days.

This session is appropriate for Advancement team members at any level, as well as for HR/People and Culture team members responsible for onboarding new team members.

Ghostwriting, or writing for someone else, can be a frightful journey. In this session, learn top tips for taking a message (e.g. speech or letter) you’re writing for a dean, board chair, or other campus leader from request to delivery. How do you start? Where can you find information and inspiration? How do you capture someone else’s voice — even when you rarely interact with them? What processes can help create structure and momentum in successfully completing the project? We will also meet a few demons that can stand in our way — Imposter syndrome? Eek! Mean responses? No! — and share ways to slay them. To cap off the session, we will brainstorm ideas for messaging a few different scenarios.

Inspiring donors and raising philanthropic support for society’s most complex issues — those where tangible outcomes and positive impact may not be realized for years — is a challenge facing nonprofits, including educational institutions, worldwide. From climate change to homelessness to racial inequity to social justice, philanthropy is critical to tackling society’s most complex issues, and institutions that innovate and inspire philanthropic investment are best prepared to achieve substantive, positive change. In this session, we will address real-life challenges encountered when complex social issues are involved and provide creative solutions for addressing them.

We all know that being aligned around a common goal and working in unison is how you achieve success but what does it look like in a complex university environment undergoing a campaign? In this session, we will explore how the University of San Diego structured its advancement staffing, aligned each department within Advancement around campaign goals and processes, built custom strategies for specific schools and projects within the comprehensive campaign, established a campaign budget, and more. Lessons learned and pitfalls to avoid will also be shared.

Are you curious about emerging leadership trends? Do you want to create a thriving team culture? During this session we will explore key leadership trends and share how they can be leveraged to create an inclusive and prosperous team environment. We will engage in conversations about proactively navigating our ever-changing work landscape. The panelists will share their diverse experience creating a thriving culture that fosters professional growth. This session is designed for the informal and formal leader who wants to be an intentional and effective player-coach.