The world has changed. Independent schools are facing an uncertain future. The political, social media, environmental, and macroeconomic environments are increasingly turbulent. What we’re encountering is best described as a Polycrisis: Multiple crises happening simultaneously in which “the whole is even more dangerous than the sum of the parts” (Professor Adam Tooze, Ipsos Global Trends 2023). This evolving landscape creates new and increasingly problematic risks that schools must address. Through this session, we will inspire and empower educational leaders to convert the challenges of a Polycrisis into a strategic advantage for their institutions.

We will discuss three critical challenges currently creating a Polycrisis at independent schools: The workforce, constituent engagement, and how best to implement diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives. You will gain tools to build your leadership capacity and insights to better navigate this Polycrisis. You will learn about creative fundraising and communications strategies to tackle these challenges. You will also walk away with a plan to turn this Polycrisis into a strategic advantage by drawing on the full range of advancement expertise at your institutions, including communications, marketing, alumni relations, fundraising, and data services.

By addressing a Polycrisis head-on, school leaders and advancement teams can create a new strategic advantage for their schools that allows them to drive institutional goals, manage change, and be successful in an uncertain future.

As it turns out, relationship building is strategic! Ted Lasso is the ultimate relationship builder. He genuinely cares about the people around him and puts in the effort to understand and connect with them and doesn't just use people to get what he wants. Through valuing the person in front of him and their unique background and perspectives, he looks for the best in people, even when they make mistakes or disagree with him. He approaches every relationship with empathy and an open mind. In our teams and schools, when we focus on building strong relationships, support systems, and structures that enable clear, honest and kind communication- we will surpass our engagement and fundraising goals EVERY TIME. Join us to learn how two neighboring schools in Hawai’i are collaborating on strategic team-building to ensure broad community engagement and significantly increased philanthropic capacity.

Women make up 80% of the teacher workforce, but are not represented proportionally at the highest levels of school leadership. Why the discrepancy? As school leaders retire or leave their positions at record rates, having an equitable leadership pipeline is more important than ever. In this session, learn research-based supports that benefit emerging female leaders, and connect with female leaders at all stages in their careers. If you're a leader, mentor, or recruiter, learn how to maximize your effectiveness. If you're an emerging female leader, learn about the supports that will help your career trajectory.

Discover the art of orchestrating a high-functioning advancement office while fostering a vibrant team spirit. Join Katy Steventon, Director of The Rugbeian Community at Rugby School - an independent school in England founded in the 1500's - and former British Army marketing strategist, as she unveils her expertise in creating operational excellence.

In this engaging session, Katy will delve into her experiences from the British Army and how they intersect with her role in launching impactful Rugbeian Community projects. Gain exclusive insights into the strategies that not only convey messages effectively but also reshape perspectives. Drawing from her military background, Katy will guide you through techniques to harness your team's strengths, establish psychological safety, and adeptly manage stakeholders.

This session promises to equip you with the skills to optimize teamwork efficiency, leverage individual talents, and ensure crystal-clear communication of your visionary plans. Join us to transform your approach and master the balance between precision and inspiration.

Are you the leader for a small shop, where employees are stretched t--h--I--n? Have you inherited an internal reorganization, or are trying to blend disparate groups? Maybe staff meetings feel more like a burden than a joy? This is the workshop for you!

In this interactive session, team leaders will learn strategies to reinvigorate tired teams, elevate performance, and foster interpersonal cohesion through intentional, consistent practices. Participants will learn activities, formats, and approaches to building an effective annual retreat, align team objectives with the strategic plan, and foster authentic friendships among colleagues on your team.

Hear how Oakwood has utilized a dual fund approach to annual fundraising. While maintaining our traditional Annual Fund campaign, we have also built a philanthropic culture around supporting our annual gala, The Special Event. We will share useful tips on how this singular event has driven significant revenue growth and doubled our endowment in 10 years.

Harvard professor Howard Gardner wrote, “Stories are the single most powerful tool in a leader’s toolkit.” Advancement professionals and Heads of School are tasked with presenting complex advancement data to support mission-driven, data-informed change. Leaders can utilize data storytelling to clarify priorities, create shared understanding, and build a culture of leveraging philanthropy to fuel institutional progress. Effectively pairing data storytelling and data visualization allows for strategic agility and addressing tough questions from the leadership team and board of trustees. Dive into the art of taking the “numb” out of the numbers.

Lee, Tom, Ninette and Katja have each had exciting and robust careers as they juggled balancing family, careers and community life. These nonprofit veterans will offer career-making – and breaking – observations for both candidates and hiring managers. They will describe how they decided to stay put, and how they knew when to leave some of the nation’s cutting-edge organizations. Each will present an exclusive history of how they navigated their careers, reinvented themselves and kept it healthy, lively and fun.

With intensive planning, The Kinkaid School was able to launch the largest capital campaign in the School’s history in October 2021, just 15 months after a new head of school took office in the midst of COVID-19 and societal unrest. Kinkaid’s head of school and chief advancement officer will share lessons learned in communications, board relations, volunteer engagement, and advancement staffing which helped secure $120 million in pledges in only 22 months. This remarkable progress convinced the board to confidently increase the working goal from $125 million to $180 million, a number just $20 million less than the total the community had given in the 115 years before the campaign commenced.