| August/September 2001 | Online Publication |
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The conference was a most productive and enriching experience that, hopefully, will enable us to serve WASFAA more effectively in our term of service to the association. |
Review of 2001 NASFAA Leadership Conference...  This year's annual NASFAA Leadership Conference took
place at the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, Virginia from
March 4-6, 2001. The purpose of the Leadership Conference
is to provide the opportunity to develop vital leadership
skills in current regional and state association leaders,
individuals about to assume leadership positions, and new
members of the NASFAA Board of Directors. This year
WASFAA sent four individuals to the NASFAA Leadership
Conference: Catherine King-Todd of Thunderbird - The
American Graduate School of International Management in
Arizona, WASFAA President-Elect; Steve Herndon of
California State University-Bakersfield, WASFAA Treasurer;
Jannine Oyama of Honolulu Community College in Hawaii,
WASFAA Elected Rep-at-Large and Ethnic Diversity
Action Committee Chair; and Pat Peppin of Glendale
Community College in Arizona, WASFAA/NASFAA
Leadership Scholarship Recipient.Pam Fowler, Director of Financial Aid at the University of Michigan, served as the chair of the NASFAA Leadership Development and Professional Advancement Committee this year. She worked with her committee and the NASFAA staff on the materials and a truly outstanding agenda for the conference. In developing the agenda, Pam's committee took into consideration feedback from past conference participants in an effort to further enrich the conference curriculum. This method of feedback and assessment has allowed the conference to continue to improve each year with more substantive agendas and the high quality of speakers/presenters, most of whom are practicing aid administrators. The following summaries offer our best effort to share an overview each session provided at this year's outstanding NASFAA Leadership Conference program. Smart Leadership Or, Tools to Avoid the "Ten Stupid Things" Leaders Do Presented by: Dr. Pamela Wiegardt, Peak Performance Trainer, Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles During this session, Pam shared with us that if "Dr. Laura" were an organizational consultant, she might write a book addressing the self-sabotaging behaviors of leaders. The session was not intended to provide a comprehensive "toolkit" for management, but rather to identify various tools for effective leadership. It emphasized leadership behaviors that significantly impact productivity, and offered hands-on ideas for enriching the work environment in your organization whether at the state, regional, or national level. Pam made a distinction between "managers" and "leaders." Effective leaders usually accomplish the following: 1) assume leadership, i.e. the leader innovates and initiates, the manager maintains the status quo; 2) articulate a vision - motivation diminishes when a vision is not articulated/ communicated; 3) translate a vision into concrete, measurable goals; 4) embrace change - attitude is a choice; 5) mediate conflict; 6) cultivate followers; 7) advocate learned optimism; 8) delegate; 9) recognize good work; and 10) facilitate a positive Pygmalion, i.e. expectations create reality and what we see depends mainly on what we look for. The closing remark was "Leadership is inside out." This session proved to be a terrific kick-off to the Leadership Conference. Financial and Management Issues for State and Regional Associations Presented by: David Cecil, Director of Financial Aid, Transylvania University and David Myette, Director of Financial Aid, Champlain College  Leaders obviously need to be aware of various legal, financial,
and management issues that impact a professional association.
This session, conducted by two former regional association
treasurers and presidents, was extremely useful and
provided a great deal of helpful "nuts and bolts" information
about the proper way to run a professional organization. It
included discussion of record keeping, contracts, tax-exempt
status, bonding, and personal versus organizational liability.
We have shared a great deal of this information with the WASFAA
Executive Council, so that those who did not attend the
Leadership Conference are cognizant of these issues and the
importance of them.Washington by Night Tour Sponsored by Citibank This evening session was sponsored through the generosity of Citibank and provided a wonderful opportunity for conference participants to view the sites of Washington, D.C. by tour bus at night. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable of the local area and most entertaining, and in spite of some rainy weather, allowed us to make several stops along the way to get a closer look at some of the monuments and other key points of interest in the Washington area. NASFAA Resources for States and Regions Presented by: Pam Fowler; Roland Zizer, Associate Director of Communication, NASFAA; and Connie McCormick, Director of Training and Technical Assistance, NASFAA. The session began with a thorough overview of the NASFAA Leadership Manual, a copy of which was provided to each conference participant at the time of registration. The manual was produced by the NASFAA staff and is intended to provide conference participants with a number of valuable resources to assist them during their elected term of office. The manual contains a wealth of information concerning planning and organizing; establishing goals and objectives; building a winning team; planning and conducting meetings; legal, accounting and financial management issues; professional development and training; external relations; communications; coordination; legislative advocacy; conducting research; a roster of the NASFAA Board of Directors; a guide to NASFAA staff and staff internet addresses; a listing of regional association Presidents and Presidents-elect; a listing of state association Presidents; a higher education associations directory; and a conference planning handbook. In addition to this extensive overview, other resources on the NASFAA web site, www.nasfaa.org, were identified that will provide assistance to us in our respective leadership roles. A discussion of other resources, including training materials for high school counselors, CORE training materials, decentralized training options for regions and states, and web-based training was also included in the session. In addition, conference participants had the opportunity to ask questions of various members of the NASFAA staff who were present. Planning Your Year and Being an Effective Leader Presented by: Zita Barree, Director of Financial Aid, J. Sargent Reynolds Community College; Phyllis Hooyman, Director of Financial Aid, Hope College; Linda Neel, Director of Financial Aid, New Mexico Junior College; and Joan Zanders, Director of Financial Aid, Northeast Community College and 2002 Leadership Development Chair. This session addressed the important aspect of planning your term as a leader in your association and was conducted by an excellent group of financial aid resource colleagues who have served as both regional and state presidents. Discussion items included how to recruit, retain, and motivate volunteers; appropriate policies and procedures for your association; necessary activities during your term in office; the role of mentoring in leadership development; conflict resolution; diversity; and ethics in our professional associations. A question and answer session followed the superb panel presentation, and conference participants were encouraged to share their own experiences as well. Regional and State Exchange of Ideas and Issues Presented by: Crusie Lucero, Director of Financial Aid, Northeast State Technical Community College and NASFAA National Chair-Elect; and Rachael Lohman,Director of Financial Aid, Wilkes University and NASFAA National Chair. This session consisted of small group discussions of ideas and issues facing state and regional leaders. Groups were organized on the basis of conference participant leadership responsibility, i.e. President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Ethnic Diversity Chair, Training Committee Chair, etc. The moderators suggested some generic discussion topics, but the session was open to any topic the groups wanted to discuss. Participants were encouraged to come to the session with some specific topic ideas in mind. Each group was asked to appoint a recorder who reported on the results of the discussions when the groups reassembled. This process resulted in an excellent cross-regional exchange of ideas and much "food for thought" when participants begin their responsibilities as leaders in their respective state and regional associations. Legislative Advocacy: Communicating the Issues and Organizing for Your Hill Visits Presented by: Dallas Martin, President, NASFAA; Marty Guthrie, Director of Governmental Affairs, NASFAA; Larry Zaglaniczny, Director of Congressional Relations, NASFAA; and Ken Redd, Director of Research and Policy Analysis, NASFAA.  This session included an update on current student aid
issues; the status of student aid related legislation, and information
on the expected legislative initiatives of the new Congress and the new Administration. Ways to effectively
demonstrate the student aid related needs of students and
institutions to Congress and the various administrative
agencies were also discussed. In addition, the NASFAA staff
panel did an excellent job of relating the practicalities of our
Capitol Hill visits planned for the next morning, including
how to get where we were going via the Metro rapid transit
system and what to expect once we arrived on Capitol Hill.We all know that many members of Congress and their staffs do not have specific knowledge about the federal student aid programs and the process students and their families must follow to receive federal assistance. Consequently, a highlight of the session in preparation for our Capitol Hill visits, was an in-depth review provided by Ken Redd of a recent NASFAA publication titled "Federal Student Financial Aid: A National Profile of Programs in Title IV of the Higher Education Act". The National Profile provides detailed information about each of the programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, including: 1) descriptions of the federal student aid programs; 2) recent trends in federal program appropriations; 3) income levels of students and families who receive aid; and 4) number of award recipients and average awards by state. Open House Reception at NASFAA 1129 20th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC The reception provided conference participants the opportunity to visit and tour the NASFAA office, to mingle and become better acquainted with one another, and to meet members of the NASFAA staff. The NASFAA staff was most gracious in hosting the reception after work hours (is there such a thing for financial aid administrators?) and in allowing us to tour the organization's facility. Getting to the reception also allowed many of the conference participants their first opportunity to experience the Metro system, which was the likely means of transportation for our Capitol Hill visits the next morning. All members are welcome to visit the NASFAA office when in the Washington, DC area, and we would encourage you to do so and see close up what the national association is doing. Hill Visits This year's Leadership Conference included a block of time set aside for participants to meet with their respective representatives in Congress on Capitol Hill. As newly elected leaders of our state or regional associations, the NASFAA staff strongly encouraged us to take advantage of this time to meet with our Representative and/or Senators (or their staff) as a first step in establishing and maintaining these important relationships. In preparation for our visits, we were provided with some helpful tips about deciding whom to visit, setting up our visits, and preparing for our visits. To supplement these tips, and in addition to the NASFAA Federal Student Financial Aid publication previously discussed, we were provided with several other useful pieces of information including a NASFAA Leadership Conference funding and tax issue list, background information pertaining to a call to eliminate student loan origination fees, and a laundry list of funding proposals for FY 2002 endorsed by the Student Aid Alliance to be considered by Congress and the President. Many of the congressional leaders and staff with whom the Leadership Conference participants met indicated their appreciation for this information/materials and our visits. The Capitol Hill visits provided an extraordinary opportunity to meet and converse with our representatives in Congress (or their staff) in their respective office settings, to tour our nation's magnificent Capitol Building, and to observe first hand our federal government in action by observing on-going sessions from the House and Senate galleries. All in all, it was an extremely enlightening and memorable opportunity and experience that will stay with most of us for the rest of our lives. Where Do We Go From Here, Closing Remarks, and Graduation This final session was provided to share our experiences on Capitol Hill with the NASFAA staff, to hear some inspirational closing remarks concerning our conference experience and our term of office with our association that lies ahead, and to participate in a brief graduation ceremony. In summary, we wish to thank the WASFAA membership for the opportunity to attend this year's NASFAA Leadership Conference. The conference was a most productive and enriching experience that, hopefully, will enable us to serve WASFAA more effectively in our term of service to the association. The conference provided us with excellent instruction and direction from a superb group of presenters/speakers, and the opportunity to network with financial aid professionals from throughout the country. It is an experience that we would strongly recommend to all that are considering a leadership role in their regional or state association. |
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