Accessible Organizations - Creating Radically Inclusive Spaces (Room KC 2201)

Presenter:  Bex Takacs-Britz
1 in 4 Americans have a disability, and yet many organizations struggle to fully include our disabled neighbors within our work- including student organizations. Disability access is just one facet of creating an accessible and inclusive community experience, but it is an area where even a few minutes of forethought can create lasting, impactful, and meaningful change in our operations. From accessible meetings to inclusive volunteering experiences, there are opportunities for organizations of all sizes to improve the way they function for everyone. 

Come join Bex, a disabled, queer nonprofit professional, for some tips and tricks you can immediately implement in your work to help create more vibrant, inclusive communities in a quest to go from ADA-compliant to ADA-friendly.

Leading with a Growth Mindset: Learning from and Embracing Failure (Room KC 2215/2216)

Presenter:  Hayley Wilson
This session will define what a fixed mindset and growth mindset are and discusses how a growth mindset equips leaders to face problems head-on and to seek learning and growth rather than perfectionism.

Leading the War Against Waste (Room KC 2259)

Presenter:  Sydney Gandolfi & Elise Eurich
In an era of environmental challenges, effective leadership in recycling is critical when it comes to driving sustainable change. This presentation explores the important roles of leaders in transforming recycling attitudes, cultivating community engagement, and advancing waste reduction initiatives. Drawing from practical experiences and innovative strategies, this presentation highlights the importance of collaboration and efficiency. This session will discuss leadership approaches that inspire behavioral change, data informed decision making, and where to even begin with an issue so gargantuan. This presentation will provide a roadmap to inspire change within the attendees' organizations and communities.

Lead to Succeed: Strategies to Effective Organizational Leadership (Room KC 2263)

Presenter:  Bridie Tolley
Being a student leader is a great way to grow while helping others succeed. In this session, the Campus Activities Board President will share how she has led and grown a large campus organization. She'll give simple tips on how to build a strong team, communicate well, and create a positive, inclusive environment.

You'll learn how to recruit and keep motivated members, delegate tasks effectively, and plan events that really make an impact. She'll also share ways to use tools like social media and email marketing to engage members and attract new ones. Finally, different tactics for collaboration and idea generation will be shared.

This session is perfect for anyone who wants to grow as a leader and help their team succeed!

How to Give and Receive Feedback Without Crying (Room KC 2266)

Presenter:  Leah Erben
Feedback is an essential part of personal, professional, and team growth. Learn the basics of delivering radically candid feedback, receiving feedback without letting it threaten your identity, and what to do if someone gives you terrible feedback that makes you want to cry.

It's Giving Gratitude (Room KC 2270)

Presenter:  Dana Krol
Gratitude. We have probably all heard about it by now…but what is it exactly? Why is it good for us? Is it really that good for us? How do we practice it? What keeps us from practicing gratitude? And why is all this important to leaders? This session will explore all those questions and dive into the nitty gritty of gratitude. We will talk about ways you can incorporate gratitude into your daily life and use it to strengthen your leadership. Come for a fun session discussing gratitude and leave with ideas to up your wellness and your leadership style!

QPR: Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training (Room KC 2215/2216)

Presenter:  Melissa Selby-Theut
In the United States, a person completes suicide every 11 minutes, and suicide remains the 2nd leading cause of death among college students. The QPR program dispels common misconceptions about suicide, helps students recognize the warning signs of suicide, and empowers students to save lives using the nationally-recognized QPR method of suicide prevention. It also allows students to examine the issue of suicide from both a social and cultural perspective while considering their own role in preventing suicide. All attendees become certified suicide prevention gatekeepers. QPR training is one of the most important ways students can serve as leaders within a campus community.

The Student-Led Classroom: Training Grounds for Democratic Leadership (Room KC 2259)

Presenter: Quinn Harr, Mia Ellis, Olyvia Kovicak, Eliza Mansour, and Nova Stame
Learning is often conceptualized in terms of individual values, goals, and development, yet core academic values are also collective in nature. Take academia's emphasis on making evidence accessible in one's reasoning and writing. Making evidence accessible relates to the democratic principle of equality, which holds that everyone should be able to take part in decisions that affect them. In an authoritarian regime that prioritizes blind obedience, evidence need not be accessible at all. Yet academic values promote our ability to engage in collective deliberation, a cornerstone of democratic citizenship. Or at least in theory they do. In practice, students often present their evidence, via assignments, primarily to instructors, who mark their work for flaws in understanding. This punitive system can lead students to try to obscure what they do not know, and to write things they do not understand. Here the education system serves to reinforce authoritarian structures. But this unfortunate outcome can be undone. Students can be instructed via their assignments to teach their peers both inside and outside the classroom the course material. And instructors can position their review of students' material as helping to prepare students to engage as effectively as possible in this democratic, student-teaching process.

Leading with Purpose: Building a Legacy Through Visionary Action (Room KC 2263)

Presenter:  Thalia Guerra-Flores and Anna Miller
As student leaders, the actions you take today shape not only the present but also the future of your organization. In this session, we will explore the powerful connection between visionary leadership and purpose-driven action. Through interactive discussions and a hands-on activity, you will reflect on your organization's current practices and efforts, evaluating whether they align with your overall goals.

This workshop will help you understand how to lead with purpose, not just by managing tasks, but by fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and shared goals. You'll gain insight into how visionary leadership can rally your peers, build strong teams, and overcome challenges that come with leading a student organization.

A key focus of this workshop is helping you think beyond the immediate goals and plan for the long-term sustainability and impact of your organization. How can you create systems and initiatives that will continue to thrive, inspire, and serve future students? Participants will engage in creating a legacy to empower future leaders to continue the work you've started.

Leading with Purpose: Discover Your Leadership Potential for Career Success (Room KC 2266)

Presenter:  Molly Landa
Effective leadership is not a one-size-fits-all concept because individual personalities, strengths, and communication styles shape it. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) offers a valuable framework for understanding these differences, helping students identify their leadership styles and enhance their leadership potential. In this session, participants will explore how their personality type influences their leadership approach, decision-making, and interpersonal dynamics. By examining the 16 MBTI personality types, students will gain insights into how different traits impact leadership effectiveness, from team management to conflict resolution.

Through a combination of self-assessment, group discussions, and real-world scenarios, students will reflect on their MBTI results, identify how their personality type shapes their leadership style, and develop strategies for improving their leadership skills. This session will equip students with practical tools to understand themselves and others as leaders, encouraging more effective leadership in academic, professional, and team environments.

How to Have the Confidence to Lead and the Willingness to Fail (Room KC 2270)

Presenter:  Aisha Jones
Being able to lead people takes more than knowing what words to say and having a commanding presence. It requires a deep understanding of individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as the ability to inspire and motivate others towards a common goal. When you believe in yourself and your abilities, it encourages others to have faith in you too. Confidence allows you to make tough decisions, take risks, and lead with conviction. It also helps you handle challenges and setbacks with resilience. Confidence is key to gaining the trust and respect of your team, which is crucial for effective leadership.

To grow as a leader, it's important to have a growth mindset. It allows them to continuously learn, adapt, and improve. With a growth mindset, leaders believe that their abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort and learning. This mindset fosters a sense of curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to embrace challenges. Leaders with a growth mindset are open to feedback, view failures as opportunities for growth, and encourage their team members to do the same. It creates a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, which is essential for effective leadership.

Breaking Barriers: Strategies for Creating Accessible Student Organizations for Students with Disabilities (Room KC 2201)

Presenter:  Jayne Fraley-Burgett andTaylor Dorsey
Student organizations should be inclusive spaces that welcome and empower all students. Many times students with disabilities will encounter barriers that will exclude them from joining student organizations. This session will provide student leaders with actionable insights and hands-on tools for making their student organizations more inclusive and accessible to students with disabilities. Participants will be able to engage with comprehensive strategies that go beyond physical accommodations, exploring holistic approaches to accessibility that encompass communication, digital platforms, event planning, and leadership recruitment.

Servant Leadership in Action: Insights from William Robertson and Beyond (Room KC 2215/2216)

Presenter:  Albert Okwei
This presentation explores the concept of servant leadership through the inspiring example of William Robertson, former Director of the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services. Known for his hands-on approach and community-focused style, Robertson's career provides a compelling case study of servant leadership in action. The session will introduce participants to key principles of servant leadership, including empathy, stewardship, and community engagement, while drawing parallels to other global leaders who embody this philosophy. Attendees will gain actionable strategies to apply servant leadership principles in their academic, personal, and professional lives, fostering ethical, inclusive, and results-oriented leadership.

Stronger Together: Mastering Collaboration Leadership in Student Organizations (Room KC 2263)

Presenter:  Elijah Fosu
Collaboration is the cornerstone of thriving student organizations. Effective collaboration between organizations can maximize resources, amplify impact, and foster a more inclusive campus community. In this interactive session, we'll explore the principles of collaboration leadership - focusing on how student leaders can initiate, manage, and sustain successful partnerships across different groups. Participants will learn practical strategies to identify collaboration opportunities, communicate effectively, and resolve conflicts that arise during joint efforts.

Through real-life case studies and a hands-on simulation activity, attendees will gain insight into overcoming common challenges like miscommunication and differing priorities. Whether you're looking to co-host events, share resources, or launch joint initiatives, this session will provide you with actionable tools to enhance your collaborative leadership skills and ensure that your student organization is truly stronger together.

Using International Experiences to Foster Compassion and Cultural Competence in Leadership (Room KC 2266)

Presenter:  Claire Lynch, Sydney Bunk, and Bill Muchero
In an increasingly interconnected world, leadership demands cultural competence and compassion. This presentation will explore how international experiences can foster empathy, transform perspectives, and create connections that guide influential leadership. The presenters will discuss how to navigate cultural differences and apply these skills to academic, professional, and personal contexts, by drawing upon their varied international experiences. To engage participants the presenters will facilitate a cross-cultural simulation emphasizing cultural humility. Following the simulation activity participants will engage in a reflective discussion. Join these three presenters to uncover how stepping beyond borders - both literal and metaphorical - can prepare leaders to meet the growing demands of a globalized world through communication, empathy, competence, and humility.

Conflict Unpacked: Navigating the Thomas-Kilmann Model (Room KC 2270)

Presenter:  Abby Sachs
Conflict is an inevitable part of our personal, academic, and professional lives, but how we handle it can greatly impact relationships and outcomes. In this presentation, we will explore the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI), a widely used framework for understanding different conflict styles. The TKI model identifies five key modes of managing conflict: Competing, Collaborating, Compromising, Avoiding, and Accommodating. Each style reflects a different approach to balancing assertiveness and cooperation in resolving disagreements.

This session will help you identify your natural conflict style and understand how it can either help or hinder conflict resolution. We will also discuss strategies for adapting your approach depending on the situation, enabling you to improve communication, minimize misunderstandings, and find mutually beneficial solutions. Whether you're navigating group projects, roommate tensions, or workplace disagreements, this session will equip you with the tools to understand and manage conflict effectively, building stronger relationships and a healthier, more productive environment.

Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy:  Self-Reflection #4 (Room KC 2204 - Pere Marquette)

Presenter:  Christine Mutch
Join Christine Mutch, CLA Program Manager, for an abbreviated Self-Reflection, including time for cohort connection, CLA feedback, and space to dig into applying today’s leadership lessons.

*Please note, this session is only open to current CLA students.*