NSP’s 2008 Annual Leadership Summit

NSP’s 2008 Annual Leadership Summit, held February 8-10 in Washington, DC, was a huge!  This year over 250 students, alumni, community partners, clients, supporters, and special guests came together to share insights, challenges, and best practices as they pursue NSP’s mission. Attendees also had the opportunity to hear remarks from such inspiring keynote speakers as General Colin Powell; Alan Khazei, CEO of Be the Change; and Dean Furbush, President of College Summit.

Throughout the Annual Leadership Summit, attendees had the opportunity to participate in nearly twenty workshops led by experienced professionals.  They honed client service skills, including working with clients who were formerly incarcerated, accessing health care services, bridging the technology gap, and many other topics.  Volunteers also attended workshops focused on fundraising, communication, and program development. This year, NSP was honored to host two clients from the Baltimore and Washington DC Local Offices. The clients participated in a panel “speak out” that was deeply moving and inspirational. 

On Saturday night Janelle Rae, Meg Newman, and Elena Boyd were honored with NSP’s Legacy of Service Award for their longstanding help in founding the organization and commitment to NSP’s mission.  NSP also honored Ellen Shachter of Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services as the 2008 Community Partner of the Year.  Blair Schwab and Chris Svendsen from NSP-Evanston were recognized as NSP’s Local Directors of the Year.  The Outstanding Volunteer of the Year award was given to Patricia Perez from NSP-Bronx.

NSP’s Closing Feature Panel, inspired by the CIRCLE (Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) report, explored student motivations for service and methods for engaging in social change. NSP was joined by Adrian Talbott, Co-Founder and Executive Director of GenerationEngage; Trish Tchume, Community Outreach Manager for Idealist.org/Action without Borders; Abby Kiesa, Youth Coordinator for CIRCLE;  and Bill Tiefenwerth, Director of the Center for Social Concern at Johns Hopkins University for a lively panel discussion. 

The NSP 2008 Annual Leadership Summit was made possible thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, especially the commitment of the ECMC Foundation.  The Summit was also sponsored by Powers, Pyles, Sutter, and Verville LLC; SouthWest Airlines; McCormick Tribune Foundation; Verizon; and Global Printing.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Washington, DC this year!  We are excited about the next year’s 10th Anniversary Summit and we hope to see you there!