This past school year of learning with current and future executive directors across the nation has been a great experience for my growth as a leader! Without going into a lot of detail on the specific activities and processes, I was able to meet multiple times throughout the year with education and industry professional on various leadership topics that you don’t get in your formal education training. The conversations focused around real-world scenarios and topics that only experience can truly provide.

In September, the group was able to join other education leaders in Washington D.C. to visit elected officials and their staff to talk through the great things, and some of the concerns, that we are happening in the state of Texas. Feeling heard and having a voice to share on behalf of the schools and their students was pretty powerful!

Then in March, I was blessed to be able to spend an entire one-week residence at an ESA (ESC in Texas) in Wisconsin. Shadowing the executive director and meeting with leadership of each individual program throughout the week gave me a great insight into how others work within their state. I brought back a lot of ideas to share with our team and was proud to share some of the great things we are doing here at ESC Region 11.

The final meeting took place at the Summer Leadership Conference where I not only was recognized for my participation in the cohort, but I was also selected to present a session to the entire attending body versus a breakout with only a select few. I felt honored to be part of such a great group of educators and will learn back on this experience as my careers continues to grow and move forward.