Dear Colleagues-
Howdy! I hope your fall semester is going well and you have gotten past the rush and settled into a routine. Although hard for many of us, I encourage you to take some time for self-care as we move through the next few months. For some that may look like getting more sleep, eating healthier, taking a vacation, exercising, participating in a hobby, or any number of things that rejuvenate you. The work that we do along with the many stresses we are experiencing can be exhausting, and we need to take care of ourselves to stay healthy and productive.
Taking care of yourself can also mean educating yourself. Thank you to the AHEAD staff who continue to develop wonderful programs for our professional development! The inaugural AHEAD Start conference in St. Louis, Missouri in October was a huge success. 120 attendees received top notch training from experts in the field and were able to take that back to their campuses. The AHEAD webinars also continue to be very popular. I encourage you to look at those as they are inexpensive ways to learn more and also great ways to connect with others on your campus by inviting your campus partners to attend https://www.ahead.org/events-programming/webinars.
Speaking of professional development, now is the time to register for the AHEAD Management Institutes! These 2½ day trainings held in early February in Tucson, AZ focus on specific areas and are a great way to learn and develop networks with others in the field. This event has sold out for the last two years! More information is available at https://www.ahead.org/events-programming/conferences/2019-management-institutes .
The AHEAD board fall meeting occurs in early November and will continue to be focused on how we best support and represent our members as well as providing transparency and information to the members. Expect to see information about decisions made that impact the members in the next HUB if not before. Feel free to contact me or any board member if you have suggestions, questions or concerns at any time. The AHEAD board member contact information can be found at https://www.ahead.org/about-ahead/about-overview/board .
In closing, I encourage you again to take care of yourself. I realize that recent political decisions impact many of our members and the AHEAD board is considering our role in supporting our members in the times that we face. Please know that we value you both for what you do and who you are as a person. Good luck with the rest of your semester and know that we support you!
Kristie Orr
AHEAD President