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Dear National Society for Experiential Education Annual Conference Attendees: Welcome to historic Savannah, Georgia for this year's annual NSEE conference! We are excited to meet and share experiences with fellow educators, practitioners, partners and leaders who use scholarship and innovation to advance the theory and practice of experiential education. Our conference theme of Sailing Our Ships Forward: Engaging in Leadership, Partnerships and Scholarship in Experiential Education is sure to be engaging and applicable to common issues we face within our respective organizations. We will explore the topics of scholarship, leadership and partnerships in experiential education, where we will find vision, connections, strategy, and effective practices for innovative student-focused initiatives in an ever-changing world. When we pursue high-impact scholarly work, build partnerships within our academic and local communities, and engage in leadership development, we can provide students with concrete and authentic learning experiences. We have developed an informative and exciting agenda this year that leads us into the future of experiential education. In line with the conference theme, we have an exciting keynote speaker, Mr. Imran Khan, CEO & Co-Founder, Embarc. Mr. Khan will focus his discussion on the structural oppression that has worked to diminish the intrinsic motivation and skills of students. Imran is re-invigorating it through experiential development. The goal is to tackle the isolation and segregation facilitated by the public-school system and to break down the walls that separate the classroom from the city. Embarc’s work is showing that this isolation is one of the key facts in the achievement gap and that experiences are fundamental to educational success for low income students. We will again host our popular TEDx Talk-style Innovators’ Panel. This panel is comprised of three leaders in education who are actively engaging students in innovative ways other campuses and organizations may have not yet considered. Audience engagement will be a high priority during this portion of the conference. Further, we have a full schedule of 50+ sessions that address the depth and range of our theme, our 90-minute sessions that explore and engage, and numerous 30-minute roundtables for members and conference attendees who want quick tips and insight around the topics of experiential learning foundations, best practices, institutional implementation, digital wellness, faculty development, service learning, building innovative partnerships, student inclusivity, and leadership development. There will also be many opportunities for professional networking and NSEE involvement opportunities throughout the conference. The NSEE Conference Planning Committee have been hard at work to help new members and returners actively engage with NSEE through planning Tuesday night dinner locations, tours, creating points of connection with current NSEE Board members, and developing an interactive “Welcome to NSEE” session on Monday afternoon to kick off the conference. Lastly, please connect with us at the NSEE conference registration table. We would love to meet you and learn more about your professional development pursuits in the world of experiential education. Enjoy the conference! Sincerely, Dr. Quantella Noto Erica Ely |
