On the latest episode of the A100, co-hosts Colleen Gallagher and Meghan Henning are joined by Jill Cook, CAE, Executive Director and Eric Sparks, Ed.D., CAE, Deputy Executive Director, from the American School Counselor Association to discuss all things member engagement and what they are doing to meet the evolving needs of their members. 

Jill and Eric discuss their use of traditional member engagement methods, such as committees, focus groups, and an annual event–but like all associations–they knew they had to find new ways to keep their members engaged on an ongoing basis. To do this they began providing more resources online and repurposing content from their annual conferences for webinars and other resource materials. And they hold two large virtual events in addition to the annual conference, which increases accessibility, bringing more information to even more members. They talk about how providing these resources in so many ways has really made a difference in terms of member engagement.

They discuss how their newish affinity groups continue to grow by participation and by topic as the issues confronting school counselors grows. The affinity groups allow members to come together on a particular topic they are passionate about and provide professional resources, networking, and best practices.  

Jill and Eric also discuss ASCA’s national model and its contributions to professional advancement, and they share their expectations for what they can offer their membership this year, as well as their goals for the future. 

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