NLASA attends the Upswell Conference in Dallas

Eighteen Nonprofit Leadership Alliance StudentAssociation (NLASA) Sun Devils rocked Dallas, Texas, Nov. 14 - 17 as they traveled to the Upswell Conference powered by the
Independent Sector. Earning their stripes, the students fundraised over $37,000 in 15 weeks, soliciting 44 years of ASU nonprofit alums, faculty, staff and community supporters. The conference is a crucial step toward earning their Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) Certificate from the national Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, making them 7 times more likely to rise to executive leadership based on career data.

The Upswell conference engaged our students’ minds, centering around relevant topics like
empowering diverse voices in the nonprofit sector, innovating current frameworks of engaging with
populations and developing collaborations across sectors. Our group divided and engaged in the conference, attending multiple sessions across topics like Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), the power of coalition building, developing trust within priority communities and how to be a compassionate leader.

Being the mightiest early careerists present, our ASU affiliation afforded us the opportunity for an
exclusive meeting with the CEO and President of the Independent Sector, Dr. Akilah Watkins, who
discussed her reflective process as a leader, how she combats imposter syndrome and how she approaches making her impact on the world. Our students were visibly impressed and refreshed by Dr. Watkins’ ability to be authentic, willingness to connect and clear passion to inspire. It is now an honor to consider Dr. Watkins a lodestar in our NLASA and School of Community Resources and Development (SCRD) community.

At its core, this experience was a crucible for learning, networking and finding one's voice as a
leader. A goal of the NLASA is to develop the next generation of social leaders, and opportunities like this are pivotal in showing people the diversity that exists in leadership. Upswell reinforced the importance of representation in leadership. Impactful and influential leaders have no set of universal attributes. Leaders can look like anyone and come from anywhere, and when we see parts of ourselves represented in a leader we can look up to, we can finally believe in our potential.
The nonprofit sector is resilient and will continue to need principled innovators to keep it that
way and grow its capacity to do good. At SCRD and in the NLASA, we train students to be proud to
answer that call to action, making their mark on industries that span from health to childcare to music.

Experiences like Upswell are only a small part of how we continue to grow as students and individuals within one of the strongest undergraduate nonprofit programs. This sets us apart. We are the future leaders, we are the current leaders and we are ready to lead our communities!