This August, staff across the ASAS network came together for the 2026 Virtual Strategy Series, generously funded by the New York Life Foundation.
Across three tracks, HR, Operations, and Development, staff explored topics ranging from federal and state policy and fundraising to leadership, compliance, program quality, and continuous improvement.
We heard from experts and brought different perspectives to the table. Jan Brown of the New York Life Foundation, Wesley Barden of the Motorola Foundation, and Jessica Gunderson of Partnership for Children and Youth joined us for engaging panel discussions covering topics like funder strategy and policy updates.
And we looked at the bigger picture, too. During the State of the Network, CEO Ben Paul highlighted the students and families at the heart of our work, shared data demonstrating ASAS’s impact, and spotlighted our national reach, key activations, donor engagement, and what’s ahead for the network.
The goal was simple: give staff new ideas, tools, and perspectives they can bring back to their work.
We’re grateful to the New York Life Foundation for investing in the people behind our mission and making this professional development series possible.
Thank you to everyone who showed up ready to learn, participate, and share, and to our Strategy Series planning committee: Andrea Bazán, Alicia Russell, Megan Donahue, Connie Tam, and Joe Gallardo.