Connecting the network - conferences

For 20 years, between May 1994 and May 2015 I hosted a Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference in Chicago. During the first conference we shared our first printed directory showing volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs operating in Chicago and an ecosystem of researchers, foundations, support groups and others who needed to be working together to make sure well-organized programs were reaching K-12 youth in every high poverty area of Chicago.

In the tags at the left you will find a category for conferences with many posts from past years.  This 2017 post includes a presentation showing the different universities who hosted these conferences. That was part of an effort to build strategic partnerships where universities would use their own student, faculty and alumni talent to help build a pipeline of youth from high poverty areas through college and into jobs and careers. 

Visit this page on the conference website to read the goals.

- Draw leaders, volunteers, and stakeholders from more than 150 agencies together for networking and information sharing.

- Draw business and philanthropy partners into ongoing learning and partnership with tutor/mentor leaders

- Provide a vision for comprehensive, long-term mentoring that leads youth to careers

- Build trust and relationships among stakeholders to generate partnerships and information sharing during the months between each conference.

- Build awareness of online learning and networking resources and motivate a growing number of participants to use these tools for capacity improvement

The May/June Conference was intended to celebrate the work of youth and volunteers during the school year. It is also a time to share best practices, strengthen next year’s programs, and raise public awareness about the need for renewed support in the coming academic year. The work done in May can lead to more successful volunteer-recruitment strategies in August and September and more powerful resource-development strategies in November and December.

The November Conference took place shortly after the start of each school year when programs have recruited and placed students and volunteers. The focus of this conference is on teaching volunteers to be more effective tutors and mentors and fostering the leadership skills necessary to help programs grow. Since this conference is just before the year end holidays, its goal is also to make potential donors more aware of tutor/mentor programs so that when they choose to make a year-end donation, more tutor/mentor programs benefit from these gifts.

The work continues.

While I no longer host the conference I continue to try to draw people to information they can use to support youth and organized, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs during the May and November time frames, and throughout the year.

Visit this page and read e-Learning goals that were first published in the early 2000s. 

Visit this page and see a map showing participants from throughout the country. 

If you're concerned about poverty and inequality in America, or education and workforce development, or social justice, there are actions you can take every day.  I created this list in 2007 and have shared it often since. Here's one article to read.

While we hosted conferences at most Chicago universities and have had interns from many colleges working with us, this has never led to a long-term strategic alliance.  Read this invitation to universities. This is needed more now than ever, because as I grow older finding a new owner for this vision, my websites and my archives, is more important than ever in the past. 

Thank you for reading.  Please connect with me on one, or more social media channels. Find links on this page. 

Finally, if you're able please visit this page and send a small contribution to help me do this work.