Gather your Board and join your colleagues for the 2024 VAIS Heads & Trustees Day. This Virtual ½ day Program features an engaging Keynote, Learning Blocks for you and your team, and fast-paced Lunch & Learn concurrent sessions.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Heads, Board Chairs, Board Members, Business Officers, Advancement Leaders

HOW WILL WE LEARN?
This virtual event is designed to meet the varied needs of school leaders and trustees.

KEYNOTE
The Threat of Analog Governance in an AI World: Creativity and Strategy for Today’s Boards
Andre’ Withers, Partner, Consultant Coach, Educators Collaborative, LLC
Independent school boards are responsible for ensuring that the institution fulfills its mission and uses its resources wisely. Paradoxically, we are doing so in a world where we’re not simply fulfilling mission and directing resources but instead fending off threats in all sectors and adapting to forces that are ever-changing. It means that Boards can no longer remain insular and analog. They must rethink their governance posture in order to navigate educational, societal, and global headwinds. This interactive session will provide new ideas, useful data, and encouragement to look at resources, safety, and governance in innovative ways. 

SCHEDULE

REGISTRATION:
Please register only ONE person from your school who will distribute all the information and access to your staff. Registration deadline is Monday, April 29, 2024.

André Withers: Originally from Indiana, Withers has been in independent schools for over 25 years. His initial foray into the world of independent schools was as a Middle School teacher and Advisor in Indianapolis. As opportunities arose, Withers was able to also find his first administrative role as Director of Diversity. Soon after, and with much success, was appointed Director of Middle School. Concurrent to the work at those two schools, André was invited to serve on the board of ISACS (Independent Schools Association of the Central States) where he chaired the Equity Committee and was a member of multiple accreditation teams. That valuable work also led to additional service with NAIS. Withers was a faculty member of the Summer Diversity Institute and subsequently worked as the director of that professional development opportunity for three years. In 2004, Withers and his family landed in Washington, DC. While working in senior leadership there, he served a term on the Board of AIMS (Association of Independent Maryland Schools) while also being a sought-after presenter nationally and internationally.

Palmer  Ball is the Interim CFO at Ashley Hall in Charleston, SC. Prior to that, she was the Assistant to the Head for Finance at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Greenville, SC and served as Business Manager at Spartanburg Day for 21 years. Palmer taught the school finance class at Klingenstein (Columbia University) with NBOA and is the ED of PAIS, representing independent schools in SC. She also consults with independent school financial operations.Palmer received NBOA’s prestigious Ken White Award, served two terms on NBOA’s Board of Directors, and was elected to ABOIS. She has served on the faculty of NBOA’s Business Officer Institute multiple times, served as a faculty mentor for NBOA’s 2021-22 and 2022-23 Leadership Academy with Vanderbilt University, and has given numerous presentations at national and regional conferences.

Chris Joffe is the founder and CEO of Joffe Emergency Services. Chris has spent his career dedicated to making communities safer, and over the past decade, he and his team have worked with thousands of schools across the country to provide training, consultation, and support. Chris studied Paramedicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and technology, business, and integrated design at the University of Southern California (USC).  His book, titled “All Clear: Lessons from a Decade Managing School Crises”, was published in November 2023.

Learn concurrent sessions.

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