IECA Regional & Affinity Groups Provide Opportunity for Sharing, Learning, and Connecting

June 2, 2010 | no comments

by Mark H. Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

It has been a year since the Independent Educational Consultants Association announced a new initiative to allow members with shared interests to form “Affinity Groups” and in that year many such groups have taken off. Consultants that do international placements and those specializing in graduate school are forming Affinity Groups with the former meeting via Skype and the latter just getting underway.

Other Affinity Groups already meeting deal with technology (myCCA and Naviance users), shared concerns (therapeutic support for families with limited resources: ‘Under the Radar’; and GLBT issues: “Over the Rainbow’; or most experienced members: ‘Mad Hatters’). Additionally, consultants looking to meet regionally for sharing or education have begun forming groups as well, like the New Jersey Consultants Affinity Group.

Such regional groups provide a wonderful opportunity for members to work cooperatively in a community and I’m excited by the potential. We have been approached by a number of colleges, schools, and programs that would like to increase their opportunities to connect with IECA members as they travel across the country. We hosted such a meeting for DC-area consultants at the IECA office many weeks back and I was approached by a group of college regional representatives while attending a regional ACAC who want to add regular visits with groups of consultants as they travel throughout the East Coast.

I suspect we’ll soon hear from other organizations, from SSAT to ACT to Best Notes, who would welcome opportunities to meet with members when their representatives visit a community.

Affinity Groups serve to benefit members in a number of ways. As IECA’s membership grows, such groups permit members to meet in smaller, collegial groups, maintaining the sense of community that we all appreciate. Affinity Groups may also be able to advise IECA about educational topics, potential speakers, and new initiatives.

Meeting last month, the IECA Board of Directors voted to establish a Task Force to examine the legal, financial, and governance issue surrounding the expansion of Affinity Groups. As we await their advice, we continue to expand. We invite every member to join an Affinity Group or start their own regional ‘study group.’ The potential to assist members in learning and sharing is enormous and it aids in our outreach to the educational community.

If you wish to start a group, contact IECA Member Services Manager Janice Berger at janice@IECAonline.com. More information on IECA’s Affinity Groups is available to download from the IECA Web site.