by Mark H. Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

Yesterday, I was able to spend several hours in Los Angeles with some of IECA’s local members. In all, 27 members took part in our gathering—a wonderful number by any standard, but almost remarkable in the short notice we provided. More remarkable still is that they gathered not to hear an expert on educational testing or a panel of admission directors, but rather to hear me talk about the state of the educational consulting profession, trends as I see them, and then to share their questions, thoughts, and hopes for the field and the association.

Most in the room were surprised to learn of two major, critical studies announced in the last year that readers of this blog may recall: a major survey demonstrated that 26% of high achieving students use educational consultants in their college search; and the second was the recently released study by Harvard on what they called the “aspiring profession” of educational consulting that identified IECA’s leadership over and over again. That so few of our members knew of these studies (let alone their potential significance) was a reminder that we must rely on traditional forms of communication as well as new media.

More importantly was the genuine enthusiasm in the room about the importance of these studies and ideas for ensuring that the college community understands the significant and important role IECA plays. Many seemed ready to assist in our outreach efforts.

Of course we also discussed the ups and downs of boarding school and therapeutic program advising and how the economic downturn has had a major impact, particularly on the latter. I shared my view that the days when nearly 100% of students in special needs programs came from IECA client referrals were likely gone but, like boarding schools, programs will discover that consultant referrals may be the difference between a program being 2/3 full or completely full (perhaps the difference between a program closing its doors, or not). More significantly, many programs freely admit that the students sent by consultants (as opposed to the Web) are a better match for their program.

I was rightly asked if we made any changes to the conference program based on the survey of consultants and program reps. When I mentioned many of the changes were implemented (we accepted all recommendations but one), there was genuine satisfaction that IECA was responding to attendees. I also noted one frustration from members that we’d like to help change. In recent years special needs programs have been sending MARKETING representatives to conferences. Overwhelmingly IECA members tell us they want counselors and therapists to attend, rather than marketers.

I was asked about the movie “In 500 Words.” We not only plan to show the film at our Fall Conference, but the creators will actually be on site to lead a discussion. Over 200 registrants have already signed up to watch the movie and discuss! We were asked to look into the possibility of co-branding with the producers to gain rights to the film and workbook so members could use these with clients.

There were a number of questions about education and training, and using new technologies like webinars to bring education to members.

What struck me the most was the genuine excitement in the room about joining together (and the genuine regret from dozens more local members who were not available). I found it a bit sad that we needed name tags, until I realized that new members and growing numbers are signs of a healthy, growing organization (despite our east coast beginning, IECA now has more members in California than any other state!). Attendees excitedly discussed establishing a couple of regional IECA groups: one for Los Angeles, the other for Orange County. As I listened to discussions, ideas, and planning, I realized the tremendous power that comes from members joining together, acting together, comparing notes and ideas. It is this collaboration that makes IECA so strong, and their work with families so successful and rewarding.

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by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

Recently I came across a comment on a blog where someone expressed an implied criticism of IECA. The criticism was that the Independent Educational Consultants Association does not focus its energies exclusively in school selection, application, and admission. The criticism actually kept me up all night—quite a feat for those who know me—yet I tossed and turned. But not for the reasons you may think. I’m certainly not thin-skinned, and so I can take any criticism. In this case I was restless because I was confounded. How could someone have written those words believing them to be critical, when to me they express the very difference that makes IECA and its members so uniquely qualified? Critical? No—to me it was the ultimate praise.

How can one even imagine preparing to send students away for school, but not understand issues like adolescent depression or anxiety? Should we apologize for bringing in the top experts in the country to present about the latest developments in research on brain theory, gender differences, attachment, and the impact of adoption? We know full well how such things impact the ability to succeed both in class and with peers. Should we not support our members who wish to do career exploration or employ the dynamic information gained in Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?

Some of the criticism, I suspect, was related to some of the topics at IECA conferences. Does the person offering the critique believe that those assisting in college or school admission should confine their discussion to majors, Greek life, financial aid and ‘where you can get in?’ All that should be noted, but every single person working with adolescents, if they wish to be taken as a true professional, should gain some understanding of some growing trends of concern: Internet and gaming addictions (the numbers of kids who land in a dorm room and play World of Warcraft or other games 24 hours a day, skipping class, is scary!), abuse of prescription drugs (a growing campus trend), campus bullying (using social media), eating and body-perception disorders, and so much more.

It seems that some think college admission can be accomplished using a chart: standardized test scores in column A, GPA in column B, activities in column C, and voila…”Here’s your list of schools, Sally!” Let’s remember that adolescents are not a simple commodity where we plug in the proper numbers and out pops the result. IECA’s strength comes from our realization—make that commitment—to seeing every child as an individual, with abilities and weaknesses, emotional strengths and scars, unique talents, and needs. Yes, this is indeed what makes IECA unique, and more importantly, what makes our members uniquely qualified to really serve the best interests, the true needs of every child.

That anyone can think otherwise, will keep me up at nights.

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by Mark Sklarow, IECA Executive Director

A new study, part of the GoodWork Project Report Series from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, cast an eye to ‘the commercialization of the college application process and the rise of the for-profit educational consultant.’  The report, authored by Alexis Brooke Redding, was released late last week.  Redding sought to discover the impact of the growing field of educational consulting and what is being done to regulate and promote “good work” in the field.

Redding first documented the rise—and reasons behind it—of the use of independent educational consultants (IECs), noting the increased level of frenzy seen in college admissions today, the shift to aggressive marketing techniques among colleges and subsequent ‘consumerist view’ in admissions offices of the process, as well as the growing student-to-counselor ratios in school districts across the United States. Additionally, the report notes that with the process for applying to college changing so dramatically over the last 20 years, even parents who attended colleges feel ill-equipped to advise their children today.

Along with growth, the report examines the role IECs play in the process. It quotes Tim Lee, stating that the field of educational consulting, led by IECA, is focused on helping students find the “best fit” schools.  This underscores my belief that it was IECA members who first introduced “good match or fit” into the college admission vernacular. The author concurs that the role of IECs is to use “their ability to draw upon their broad base of knowledge to help students explore the range of options.” Notes Redding, there is a “professional mantra that the goal is for a counselor to use his or her expertise to facilitate the process so that the student can get into schools based on merit and fit.”

The author cites evidence of the growth in consultant use and cites independent research that today “22% of all freshmen at private, four-year colleges [in 2006] have used IECs.”  This enforces the results of other independent research this past year that found that 26% of high achieving seniors used an educational consultant in their college search or application process. Redding concludes that “IECs are becoming an integral part of the revised admissions process.”

The author notes that the field needs three bases in order to gain recognition as a true profession: knowledge, skill and an underlying ethical framework.  She raises a concern about those who do not attain the knowledge or adhere to such published ethical guidelines.  She also raises red flags about those not choosing to join professional organizations that both examine qualifications, provide education and training, and require adherence to ethical precepts.  In this regard, the report cites IECA frequently, noting our Standards of Excellence as well as our Principles of Good Practice.  More than just ethics, competence and experience are noted:

“The standards for acceptance into NACAC and IECA highlight the importance of experience and expertise.  For example, in order to become a Professional Member of IECA, one has to have a master’s degree in a related field, 3+ years of experience, a record of service to more than 50 students, a minimum of 50 campus visits, and three professional references.”  The report indicates that parents have a responsibility to ensure that the consultant they use rises to this level of knowledge and ethical behavior and suggests such requirements be demanded of all practitioners.

Other professionals in the field also saw our leadership.  The report quotes Dr. William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions at Harvard: “the field is ‘a little bit like the Wild West’ in which IECA ‘is doing the best it can’ to deal with the ‘set of cottage industries that have developed.’”  He also saw that “in some cases, the use of an independent is highly appropriate.”

The report also praised IECA by noting my own statement that IECA is committed to serving all students, whether they can afford consultants or not. Says Redding “A visit to the IECA website supports his [Sklarow's] statement.  They have a link for parents and students with downloads…” Moreover she notes IECA “publications highlight the importance of professional memberships, experience, and transparency in pricing… By following these guidelines, families would have excellent resources to aid them in finding a qualified counselor and would be better able to protect themselves from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous practitioners.” Finally she notes “IECA members have been vetted during the membership application process, thus assuring that they have met their standards.”

When one interviewee was asked about the benefits of her professional affiliations she noted: “assurance to clients that we follow the principles of good practice for both NACAC and IECA; constant professional development; networking opportunities with my colleagues; opportunities to both attend and participate in conferences…”  In this regard, the report qutoes me saying “ANYONE can PROMISE that they work ethically.  By joining [IECA] you say to the public: I’m being watched: if I violate those ethical guidelines, someone will step in and act… That’s how you know that I am honest, competent, and well qualified.”  David Hawkins, Vice President of NACAC noted, “only members of either of our organizations [NACAC and IECA] are subject to our rules.

Bottom Line:  The author calls independent educational consulting an “aspiring profession.”  While extolling the work that IECA has done to advance the field, it is clear that she believes that today only those who choose to professionally affiliate have agreed to be ‘vetted’ and be held to high ethical standards.  The field will achieve greater status when the vast majority of those practicing agree to meet these or similar standards.

This report mirrors the view endorsed by the IECA executive board that IECA must grow to represent the vast majority of those qualified, ethical consultants in the field.  As I have said before, just as every good doctor believes he or she must join the AMA and every ethical lawyer must join the American Bar Association, so too should every qualified, ethical consultant join IECA.  As I read it, the report affirms this mission.

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by Mark Sklarow, IECA Executive Director

The Executive Committee of the IECA Board of Directors met Monday and Tuesday this week to examine current issues and ensure the Association’s future is on track, incorporating member feedback and planning for upcoming meetings of the Board of Directors.  While the officers examined numerous topics (e.g., conference changes, affinity groups, ethics, and relationships with affiliated organizations) most discussions led back to three central themes of communication, education, and IECA’s role as the preeminent organization for educational advising in the world.

Given that IECA is the leading professional association for educational consultants, the Executive Committee emphasized a three-year goal of membership growth to include the vast majority of all competent, ethical, knowledgeable, qualified consultants.  The effort revolves around the simple belief that just as the nation’s leading doctors join the AMA and leading psychologists join the APA, the nation’s (and world’s) leading educational consultants should be members of IECA. The result, while ensuring some growth, will guarantee greater awareness by the general public, general acceptance by admission directors, and partnership with leading educational organizations.

Such an effort will challenge IECA to act decisively to ensure effective communication.  This includes communication among our members, communication between the association’s national staff and the membership, as well as communication between our members and the admission and broader educational communities.

IECA has made a commitment to maintain publishing: brochures, fliers, directory and Insights.  While other groups have abandoned ‘hard copies’ we believe such printed material gives us an unequaled presence.  At the same time, our web site is updated regularly and will continue to be renewed. When families search for an educational consultant, we are committed to ensuring that IECA emerges at the top of that search.   Our social media and new media efforts are well ahead of most other associations with thousands now connecting to us through Facebook, LinkedIn, our blog, the TalkList and other efforts.  Increasingly these new communication tools will connect members with each other and with the general public.

The growing importance of our committees, of affinity groups (like the two newest groups for consultants with small children and consultants in dual roles and the coming group for BestNotes users), and newly developing regional groups are all part of the emphasis on communication.  They are also an important part of education, the last piece of our trifecta.

Members in recent surveys have indicated a desire for more educational opportunities.  Having just completed our Summer Training Institute, I know that no organization anywhere does a better job of educating consultants.  Our training is unequaled.  Now we will be looking at new training opportunities, for those just starting out, as well as for those in the process of growing their practices or adding new specialties, as well as for those more senior and experienced members looking to keep up with new technologies and changes in the world of admissions and adolescents.  This is also likely to include a new, online ethics course that all new members of IECA will need to complete during the months following their acceptance to the organization.

A central aspect of IECA’s role is our deep belief that the profession–and students–are best served by our members’ commitment to sharing: through mentoring, presenting at conferences, teaching at the STI and other workshops and seminars.  Sharing is central to our mission.

The fundamental message of the Executive Committee’s work is that IECA intends to be the leader in the field by providing exceptional service and educational opportunities to our members, and by expanding awareness of the profession and recognition of IECA from coast-to-coast and increasingly, around the world.

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by Mark Sklarow, IECA Executive Director

In some ways the Summer Training Institute lasts far longer than the 4 days attendees spend in Swarthmore, PA.  First, in a practical sense, it could takes months just to read everything in their workshop binders.  Hundreds of articles, reproduced blogs, resource lists, sample contracts, intake forms, campus visit checklists and more make the binder a valuable resource for years. IECA education director Sue DePra put together an amazing textbook.

In addition, the attendees are able to start their journeys into the profession knowing they can rely on IECA for support.  Each can immediately link through this blog and the IECA facebook page.  As they seek Associate or Professional Membership they will discover the value IECA offers:  assigning mentors, joining campus tours, gaining discounts on everything from insurance to FedEx.  As a member they will discover the amazing opportunities, products and discounts offered by our partners including College Essay Organizer, Wintergreen Orchard House, Princeton Review, Kaplan, and more than 30 others.  Attending our national conferences in the fall and spring, reading Insights, and participating in LinkedIn discussions all will allow those who took part in this past week’s training to continue to learn and grow.

Yet above all there are the wonderful connections the participants made with each other.  Stretching from San Diego to Maine, and Vancouver to Miami, the STI Class of 2010 seems poised to keep these new relationships alive: visiting schools together, sharing expertise, providing business and counseling support and guidance.  Since 2003, we have seen the incredible value the summer training graduates find in remaining in touch, supporting each other, and raising up their classmates.  We at IECA look forward to their continued involvement.

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by Mark Sklarow, IECA Executive Director

The final afternoon of the 2010 Summer Training Institute was focused on a 3-hour session that was designed to bring together the information attendees gained throughout the week through the process of creating their own personal business plan.  Recognizing that most who enter the field of educational consulting do so with a passion for students and knowledge of counseling, attendees welcomed this final opportunity to examine the small business development aspect of starting a practice.

I shared the teaching for this unit with marketing guru and IECA member Lisa Bleich.  Among the exercises completed, attendees examined their personal reasons for entering the field and crafted mission statements, set goals and specific objectives and examined the external community traits that impact consulting.  Attendees examined the benefits of students using web-based, school-based or corporate-based advising in order to better understand the landscape.  Each completed a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) analysis based on their 4 days of learning.

The business plan also had participants examine traditional and new media marketing techniques, start-up costs for establishing a practice as well as on-going expenses, particularly in the early years while a practice is being built.

While plans were hardly complete at the end of the exercise, the 93 attendees left with the basic components of a business plan in hand, along with a cohort of colleagues from across the country and around the world with whom they shared the institute.  Many anticipate continuing their learning at the upcoming IECA Fall Conference in Ohio.

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by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association

We have learned that The Princeton Review will announce, sometime today, new seminars available in person or online covering issues like writing a great college essay, building a college list, how the college application works, and other process-oriented topics. Such a development underscores two truths: there is increased anxiety and confusion over admissions; and most students don’t have many resources—especially in public schools where counselors are overburdened with unfair case loads, increasingly complex problems, and little support for professional development. This deprives students and families of the information they need to both navigate the process and fully explore their choices.

To be clear: we welcome any innovations that bring good, accurate, vital information to students. All should welcome that TPR has found a way to deliver information at a relatively low cost, using new technologies. Students need—and deserve—complete knowledge.

Of course much of this process information—standardized test dates, how to visit college campuses, what makes for a good essay—has been available for many years: scores of books are available at Borders Books on these subjects, Web sites number in the thousands, most college admission offices share that same information, and for many students their school counseling office can provide these details. If TPR has found a way to reach a new population, great! I hope they find a way to make such information available in Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and much more, as many first generation college families need assistance as well.

The important caveat here is that the college search and application process involves TWO components: the process details as described above, and the knowledge/match piece that is so critical. It is here where we talk about understanding students’ personalities, learning styles, social, educational, and community needs, and knowing enough about hundreds of colleges to assist in identifying appropriate matches. While the basic process information may be able to be disseminated in a group, the knowledge/match requires one-on-one consultation, sufficient time to really understand a student, exploration of essay topics, and evaluative tours of campus after campus. This piece can only be done through exceptional counseling. It is in this area that educational consultants shine.

With limited caseloads, extensive training, educational and professional development, continual travel to visit campuses, and the highest ethical standards, IECA member educational consultants provide families and students with amazing potential to not only understand the process, but also take ownership of it. To not only know what makes for a good essay in general terms, but to spend time with an expert to explore their lives, their interests, their values to discover an essay topic that gives real insight to who they are. And take the time, directed by a consultant, to explore the wide range of educational opportunities to find those that offer the best match. The goal of IECA consultants: a student who thrives, grows socially and academically, and achieves success at college.

As one of the nation’s leading educational associations, we welcome the use of new technologies and new efforts to reach students and families with critical information. IECA and its members will keep our commitment to the highest standards of service both to those who can afford independent consulting services and the thousands served through pro bono efforts, and the IECA Foundation’s initiatives.

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by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association

The first full day of the IECA Summer Training Institute has been a whirlwind of activity—and it’s only 11:00 a.m.! This morning Lisa Bleich led a session on becoming an entrepreneur. Since most attendees have backgrounds as guidance counselors, university admission directors, LD advocates, or family therapists and such, the idea of using those skills to open and manage a successful small business was a scary topic. Lisa, however, made the topic understandable and manageable. She talked about “the 7 Ps,” an extension of the traditional “4 Ps” she presented as an assistant professor of marketing.

The “7 Ps”: Product (your consulting services), Price (what you will charge and how), Place (where you will deliver your services), Promotion (how you will get the word out about your services), Positioning (How you want others to see your services), Presence (online), and Personalization (how you will meet the unique needs of clients).

Yesterday afternoon attendees explored their own insights as to what the profession of educational consulting is all about. In the work they did an amazing job of noting the importance of communication, understanding the whole child, gaining the institutional knowledge necessary, building a network of experts, gaining business know-how, and the need for an ethical core underlying all else.

This morning in a “get acquainted” exercise with my mentor group (smaller sub-groups of attendees), participants grabbed a random item from a box. They had to explain how that item could be related to educational consulting. This was just a fast, fun exercise but their responses were so creative and clever, I wanted to share some:

Paperclip: consultants must be organized in order to help students achieve their goals.

Seashell: we must remember that each child is as unique as each seashell.

Rubber band: we must work to achieve a balance between bringing things together and being flexible in our approach.

Hot sauce: one of our challenges is helping students to try something new, the way hot sauce changes the flavor.

Clothespin: for consultants there is a laundry list of things we must do to accomplish our goals.

Flashlight: we help to illuminate the path of a good educational match.

Stone: with so much going on, we need to help students remain grounded and mindful.

A multicolored twist of plastic: we bring the different strands together into a unique whole.

Ball: like a ball we never really know where a student will bounce—where the process will take us.

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by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

The very popular and well-respected IECA Summer Training Institute kicks off its 2010 program on the campus of Swarthmore College on Tuesday, July 27. The attendees themselves may demonstrate how the profession of educational consulting has changed over the last several years. They are a racially and culturally diverse group of nearly 90 participants, representing 25 states plus Puerto Rico, and five foreign countries. Within the U.S. they hail from Florida to Alaska, and California to Maine.

As they look ahead to careers in educational consulting, 91% see themselves in college advising, 24% in secondary school consulting, 19% working with teens with emotional and behavioral issues, and over 30% expect to be working in the area of learning disabilities. Simple math indicates that most attendees expect their consulting work to cover more than one specialty.

While decades ago most entering the field of consulting were either admission directors or school-based counselors, today those categories account for only about half of new consultants. Among STI attendees are lawyers, small businessmen, school headmasters, college professors, and high school teachers, as well as mental health and allied professionals, among many others. Another change: while in the past virtually everyone entering the field was on their third, fourth, or terminal career, in recent years STI attendees have ranged in age from twenty-somethings examining a first career, to those further along the continuum. Such diversity in attendees and their backgrounds has opened the field of consulting and provided our gatherings with all the benefits that come from a diverse population. It has also meant a growth in the diversity of students we serve as a profession, another wonderful bonus as we seek to become more reflective of the U.S. population as a whole.

We have made changes to the educational content of the institute’s offerings, as well. We now commit about four hours to fully cover the entrepreneurial needs of attendees, to fully understand the demands on establishing, promoting, and running a small business. A new full group session on understanding new media and social networking has also been added as well an elective on graduate school advising.

Joining the faculty are a number of guest presenters and panelists: Suzi Nam, director of admissions at Swarthmore College; Erin Finn, assistant VP for admissions at Drexel University; Richard Floyd, director of admission at Ursinus College; Joyce Latimer, director of admission at Auldern Academy; Barry Sysler, IECA member and financial aid expert; and Carolyn Mulligan, IECA member and expert on LD issues.

We’ll blog through the week so you will be able to follow the Summer Training Institute and the Independent Educational Consultants Association.

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by Mark H. Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

June 30th marks the close of our Fiscal Year and IECA’s 34th serving as the principal voice of the profession of independent educational consulting. We entered the year committed to helping our members thrive, and exploring ways to strengthen the profession, promote the value of the work we do, and enhance the services offered by the Association to students, families, schools, and our member consultants. And while it was a difficult year for some, with many parts of the country suffering a deep economic recession, we have continued to move forward together.

Some of our progress occurred right here as we greatly expanded our efforts in electronic communication and social networking sites. This blog saw more than 200 original posts and over 150 comments. There are readers who come to our blog from our Web site, while others read it on Facebook, and well over 200 subscribers choose to receive it via e-mail. I have spoken to reporters as well as school and program heads, and college vice presidents that mention things they read on our blog. We have 300 followers on Twitter, more than 600 views on our Flickr photostream, 162 IECA members connecting on our LinkedIn group, and 900 fans (and growing) on Facebook. We have worked to assist members to master this new world of communication and will continue and even expand that effort in the coming year.

Of course all this attention to new media is meant to provide two key benefits: increased communication between and among IECA and its publics (consultants, school reps and the general public) but also to encourage more visits to the IECA Web site. In the past year the number of unique visitors increased 14%. More than 28,000 people searched the “find a consultant” feature of the Web site alone. Our goal to connect families to members is working and we intend to increase that effort in the coming year. A central core piece of our mission is to change the public’s sense of educational consulting from “what is a consultant?” to “I need a consultant, and I’ll only look to IECA as the assurance I need of competence.”

This past year we completed two member surveys: one that focused on the field of consulting to help us better understand where things stand, so we can better respond to future needs; and the second one that focused on educational needs of members to help guide our committees and shape future initiatives. A major development came from a survey that we did not conduct. An independent national study showed a far larger percentage of “high achieving students’ than anyone had ever imagined were working with educational consultants (26%). Such widespread use of consultants can have a major impact on the actions of college admission officers and IECA has been reaching out to them in unprecedented ways.

While a number of educational organizations saw membership decline this past year, IECA continued its moderate growth with a 5% increase in members. Our conferences in North Carolina and Toronto were extremely successful as local host committees (made up for the first time with school representatives as well as consultants) worked to raise the academic content (the new Master Classes and Point/Counterpoint sessions, for example), and we also introduced an active Conference Central that included a bookstore (and author book signings), networking cyber-lounge, and much more, designed to increase networking and sharing.

IECA’s signature training programs: the Summer Training Institute continues to ‘sell out’ as does the Transitioning to Private Practice Seminar which IECA runs in partnership with NACAC. The first ever certificate program in independent educational consulting is now being offered by U.C. Irvine in a program jointly designed and taught by the university and IECA and its members. We have been working more closely with our association colleagues at SSATB, NAIS, NATSAP, and more. We manned a booth for the first-time ever at LDA this past year and are committed to extending our efforts into the LD and therapeutic communities in the year ahead. Internally, our new Affinity groups have expanded to involve dozens of members in planning and leadership roles.

The Board of Directors, working with a new Long-Range Plan, found members articulating their priorities for the coming year: educate the public so they are more aware of the role of independent educational consulting, ensure that the public identifies IECA as the ‘gold standard’ of the profession, increase outreach to affiliated professional communities, emphasize ethics, and enhance education. These will form the basis of the work that the IECA office staff, Board, and volunteers will highlight for the Association’s coming 35th year.

The staff feels honored to work on behalf of our members and in promoting this important field. We are excited by what the coming years have in store.

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