Message from the CEO

2022 State of the Association

At NACAC Conference 2022, I shared updates about our association during the State of the Association and Annual Membership Meeting. I focused on NACAC’s progress toward member-identified goals as the organization builds the NACAC of tomorrow. Here are a few highlights:

  • Trusted Source: We continue our work to become the trusted voice and knowledge center of the college admission counseling profession. This year, we continued to build upon NACAC’s strong brand reputation and amplify our presence on social media. We changed our social media strategy to focus on celebrating our members and worked strategically to give greater visibility to the impact the college admission profession makes in the lives of young people around the world.
  • Advocacy: Our new approach to advocacy can be summarized in two words:
    mission impact. Last year, we worked with our partners at Education Counsel
    to develop an advocacy agenda focused on meaningful impact. The three
    pillars of our advocacy are:

    • Student and equity-centered admission practices
    • Professional responsibility and ethics for college admission
      counseling professionals
    • Expansion of capacity and impact of school counselors and college
      advisors
  • Partnerships: In spring of 2023, thanks to a second grant from the Lumina Foundation, NACAC will lead and convene a summit with institution leaders to continue our efforts to advocate on behalf of access and equity in the admission process. This event, a first of its kind, will bring together enrollment leaders, university presidents, and trustees to develop equitable admission practices, and create models where diversity and revenue are not mutually exclusive.
  • Member experience: We improved and enhanced the digital onboarding experience for new NACAC members to include instructional videos for key content areas like updating rosters, how to take advantage of membership benefits, etc. We added a Live Chat on our website, and it’s now an extremely popular tool. The membership experience team continues to make enhancements to the NACAC Special Interest Groups (or as we call them SIGs). We increased support for SIGs through more direct and consistent communication.
  • National College Fairs: NACAC has embarked on a design-thinking process to reimagine the National College Fairs. The project consisted of three phases and involved NACAC members from across the country in the work—from counselors and admissions officers, to Local Arrangement Committee members, to board members. Our work is well underway, and I’m thrilled that National College Fair participants will experience a significant transformation in 2023.
  • Member survey: Thank you to all 4,168 NACAC members who participated in our recent needs assessment study. We collected data about personal and professional backgrounds, as well as your challenges, needs, and preferences. These data will inform our decision-making about NACAC’s strategic direction and programming.
  • DEI: In spring 2022, NACAC released our DEI Environmental Scan discussion paper in partnership with Salesforce. We will combine this work with what we learned from the member needs assessment and develop a comprehensive strategy upon which we will construct future DEI resources and education for our members. In September 2022, we hired Dr. John Hollemon as our DEI director. 
  • Finances: We ended FY2021 in a cash position of approximately $2.5 million dollars. This was due to the Payroll Protection Program loan forgiveness and event cancellation insurance reimbursements. We ended FY2021 with total assets of $25.13 million. Now that we are emerging from the pandemic, the board and I are laser-focused on our financial future and committed to investing in areas that will produce new sources of revenue and provide a better experience for our members. 
  • Governance: Over the years, members asked for NACAC to be more nimble, proactive, and inclusive of the many diverse voices that comprise our general membership. This year, the reinvention of NACAC governance continues. The Board of Directors and I believe that the reinvention of NACAC’s governance is necessary to move the organization towards industry best practices.

Despite all the challenges the world has thrown at us over the past few years, NACAC has not only been resilient, but it has also moved forward in incredible ways.

Together, we are building momentum in our shared conviction to open the doors of educational opportunity for students across the country and around the globe.

Onward!

Angel B. Pérez, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
National Association for College Admission Counseling