2023 State of the Association

The following is the transcript from NACAC CEO Angel B. Pérez’s annual State of the Association presentation, given at NACAC Conference 2023 on September 23.

Buenas Tardes, NACAC!

I’m SO excited to see you here today. I hope you’ve had a wonderful conference thus far. I feel like the energy here is ELECTRIC and it’s powered by all of you. Thank you for being here for our State of the Association address. We created this tradition a few years ago because it’s important for our members to get an annual update on where the organization has been, and where it’s going. NACAC is on the move, and we want to make sure YOU, our most important constituency and the reason we exist, feel well informed.

Some of you know that I’m a fan of connecting dots. I feel strongly that we must revisit our “why” to understand that the decisions NACAC makes today are tied to the work members asked us to do in the past. I often walk around the office saying “ABCD,” which means “Always Be Connecting Dots.” What I mean by this is that it’s OUR responsibility to make sure members know the history and context for our decision making, and feel a connection to our past, not just our future.

That’s my intention today. Each year, I try to think of a theme for this address. As I wracked my brain looking for one, I realized it was staring me right in my face. “The Power of Us.” It’s appropriate as we think about the past several years—what we endured and how much stronger we are on the other side.

Last year in Houston, our theme was resilience, and I couldn’t be more excited to be moving from resilience to reclaiming our power. Now let’s keep it real. The past several years were no walk in the park. In the shadow of a global pandemic, financial crisis, racial reckoning, a divisive political climate, the great resignation, and now a Supreme Court ruling—our work is harder, but also more important than ever.

 Each of you inspires me to get up every morning because you are SO inspirational. Every day, you fight for your students, institutions, organizations, AND each other. Many of you also fight for NACAC. I am often overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of spirit that so many lend to this beautiful community. NACAC wouldn’t be here today without that kind of commitment, and the board and I are eternally grateful.

As college access professionals, we are NOT passive observers to the currents that surround us. We always evolve in response to factors beyond our control. Together we are a powerful force for good and there is no stopping us. We always find hope, we adapt, and now more than ever, we lead into the future.

But before we go to the future, let’s connect the dots to our past. Everything the association did over the past several years was guided by the voices of our members. There are five documents that the board, staff, and I consider NACAC’s “North Star.” All of these documents have incredible synergy and were informed by you. These member-centered reports were calls to action.

So, let me share a little about them:

When I arrived in July of 2020, I went on a listening tour—on Zoom, of course, since we were mid-pandemic. I met with members from all over the world to get a sense of where they felt the association needed to go.

What’s amazing about the themes I heard is that they resonated deeply with the themes from the Ad Hoc Committee on Leadership in College Admission. In 2019, then Board President Jayne Fonash had the vision of bringing together a group of members to make recommendations about the future of the association. I had the honor of chairing the committee and working with my colleagues listed on the screen, long before I could have ever imagined becoming NACAC’s CEO.

The themes from the listening tour and ad hoc committee also connected to the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Restructuring. NACAC needed to update its governance to become more flexible, nimble, inclusive, AND diverse. The committee started its work in 2017, but it was way ahead of its time. Since then, the board worked to implement many of their recommendations, aligning the organization with best practices in association governance.

Last year, we engaged in a member needs assessment, asking YOU to tell us about your professional needs, struggles, and where you would like the association’s support. We’re grateful for your participation because you will see that many of our new programs, services, podcasts, and even articles I write are focused on issues YOU told us you care deeply about.

Finally, I must mention one document that has become our North Star as it relates to equity. In 2021, we were fortunate to receive a generous grant from Lumina Foundation to create a vision for the future of equity in college access. This resulted in our report “Toward a More Equitable Future for Postsecondary Access.” SO much of our new programming, services, and advocacy stems from the recommendations of this report.

The board and I are grateful to the members who comprised these committees. They represent the BEST of NACAC’s thinking. Despite headwinds, limited financial resources, and a MUCH smaller NACAC staff, I’m proud that this village rolled up its sleeves and kept moving forward. We took these documents and got to work bringing YOUR vision to life.

Now, let me be clear. None of this work was easy and it didn’t happen under ideal conditions. Meeting the moment required something VERY different from NACAC. We honor our past while embarking on a journey of extraordinary transformation. We know we have to meet our members where they are and evolve with the external conditions of society.

So in the spirit of connecting MORE dots, I’d like to highlight things we’ve done to meet the moment and build on your vision.

For us to become a modern, high-impact organization, we needed to evolve our governance. NACAC’s governance may have served us well in the past, but an organization that does not evolve puts itself at risk. Let me be frank. Governance work is hard. It’s messy and emotional. It requires courage to design a future that does not yet exist. Despite this, the NACAC board and membership came together to take on some of the largest governance changes in the organization’s history.

As a result of some of these changes, NACAC welcomed the most diverse board in its history, gave every eligible member the right to elect the board, and expanded committee leadership opportunities, to name a few. Also, thanks to all of you who voted in this year’s election. As a result, NACAC will increase appointed board member expertise, guiding our increasingly complex organization into the future.

Now this work could not have happened without mission alignment. In 2020, in response to member feedback, the board launched an inclusive process to streamline our mission and vision statements in support of access and equity in higher education.

NACAC’s new mission and vision inform everything we do. And I have to admit, the new logo and branding we released last year, are pretty cool too.

Now perhaps the most visible expressions of the new mission are our policy and advocacy platforms. Just as we needed mission clarity, we needed clarity on the issues for which we will advocate. Following the good advice of our members, we rebuilt our pillars and you will see those displayed on the screen.

This year, we were STEEPED in advocacy work. We co-authored an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, represented member voices at the Department of Education, and met with policy advisors as they released guidance post-Supreme Court. It’s been a year of NACAC advocacy impact. In fact, Thursday’s opening session with Secretary Cardona and Governor Moore is an example of how we are working collaboratively with federal and local government to UPLIFT the profession.

Advocacy positions us for greater impact and thought leadership. I’m thrilled that CJ Powell joined NACAC from the Biden-Harris administration to help lead our advocacy department. He’s already hit the ground running, working with affiliates and our members to understand the implications of local and federal policy.

Advocacy at NACAC also goes beyond Washington D.C. It’s in school districts and local governments where we host events.

We’re especially proud of our advocacy for school counselors. Last year, with the support of Texas ACAC and Rice University, we launched the Local Counselor Conference Experience. We encouraged superintendents and principals in the area to increase participation for high school counselors at our conference and students at our college fair. This gave conference access to 150 public school counselors in the Houston area. This year, I’m thrilled to report that we INCREASED participation to 200 public-school counselors and college access professionals from the Baltimore area.

We take our role as your advocates seriously, and one of the ways we do that is through the media. I’m delighted that NACAC has been a part of the national and global conversation on college admission in many outlets including BBC News, NBC, NPR, the New York Times, and many more.

Now, let me turn to an area we are ALL passionate about: the recruitment and retention of professionals in the field. We’ve analyzed the data. We KNOW that burnout is rampant. We KNOW turnover continues to be high, and the challenges you face feel unrelenting. We are committed to evolving our professional offerings to help you GROW and STAY.

And there are two initiatives that I want to highlight today. The first is NEXT Gen, an event created to inspire and retain young admission professionals in the field. A special thanks to Rick Clark from Georgia Tech for helping us cook up the idea and agreeing to host the program on his beautiful campus. It was an inspirational day that gave new admission professionals information about how to grow in the field, what the journey might look like, and the skills they need to thrive.

We aspire to host more of these events in the future, not just for admission officers, but also for school and college counselors. Work force development is a priority for NACAC, and we are committed to cultivating and diversifying the next generation.

A second initiative was Elevate Equity. For the first time in our history, NACAC brought together university presidents, board chairs, faculty, and admission deans to strategize on how to commit to equity in the admission process, despite pushback and financial challenges. At this convening, they learned from each other and strategized with leaders across the country.

And I want to highlight one outcome that’s pretty special.

A conversation that took place at Elevate Equity was about calculus, and how it’s often a barrier for low-income students and students of color. These admission policies are often made by faculty and academic leadership—not the admission office, and research shows calculus is rarely required for success in college. As a result of their attendance, the faculty at CalTech returned to campus determined to convince their colleagues to find other options. They were successful, and this month announced an alternate option for students to demonstrate their potential for success.

I want to thank Ashley Pallie, their chief admission officer, and co-chair of a NACAC ad hoc committee. Ashley, your work will have impact for years to come.

NACAC will also continue to work with our partner, Just Equations, to help institutions evaluate their math requirements and remove barriers to access. I hope others will read our joint research and join the movement. It’s time to rethink old systems and create new ones.

Now, let’s face it. NACAC can’t do this work alone. Partnerships scale our impact and create a powerful eco-system of college access. We have many partners, and I’d like to share a few examples. So, let me start with NACAC’s affiliates. 

As you know, we have 23 regional and international affiliates. Last year, NACAC created a grant program called GAIN, giving affiliates the opportunity to apply for funding to support new initiatives. I’ve been SO inspired by what they’ve done. For example, knowing that most admission officers do not travel to the least populated islands in Hawaii, Hawaii ACAC used GAIN funds to fly students from Molokai to Oahu to attend college fairs.  

We’ve also come together with affiliates to create a new leadership development program called NEXT. The program aims to build the leadership capacity of next-generation affiliate leaders and begin a trajectory for national leadership. PLEASE join me in congratulating the inaugural cohort that met here in Baltimore earlier this week.

I’m also grateful for our partnerships with member institutions like Northeastern University, which is hosting NACAC’s first global universities fair at their beautiful campus in London this November. In addition, I’m grateful for Coppin State University, who will be hosting our inaugural HBCU convening.

We are proud of our strategic partnerships to scale our impact, and you can see some of our partners on the screen.

Since 2020, we’ve created new initiatives with the incredible support of our foundation partners. Through their generosity and trust in NACAC, we can provide members with timely research, convenings, and the support you need to do your work. Please join me in thanking the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and Kresge Foundation, for their investment in the NACAC community. And speaking of great partners, Lumina Foundation recently announced that they are offering nearly three million dollars in grants to reimagine admissions, enrollment, and financial aid. What proposal will YOU submit? NACAC will be among the judges, and we can’t wait to see how you will reimagine the future.

I hope you know that while we’ve made MANY strides, we’re just getting started. We’re committed to becoming THE association of the future. The world around us is changing at a rapid pace, and we WON’T be left behind.

One of my favorite quotes is, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” It has always resonated with me, and it couldn’t be more relevant today. It’s time for the NACAC community to take its power back. Sure, we face headwinds, but we will not stand idle and wait for change. We will CREATE that change. We will not let challenges prevent us from realizing our vision that the transformative power of post-secondary education MUST be accessible to all.

So it’s with this conviction that I’m delighted to announce NACAC’s intention to create the “Center for Reimagining College Access.” This new center will integrate innovative research, practice, AND technology, to support our members in creating the new landscape of college admission. The center will be a lab for experimentation and will bring together practitioners, researchers, AND technologists to solve the college access challenges of tomorrow.

I’ve been inspired by NACAC member Dr. OiYan Poon, author of Rethinking College Admissions. She wrote that we need to break through the divide between college access practitioners and college access researchers. Well Dr. Poon, we absolutely agree with you. We are heeding your call.

The center will have four areas of focus. The first will be on evolving the admission process. Institutions are eager for support in this area. The center will bring together the strongest minds to study and prototype new assessment and evaluation initiatives. We’ve already been doing some of this, like our efforts with Just Equations, and our recent acquisition of the Character Collaborative. And we will continue to work with our research partners on the impact of test-optional and test-free admission.

The second area of focus will be on work force development. I’m a firm believer that if we are to open the doors to higher education and impact our national and global economy, we MUST be intentional about cultivating AND diversifying the next generation of professionals. This work isn’t getting any easier, but it’s never been more important—and we are doubling down.

I want you to imagine a future where instead of NACAC members saying, “I just fell into admissions,” they say, “I was tapped on the shoulder by a counselor my senior year in college. I got a NACAC fellowship which taught me about the profession, gave me a mentor, and walked me through my options for a career.” Imagine if we were diversifying and cultivating the next generation of the profession through INTENTIONAL recruitment and guidance. NACAC’s mission is to empower college admission counseling professionals, and that my friends, is what this center intends to do.

The third area of focus will be to take Dr. Poon’s good advice and put it into action. Imagine a future where NACAC is producing research that is INFORMED by the practitioners, providing data and tools for schools and institutions to implement change. “Deans in Residence” and “School Counselors in Residence” will work with researchers and industry leaders to solve the greatest challenges of our profession.

Research is not new to NACAC. We’ve been doing this since our inception, and I hope you’ve taken advantage of our new approach. Like our revamped State of College Admission report that includes data visualization, and our recent project with the Harris Poll, which included student voices in our research for the first time. I’m also grateful to our partners at EAB, Salesforce, and the Institute for Higher Education Policy who work with us to scale our impact.

Now before I share the last area of the center’s focus, I want to mention that this center would not be possible without a founding philanthropic gift. And I want to take a moment to thank an incredible philanthropist who was SO excited about the possibility of a center that focuses on the future of our field, that he decided to provide seed funding for it. His generous gift, the largest individual gift in NACAC history, will bring the vision of the center to fruition.

Now you might ask, who is this mysterious donor? Well, he’s actually no mystery at all, because many of you already know him. He is not only a philanthropist, but also an entrepreneur, a restaurateur, the founder of two schools, a university trustee, and the founder of a technology platform that has fundamentally changed the world of college admission. I’ll also mention that he founded his company when he was a seventh grader in Mississippi (makes me wonder what I was doing with my time in seventh grade!?). He’s been called the “Wizard of Oz” by the Chronicle of Higher Education, but to most of us, he’s called friend, colleague, and innovator.

For his generosity to NACAC and his bold vision for our future, please join me in thanking Slate’s founder, Alexander Clark. Alexander, will you join me on stage?

I’m ALSO delighted to share that the NACAC board TRULY believes in the vision of the center, and each member, including myself, has made generous donations as well. For their leadership, courage, financial support, and passion for NACAC, please join me in thanking the incredible NACAC Board of Directors.

So, this brings me to the fourth area of focus for the center: evolving how students connect to colleges. Many of us have long been frustrated by how complicated it is for students to connect to colleges. We’ve created a system in this country where students with the most resources and easiest access to college advising are the ones presented with the most options. It’s time to evolve. And it’s time to democratize access to information about higher education.

Now we’ve already been working on evolving our programs at NACAC and you may have noticed changes to our national college fairs, which over the past year served over 100,000 students and their families. You’re going to see more changes, in the service of making the connection between students and colleges easier. We also want to make it more fun and impactful. For example, this year, at our college fair in New York City, we hosted a “Stressed Out, Dance It Out Silent Disco,” to remind students to take care of their wellbeing during the college admission process.

I also want to share that next month, at our college fair in Portland, Oregon, we will launch a new partnership with Civic Nation. NACAC believes that higher education IS a public good. And in service of the public good, we must ensure that this next generation is civically engaged. I’m thrilled to report that students will have the opportunity to register to vote onsite in Portland. Thank you to Pacific Northwest ACAC for piloting this effort.

And the Center for Reimagining College Access is going to think EVEN bigger. If we aspire to create greater access, we evolve how students receive information about colleges. AND, we’re going to have to use technology and AI to do it.

Imagine a future where a student in high school goes to a website or mobile device, types in basic details about themselves, and immediately begins their college search.

Let’s pretend this student is right here in Baltimore County. The technology will recognize this. The student will be reminded that there is a NACAC college fair in a few days right down the road. No need to register—the system already did that for you. And here’s your entry bar code, and some cool features to help you prepare.

Imagine if a student can start building a college list that their high school counselor can access. The counselor can comment and add schools, playing a role in the journey. Also, once the student gives permission, the colleges they’re interested in have immediate access to their names. Colleges can communicate with students who’ve shown genuine interest, instead of marketing to students with little to no interest. Using AI, the system can send messages to students about NACAC college fairs, open houses, school visits, and more.

Imagine if this is only the start of a new system to connect students to colleges and as AI evolves, the system makes connections easier. With a student’s permission, information flows between students and colleges, and STUDENTS are in the driver’s seat.

That is what we plan to do, and the best part about it is that NO money will be exchanged in this process. The system will be free for students, and free for colleges. Students won’t pay to join, and colleges won’t pay for names. If we are to truly democratize college access, we must remove barriers, and THIS is a major one. Our aim is to help students, but also to make a school counselor’s job a little bit easier. Our aim is also to support higher education, which we know is facing extraordinary enrollment challenges.

Now, there is no way that NACAC could do this work alone. We need a trusted and mission-aligned technology partner whose leadership is committed to equity and college access. That is why I am thrilled to announce that Slate will partner with NACAC to create a new technology platform called “Start.” I can’t imagine a better partner. Under Alexander’s leadership, Slate transformed the world of college admission and is deeply committed to empowering higher education.

Slate and NACAC are coming together to deploy our unique platforms and resources in evolving how students connect to colleges. We want to build this with an eye toward simplicity, which we know is no small task, but YOU can help us get there. Over the next year, our colleagues at Slate—special shoutout to Sarah McInnis, the general manager of Slate.org who will help us lead this project—will partner with NACAC to create this system.

I want to make it clear that we are still in the ideation phase and do not plan to launch this year. The leadership at Slate and NACAC want to share our intentions today. But we also want to make sure that we build this together with YOU, the experts in the field. Over the coming year, NACAC members will have an opportunity to give feedback on the direction of this project. We believe that people will support what they help build. I know that with the power of ALL of US in this room, we will build something incredible, together.

Friends, I am fired up about the future and I hope you are too. I often get emotional just thinking about what this community has accomplished despite the forces that threaten to knock us off our feet. This community is fueled by passion and commitment. It’s also filled with a lot of joy. I feel that joy often, especially here at conference. There is something electric that happens when this community comes together to stand up and fight for what is right.

I will end by sharing the quote from Secretary Cardona. He reminded us that “every generation is called upon to renew the promise of America.” I would argue that it’s our job to renew that promise. Not just for America, but for our global college access community. I hope you will join this movement and when NACAC asks for YOU to serve, you answer the call. We can’t do this work alone. It takes financial resources and the extraordinary efforts of ALL of our members. When NACAC asks for you to give your time, talent, or treasure, I hope you will stand up and say, “Let’s go!”  

Friends, let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work. Onward!