NMEF Convening: From Surviving to Thriving: Finding Hope on the Horizon

Since 2021, the Foundation has organized an annual end-of-year convening with the primary focus of building and strengthening connections among our grantee partners. This year's convening will be held virtually and is scheduled to take place on Thursday, December 7, 2023 between 10am and 4pm edt. The theme for this year’s convening is “From Surviving to Thriving: Finding Hope on the Horizon.” Activist and leader John Lewis reminds us that “Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part” and in that, we want to offer that hope is what we need at this point in our journey.  His message reminds us that each generation is responsible for doing their part and as we come to the end of another year; our part is offering to move the needle forward for the next generation into truly thriving.

Coming out of a big time of uncertainty in the pandemic, we, our network of schools, communities, and organizations worked together to collectively position ourselves to thrive in the midst of uncertainty. Organizations changed their missions, schools re-opened, organizers galvanized communities and we all rallied with a sense of hope. In order for our work to be sustainable and generative, we must first center hope and joy as a way of reminding ourselves of what is possible. Hope gives us the breath of fresh air we need to remind us that surviving should not be the norm and that thriving and living in our authentic truths is the ultimate goal. During this year’s convening, we will be offering a myriad of amazing workshops by industry leaders. We invite you to fully engage with one another, learn from each other, and take back what you have learned to your own places of work, organizations, and communities. Our goal in our work and through gatherings like these is to calibrate youth leaders, parent advocates, and community organizers so we can come together to continue the work that positions our communities to be in a better space to advocate for education and so we can continue to do good work.

Note: Gift boxes for this event are now SOLD OUT.
More details to follow including panelists, schedule, convening tracks, keynote speaker announcement, etc.

 The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is committed to championing efforts to prioritize community goals that challenge racial inequities and advance excellent, student-centered public education for all New England youth.