ACSA’s 2026 Leadership Summit theme, “You Belong Here: Leadership for Every Student,” invites us to examine belonging as both a student experience and a leadership responsibility. For ACSA, that sense of belonging is shaped by how we welcome, connect, engage, and elevate members across regions, charters, committees, and councils.

This interactive Member Services Committee session will help leaders move beyond recruitment and reimagine membership as a leadership pipeline, professional community, and vehicle for statewide impact. Participants will explore practical strategies for creating inclusive member experiences, strengthening regional engagement, activating emerging leaders, and helping members see clear pathways from participation to leadership.

Key audience takeaways:

1. A practical framework for moving members from awareness to engagement to leadership.
2. Strategies to strengthen belonging, retention, and member activation across regions, charters, committees, and councils.
3. A draft action step participants can adapt to improve member connection and leadership development in their own ACSA context.

Participants will leave with a usable Member Activation Framework aligned to ACSA’s goals for member development, advocacy, and organizational sustainability.