10:05 a.m. -10:55 a.m. - CONCURRENT SESSION I 

Rethinking Mentorship: Building Reciprocal, Collaborative Academic Partnerships - Rooms 130 & 131

Speakers: Carrie Forbes and Rachel Priesman Marquez, East Carolina University

Traditional mentorship models in academia often rely on hierarchical, top-down relationships that position one individual as the expert and the other as the learner. While effective in some contexts, these models can unintentionally limit open dialogue, reinforce power imbalances, and discourage early-career professionals from naming uncertainty or asking questions. 

This interactive workshop explores an alternative approach: reciprocal or collaborative mentorship, in which two librarians at different career stages intentionally share leadership, learning, and professional responsibility. Drawing from a real-world partnership between two academic medical librarians; (one early-career and one more seasoned) this session examines how co-teaching, shared review work, and reflective dialogue foster mutual professional growth, reduce ego, and create psychologically safe environments for learning. 

Rather than viewing mentorship as a unidirectional transfer of knowledge, this model frames mentorship as a shared, evolving practice rooted in collaboration and trust. Participants will: explore how reciprocal mentorship can support faster integration of new colleagues, strengthen departmental cohesion, refresh skills across career stages, and empower both individuals to develop confidence and leadership capacity. 

Because the literature lacks a single term for this type of relationship, the workshop will invite participants to help articulate its defining characteristics and language. Through guided discussion and hands-on activities, attendees will identify practices that make collaborative mentorship work, draft shared mentorship norms or agreements, and develop criteria for identifying or cultivating similar relationships within their own institutions. 

This session is designed for participants interested in reimagining mentorship as a tool for shared leadership, belonging, and sustainable professional growth. 

Legacy in Motion: Boundaries and Self-Care as Purposeful Leadership Practices for Women in Academia - Room 132

Speaker: Dr. Adrian Lennon, East Carolina University

Women in academic leadership are often expected to be constantly available, emotionally responsive, and adaptable across multiple roles. While these qualities help sustain institutions during times of change, they often lead to boundary erosion, burnout, and shorter leadership tenures. Based on the World Health Organization Self-Care Conceptual Framework, this session presents self-care not as a personal luxury but as a vital, multidimensional leadership strategy essential for purposeful leadership and legacy-building.

Using the WHO framework’s focus on individual capacity, supportive environments, and enabling systems, this session explores how women leaders in academia—serving as educators, administrators, mentors, and agents of change—can implement self-care through deliberate boundary-setting. Participants will examine how gendered expectations, service-heavy roles, and academic culture combine to weaken sustainable leadership, and how viewing self-care as an ethical and strategic duty can improve clarity, decision-making, and relational skills.

Set up as a facilitated roundtable, the session will encourage participants to reflect and discuss to identify personal, cultural, and structural obstacles to self-care within academic settings. Attendees will collaboratively analyze strategies aligned with the WHO framework, including modeling sustainable leadership, communicating boundaries honestly, and fostering norms that respect boundaries in mentoring, succession planning, and organizational culture.

By grounding leadership in a well-known self-care framework, this session invites women in academia to see their legacy as an ongoing process rooted in purpose, presence, and sustainability. Participants will leave equipped with shared language and practical tools to support long-term leadership impact and institutional health.

The Resource-Aware Leader: Maximizing Capital, Culture and Capacity - Truist AB

Speaker: Jamaica Gainey, Wake Forest University

In the rapidly evolving landscape of continuing higher education, leaders are frequently asked to do more with less. However, the most effective leaders recognize that success isn’t solely defined by the size of a budget, but by the ability to identify and mobilize "invisible" assets. This session introduces the concept of Resource Awareness—a strategic leadership framework that shifts the focus from scarcity to abundance by auditing and optimizing the human, social, and institutional capital already present within an organization.

Attendees will explore why "resource blindness" often leads to missed opportunities and stagnant growth. Through interactive discussion and real-world case studies, we will examine how to uncover untapped value in cross-departmental synergies, underutilized data, and community networks. We will specifically address the psychological shift required to move a team from a "scarcity trap" to an intrapreneurial mindset, where constraints become the catalysts for innovation.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Conduct a Comprehensive Resource Audit to identify non-financial assets. Reframe the Budgetary Narrative from a "cost-center" mindset to a "value-creation" model when communicating with executive administration. Foster a Culture of Resourcefulness by implementing practical strategies to empower teams to solve complex problems using existing tools and networks.

Care but Not Carry: Sustaining Ourselves While Supporting Others in Higher Education - Truist CD

Speaker: Theresa Higgins, Elon University

Higher education professionals are deeply committed to supporting students, colleagues, and campus communities. Yet many struggle to distinguish between caring for others and carrying their burdens. Over time, this blurred boundary can lead to emotional fatigue, compassion burnout, diminished effectiveness, and shortened career longevity.

“Care but Not Carry” introduces a practical framework designed to help educators, advisors, administrators, and student-facing professionals sustain their commitment without sacrificing their well-being. This interactive session explores the psychological and professional differences between care and overextension, examining how boundary erosion, emotional absorption, and over-responsibility contribute to stress and burnout in higher education settings.

Participants will engage in guided reflection, scenario-based discussion, and boundary-setting exercises that illuminate what healthy care looks like in practice. The session will provide actionable tools, including language scripts for maintaining professional boundaries, strategies for emotional regulation after high-intensity student interactions, and techniques for redefining responsibility without disengagement.

By reframing support as empowerment rather than rescue, attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of how to protect their energy while remaining deeply committed to their work. This approach promotes improved workplace boundaries, reduced stress, enhanced health outcomes, and increased professional longevity.

Participants will walk away with practical strategies they can implement immediately to sustain themselves in the field — not by caring less, but by caring wisely.

11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.                     CONCURRENT SESSION II 

Designing a Leadership Ecosystem: Mentorship, Sponsorship, and Legacy in Motion - Rooms 130 &131

Speakers: Dr. Loury Floyd, Lenoir-Rhyne University and Dr. Sannyu Harris, NC A&T State University

As women in higher education lead with purpose and consider the legacy they are creating, mentorship plays a critical role in advancing the shared vision of our institutions and the profession. Yet many leaders continue to rely on informal or single-mentor models that are insufficient for navigating complex systems and sustaining leadership aligned with long-term vision.

This interactive workshop invites participants to reframe mentorship as a strategic leadership practice and to design a personal mentorship ecosystem, an intentional network of relationships aligned to different career, leadership, and personal needs. Attendees will explore the limitations of the “one mentor” model, examine how mentorship evolves across seasons of leadership, and engage in guided reflection to assess how well their current relationships support their purpose and vision.

Participants will work through a hands-on mapping exercise to visualize their existing mentorship network, identify gaps or misalignments, and distinguish between mentoring, sponsorship, and peer support. The session concludes with participants identifying one concrete action they will take within 30 days, such as redefining an existing relationship or making a strategic mentorship ask, to strengthen their leadership capacity while advancing the broader vision of higher education.

This session is designed for women leaders who are ready to move mentorship from a passive experience to an intentional practice that keeps legacy in motion.

Nourishing Leadership - Room 132

Speakers: Selena Wardlaw and Alisha Webb, Forsyth Technical Community College

Attendees will explore how respecting boundaries and practicing self-care function as essential strategies for sustaining purposeful leadership in higher education. Through a guided and interactive format, participants will examine how daily leadership habits influence clarity, decision-making, and long-term legacy.

Participants will engage in a structured Self-Care Bingo activity and collaborative table discussions to identify practices that support mental focus, energy management, meaningful connection, and alignment with personal and professional purpose. In small groups, attendees will reflect on current leadership demands and apply practical strategies to their own institutional contexts.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to identify at least one boundary they need to strengthen, one self-care practice that supports their leadership effectiveness, and one intentional behavior that reinforces the culture they aim to build. The session is designed specifically for higher education professionals seeking sustainable approaches to leadership while navigating complex and evolving environments.

Rethinking Leadership Through Care, Community, and Power: What Black Women’s Leadership Development Reveals About Safer Spaces - Truist AB

Speaker: Sabrina Brown, UNC Charlotte 

This session is grounded in qualitative research exploring Black women’s lived experiences in higher education leadership development and invites participants to reflect on how leadership is practiced in everyday spaces - not only through formal programs or titles. While leadership development is often framed around skill-building and advancement, Black women’s leadership development reveals how care, community, and power shape who experiences safety, belonging, and growth in leadership spaces.

Through a facilitated and reflective experience, participants will examine how leadership norms are created and reinforced in meetings, mentoring relationships, and access to professional development opportunities. The session intentionally balances affirmation and responsibility, offering space for participants to reflect on how leadership practices can either reproduce barriers or contribute to safer, more affirming environments for women across identities.

Rather than focusing on large-scale program redesign, this session centers what is possible within participants’ current roles and spheres of influence. Guided reflection, small-group dialogue, and collective sense-making will support participants in identifying where leadership already shows up in their daily work and how intentional, care-centered practices can be enacted immediately.

Attendees will leave with shared language for naming invisible leadership labor, increased awareness of how care and power operate in everyday leadership spaces, and practical strategies for fostering community and creating safer, more affirming environments where they are. This session aligns with the conference theme by framing legacy as something actively built through purposeful leadership practice in motion. This session aligns with the conference theme by honoring legacy as something actively created through purposeful, care-centered leadership in motion. 

How to GLOW Forward: Leading with Alignment, Strategy and Support - Truist CD

Speaker: Dr. LaQuoia Johnson, Davidson Davie Community College

Leadership becomes most challenging during times of transition, competing priorities, and organizational change. When the path ahead feels unclear, leaders must stay grounded in purpose, think strategically, and build strong support systems to keep moving forward. This interactive breakout session introduces the G.L.O.W. framework, a practical model focused on five key areas of self-leadership: aligning with a clear vision, leveraging strengths, planning intentional transitions, taking courageous action, and seeking wise counsel. Together, these elements help leaders sustain direction and momentum, even in uncertain environments.

Through guided reflection and structured discussion, participants will:

Analyze lessons learned from leading during challenging circumstances. Evaluate strategies for maintaining vision and focus amid complexity. Develop a concise personal or professional purpose statement to guide decisions during times of change. Assess their current support networks and identify ways to strengthen collaboration and counsel. Participants will leave with a clear leadership framework, a drafted purpose statement, and practical strategies to help them lead with greater clarity and confidence.

Legacy is built through steady, intentional leadership. This session equips leaders to GLOW forward, aligned in purpose, strategic in action, and supported in community.

Building Pathways, Preserving Legacy: Scalable Leadership Development Through Strategic Communication and Professional Programming in the NC ACE Network - Business Resource Center

Speaker: Kloo Hansen, Western Carolina University

The NC ACE Network is entering a pivotal phase of growth, calling for intentional strategies that strengthen leadership development, foster inclusive professional communities, and sustain institutional knowledge for the next generation of leaders. This presentation highlights WCU's strategic implementation of an integrated website, a revitalized newsletter, and scalable professional programming as central tools for supporting mentoring relationships, leadership pathways, and sustainable legacy‑building.

I explore how a digital-first communication ecosystem expands access to mentoring networks by connecting members across institutions, promoting visibility of expertise, and encouraging cross‑campus collaborations. Our website and newsletter serve not only as information hubs but as engagement platforms that elevate voices, share leadership journeys, and create structured pathways for building mentoring relationships that are both reciprocal and enduring.

Additionally, I discuss the development of scalable and sustainable programming designed to meet leaders where they are—offering accessible professional development opportunities that support progression along diverse career paths. These programs emphasize succession planning, strengthening the leadership pipeline, and cultivating continuity across the Network.

Finally, I address the critical role of boundaries and self-care as foundational leadership practices. By modeling healthier norms around workload, energy, and professional expectations, we support leaders in cultivating purposeful, long-term contributions that honor both their personal well-being and the broader legacy of NC ACE. Together, these strategic initiatives reinforce a resilient, interconnected leadership community prepared to thrive well into the future.

1:05 p.m. – 1:55 p.m.        MENTOR SESSION 

Moderator: Dr. Crystal Chambers, East Carolina University

Exploring the Power of Mentoring Networks

Have you ever engaged in a mentoring program and at the end thought “that’s time I can’t get back?” In this session, we will discuss the evidence-based practices behind the NC ACE Mentoring Network and how to leverage the power of networks for your career goals.

2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.            CONCURRENT SESSIONS III 

Mentoring Circles for Support and Growth: Leading with Purpose Through Collective Connection - Rooms 130 & 131

Speakers: Jennifer Mock and Nicole Worley, Alamance Community College

In a time of continued change and complexity across higher education, sustaining purposeful leadership requires intentional community. Mentoring Circles offer a collaborative model for professional and personal growth that extends beyond traditional one-to-one mentorship and centers shared learning, wisdom, reflection, and support. Grounded in the conference theme Legacy in Motion: Leading with Purpose, Advancing the Vision, this session explores mentoring circles as a living strategy for leadership sustainability.

Participants will examine how circles of trusted professionals foster resilience, accountability, and clarity of purpose, particularly during periods of transition and uncertainty. The session will provide practical strategies for building mentoring circles, including identifying participants, establishing shared purpose, and creating norms that promote trust, and yes, fun! 

Participants will also explore approaches for maintaining mentoring circles over time and adapting them to support leadership growth and well-being. Benefits go beyond professional to the personal as well. 

By highlighting mentoring circles as both a support system and a leadership development tool, this session connects individual growth to collective impact. Participants will leave with actionable strategies to create and sustain mentoring circles that ensure leadership remains connected, supported, and relational. 

Purpose in Practice: A Mindfulness Toolkit for Leaders - Room 132

Speakers: Jessica Ange, Western Carolina University 

The ability to intentionally respond instead of reacting to challenging situations is a key skill to lead with purpose. Mindfulness practices are important tools that can be utilized to help grow one’s capacity to step out of habitual reaction patterns in order to pause and respond. In this interactive workshop, participants will learn about the scientific basis of how mindfulness works, followed by opportunities to practice three specific mindfulness techniques:   breath awareness, mindful walking, and labeling of thoughts. 

The workshop will alternate between ten minutes of instruction for each new mindfulness skill, followed by five minutes of group practice. The first skill, breath awareness meditation, utilizes the breath as an anchor to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn helps calm the body and mind. The second skill, mindful walking, is a useful practice for reducing stress when the body feels too tired or restless to sit and meditate. The third practice, labeling of thoughts meditation, helps the participant to recognize their own habitual thinking mind, and expand the capacity of their observing mind, which creates space between reactive and judgmental thoughts.  A handout with a list of additional resources for continued practice will also be provided to participants.

In summary, the goal of this workshop is to provide participants with a set of mindfulness skills that they can begin practicing immediately. They can consider these practices the foundation of their mindfulness toolkit, to use for self-care and purposeful leadership. 

Lift as You Climb: Repairing the Broken Rung Through Mentorship and Community - Truist AB

Speaker: Carla Williams, Craven Community College

Women, especially Black women, remain underrepresented in senior leadership roles throughout higher education in our state. Research indicates that the primary obstacle arises with the initial promotion to leadership, frequently termed the “broken rung.” In the absence of deliberate intervention, disparities in early leadership opportunities persistently influence long-term career paths.

This interactive event explores the significance of mentorship, sponsorship, and professional networks in promoting equitable leadership trajectories. Participants will examine how informal systems can perpetuate unfairness and how organized mentorship and sponsorship programs can facilitate leadership preparedness and succession planning. This session will offer ways for creating sustainable leadership pipelines, informed by contemporary research and practitioner observations.

Participants will cultivate actionable strategies to establish and nourish mentoring relationships and broaden access to leadership opportunities via contemplation, discussion, and collaborative planning. The session corresponds with the conference topic by highlighting mentoring relationships and/or professional networks that support leadership growth, succession planning, and legacy-building for this underrepresented population. 

Soft Power, Steady Leadership: Embracing Grace as a Strength in Times of Change - Truist CD

Speaker: Krista Kenney, Duke University

Higher education leaders continue to navigate rapid change, shifting expectations, and sustained emotional strain. In the midst of this pace, many leaders have relied on grit and constant motion to keep going. Yet sustaining purpose and advancing a meaningful vision also requires a quieter, often overlooked form of strength: the ability to lead with grace, to soften without losing clarity, and to remain grounded in one’s humanity.

This interactive session offers a refreshing pause from the urgency of daily leadership. Drawing on the presenter’s experience in change management and identifying opportunities for improvement across complex organizations, the session invites participants to explore how softness can serve as a stabilizing force during times of transition. Through guided reflection and meaningful connection with peers, attendees will examine how grace influences decision making, communication, and the ability to stay aligned with purpose when circumstances feel overwhelming.

Participants will leave with practical strategies for sustaining themselves through change, a renewed understanding of softness as a leadership strength, and a personalized intention they can carry into their daily work. They will also have the opportunity to learn from one another’s experiences and build supportive connections that extend beyond the session. Participants will leave with renewed clarity, practical strategies for sustaining purpose, and a personalized commitment they can carry into their daily work.

Purpose as a Compass: Leading with Clarity in Uncertain Times - Business Resource Center

Speaker: Terese Lund, Wingate University

Periods of disruption and change in higher education often require professionals across roles and career stages to move quickly while holding steady to what matters most. Purpose, when clearly articulated and intentionally practiced, can serve as an orienting framework that supports wise decision-making, resilience, and sustained impact. This interactive workshop invites participants to reflect on how purpose shapes their work and leadership, especially in moments of transition or uncertainty. Grounded in the presenter’s scholarship on purpose development and educator purpose (e.g., Lund et al., 2024; Lund et al., 2022), as well as extensive experience facilitating purpose-centered work with faculty, staff, and administrators with support from NetVUE, this session integrates research-informed insights with practical tools applicable across institutional contexts. Faculty, student affairs professionals, advisors, administrators, advancement staff, and other higher education professionals will explore how purpose evolves across roles and seasons, how it supports coherence and well-being in complex organizations, and how individuals can remain purposefully engaged while supporting students’ own purpose formation.Through guided reflection, structured dialogue, and small-group activities, participants will:

-Clarify key elements of their current purpose

-Identify moments when purpose can guide decisions under pressure or ambiguity

-Explore strategies for purpose-aligned mentoring, collaboration, and leadership practices

-Consider how purpose sustains momentum and meaning over time

Participants will leave with a concise, adaptable purpose statement and concrete strategies for integrating purpose into their daily work, supporting clarity, intention, and confidence across the diverse roles that make higher education possible.