As my term as President of 51³Ô¹Ï comes to a close, I am thrilled to reflect on the significant progress we have made together in fulfilling the promises outlined in our 51³Ô¹Ï 2022-25 Strategic Plan.
Advocacy & Awareness
Since the Varsity Blues scandal in 2019, our profession has faced continuous scrutiny in the media, popular culture, and through various legislative efforts at local and state levels. In response, our Government Relations Committee has worked tirelessly to address these challenges with timely and tenacious efforts. Despite this, we have often found ourselves reacting to news and legislation rather than proactively shaping the narrative. In a significant shift toward proactive advocacy, we organized two Advocacy Days, in March 2023 and March 2024. During these events, we engaged with over 100 legislators in the US House of Representatives and Senate, advocating for issues critical to the students and families we serve, as well as those we don’t directly work with. Our focus has been on promoting transparency in college outcomes and costs, financial aid, and addressing adolescent mental health. These efforts have successfully positioned 51³Ô¹Ï as the premier resource for independent educational consulting. Legislators and legislative committees now seek our expertise for hearings and formal support for bills. This achievement is a testament to our strategic planning, resource allocation, and execution, underscoring the importance of our continued commitment to advocacy.
Education
Education is at the core of 51³Ô¹Ï, representing the epitome and pinnacle of our organization. In response to evolving needs, we have embarked on a journey of reinvention, reshaping our educational programming to ensure it remains relevant and impactful. Our approach is tailored to meet the diverse needs of all our stakeholders while maintaining the highest quality of content delivery. In the past few years, we have:
- Rebranded the Professional Member Business Retreat as the virtual Business Forum.
- Hosted three global in-person outreach events/symposia (Istanbul, Turkey in 2022; Milan, Italy in 2023; and Madrid, Spain in 2024) to serve our members worldwide.
- Delivered virtual and in-person roundtables focusing on specific areas, specialties, or the life cycles of independent educational consultants (IECs).
- Facilitated virtual College Conversations; College Conversations Engineering/CS, Global, and LD/ND In Focus; and School and Online School Conversations with admission reps worldwide.
- Introduced Wellness Wednesdays to prioritize the mental and physical wellbeing of our members, enhancing their ability to serve students and families effectively.
- Developed programs on major topics and emerging trends impacting our membership, aimed at educating members on critical issues such as student mental health, AI, and educational challenges.
- Created resources for conference presenters.
- Begun exploring and developing various educational offerings, including one-day and half-day symposia; education intensives; leadership training programs; a new Business Growth Institute; and professional development workshops.
- Conducted consistent monitoring and evaluation of current offerings, relying on member feedback to inform the development of new programs.
Through these initiatives, 51³Ô¹Ï continues to adapt and thrive, ensuring that our members are equipped with the knowledge and skills to navigate the ever-changing education landscape.
Professional Excellence
In 2022, we made a commitment to elevate professional excellence and standards by engaging in original research, publishing white papers, and collaborating with various educational institutions and organizations. Our goal was to enhance the value of your membership, the reputation of 51³Ô¹Ï, and the prestige of the profession as a whole. As we approach the midpoint of 2024, I am proud to report that we have already achieved the following milestones:
- Expanded our collaboration and partnership with the University of California certificate program to facilitate continued education and the integration of graduates into 51³Ô¹Ï and the IEC profession.
- Developed and released comprehensive State of the Profession surveys, gathering insights from over 1,000 51³Ô¹Ï members to inform governments and the media about our profession.
- Created a detailed Boarding School Directory, in collaboration with School Connections, to assist families and students in making informed decisions.
- Developed relationships with the offices of nearly 100 legislators over the last two years through our advocacy efforts.
- Initiated the integration of the American Institute of Certified Educational Planners (AICEP) into 51³Ô¹Ï.
Membership & Engagement
In this ever-evolving environment, we promised in 2022 that 51³Ô¹Ï would adapt and reimagine membership levels and categories to engage any and all of those who contribute to our profession with one purpose in mind: ELEVATE 51³Ô¹Ï, IECs, and the profession. In 2024, we have:
- Formed standards and structured our Regional Groups for more effective collaboration.
- Expanded our Affinity Groups to cater to the diverse interests and needs of our members.
- Enhanced outreach efforts to non-affiliated IECs and school counselors, providing pathways to membership.
- Created leadership pathways for our members to get involved in various committees and volunteer roles.
- Established systems and processes to track member volunteer efforts and recognize their involvement within 51³Ô¹Ï.
- Improved the diversification of our members, reflecting the evolving landscape of our profession.
- Enhanced standards for and professional development of our members through the Member Network.
- Restructured membership requirements for members with disabilities and/or challenges, creating pathways for them to maintain their membership.
- Assigned committees to examine Student and Retired/Emeritus categories for more engagement with our membership.
- Maintained membership dues while continually adding more benefits and value to each membership category.
- Explored various opportunities to expand membership categories, with finalization pending in 2025.
We have achieved remarkable success by integrating the principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) across all four strategic drivers, rather than treating DEIA as a standalone focus. This intentional and impactful approach to DEIA is unprecedented in our organization’s history.
Realizing these accomplishments within just two years is a testament to our dedication and hard work. During this period, I have had the privilege of forming over a dozen task forces or working groups, consisting of volunteers from our committees and membership at large, to explore various avenues for achieving our strategic plan goals.
With one more year to go for our strategic plan to be fully realized, I am proud to say that our team of officers, board members, our CEO, staff, and all of you have already accomplished the majority of our goals. Promises made, and promises delivered.
As I transition from my role as President to Chair of the CEO Hiring Committee and Past President, I am excited to embark on a new professional challenge: searching for, developing, hiring, and integrating our future CEO to succeed our longtime CEO, Mark Sklarow. So, this is not a farewell, but rather a “See you soon,” as we tackle this new challenge and opportunity for our association.
With heartfelt thanks,
Ibrahim Firat, MBA
51³Ô¹Ï President