National Association of Education Foundations bringing its national conference to Knoxville
The event will be held March 25-27 at the Marriott Knoxville Hotel.
The National Association of Education Foundations (NAEF) is bringing its national conference to Knoxville next month, thanks to the organization’s current Chair who is Mike Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of the Knox Education Foundation (KEF).
“The NAEF is excited to host the annual ImpactED national conference in Knoxville,” Taylor said. “ImpactED ‘25 provides a unique opportunity for our community to bring together education foundation leaders and experts from across the country to collaborate, sharing proven best practices and discussing innovative solutions to strengthen our nation’s education system. As Board Chair for NAEF, I look forward to welcoming everyone to Rocky Top.”
The three-day event will be held at the Marriott Knoxville Hotel in Downtown Knoxville beginning on March 25. It is a jam-packed agenda with an opening reception at Neyland Stadium, home of the Tennessee Volunteers, and a keynote address on the morning of March 26 by Brian Crimmins, Chief Operating Officer of Chaminade High School in New York and a strategic advisor to Changing Our World, a philanthropic consulting firm.
His address is titled “The Generosity Crisis is Here.” The session will explore the current state of philanthropy and provide concrete evidence around the changing definition of generosity. Participants will also learn about the unprecedented competition for connection facing modern nonprofit organizations and why creating “radical connections” is critical to helping Foundation leaders deliver on their mission.
On the final morning, a second keynote address will be delivered by Sarah Ohanesian, Founder of SO Productive, who is a nationally-known motivational speaker. The title of her presentation is “Dominate Your Day: Stop Being Busy and Leave Burnout Behind.”
Much of the balance of the conference over the final two days is devoted to breakout sessions. There are 23 listed on the agenda plus six TED Talk presentations. Taylor and Kathryn Starke, a national literacy consultant and Founder of Creative Minds Publications, will lead one of the early breakout sessions titled “How to Determine What Projects to Fund.”
For Taylor, it is an opportunity to shine the light on initiatives locally and across Tennessee. Other breakout sessions are being led by:
- Jill Akin, KEF’s Chief Operating Officer;
- Alayna Cate, a public education advocate and nonprofit professional serving as the Director of Partnerships for Nashville-based PENCIL;
- Windy Clayton, KEF’s Partner Engagement Officer;
- Brad Corum, Academies Coordinator for Knox County Schools;
- Erin Crisp, Executive Director of the Tennessee Grow Your Own Center and the newly named Assistant Vice President for Learner Success and Workforce Pathways for the University of Tennessee (UT) System;
- Kate Hall, Director of the Tennessee Grow Your Own Center;
- Kimberly R. Hill, Director of Project Excellence and Community Engagement Coordinator in the UT, Knoxville College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences;
- Katie Mixon, KEF’s Director of Educational Initiatives; and
- Maria I. Panizo, KEF’s Director of Data, Evaluation, and Strategy.
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