I was born in Washington state and spent most of my life in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by Seattle Seahawks fans. In 2006, I moved to the East Coast and married into a family who bleeds the green of the Philadelphia Eagles. Since then, I've had two favorite bird teams. The past couple of years have been especially interesting, not only because these two bird teams have gone head to head several times, but because of the focus on the leadership provided by the coaches of each organization.

We've been working hard to line up the best guests and presenters for the NAA Annual Convention in March 2016. Here's a sampling of who will be available to answer your questions and offer inspiration throughout your time in Orlando!

It's EASY!

Group management is a skill that is imperative when working in youth programs, and especially so when implementing STEM. It is important the adult leader carefully plan and prepare in advance in order to create the necessary structure for STEM learning—to make this process EASY, focus on the Environment, Activities, Schedule, and Your relationships and interactions.

I'm busy. We're all busy. This year I recommended that we move Thanksgiving from Thursday to Friday. Why?

One of the highlights of NAA's inaugural International Learning Exchange was an afternoon at the London Science Museum with Dr. Kenny Webster, head of the museum's Learning Operations.

In the book Partners in Learning: From Conflict to Collaboration in Secondary Classrooms, Carol Miller Lieber writes that doing a meet and greet with students during arrival is critical to relationship building.

Building positive relationships with youth is an essential task and a foundational component of good instructional practice.

Youth grow and thrive in the context of close and dependable relationships that provide love and nurturance, security, and responsive interactions.

Heidi Ham recently joined NAA as Vice President of Programs and Strategy. She will work closely with NAA Executive Director Gina Warner to lead the execution and development of NAA strategy to advance current work and to create and support new opportunities specifically focused on quality improvement, advancing professionalism, and strengthening state and local alliances. Get to know NAA's newest team member!