This week, I get to do what I love: lead professional learning with the incredible staff at Elite Academic Academy.

We are a virtual school. For most of the year, we wave at each other through screens, send messages in GChat, and meet in tiny Zoom boxes. So when we come together in person, it’s not just a training. It’s a reunion.

Three days of learning. Three days of hugs, hallway laughter, hallway tears, hallway everything. It’s sacred.

It’s also the result of months of planning. Spreadsheets, logistics, late-night ideas scribbled in a notebook, and, let’s be honest, a whole lot of anxiety. Will it come together? Will it feel meaningful? Will we use this time in a way that honors how precious it really is?

And then Tuesday morning arrives, and that first staff member walks down the hall and gives you a hug, and it all clicks into place.

Yes, we’ll be sharing some amazing things happening at Elite. AI. VR. A live virtual all-school musical that still gives me goosebumps. But the technology is not the story. The people are.

We’re spending this time focusing on culture, community, and relationships. On making sure every student, every staff member, every person connected to Elite feels like they matter. Because they do.

This is the work I love. And if you’re planning your own event, or looking for a speaker who leads with heart and clarity, I’d be honored to help.