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Over the past year, NAA Director of Advocacy and Workforce Initiatives, Angelica Portillo, was invited to speak and present workshops at various local, state, and national conferences. At these conferences, Angelica was able to share NAA’s current focus of Building a Thriving OST Workforce. As the 2023 conference season ends, we’ve invited her to share her reflections about job quality, supporting young professionals, and the importance of community in our field.
Job Quality:
At NAA, we are talking about Job Quality, and why it is necessary for the stability of our afterschool workforce when we think of what job quality looks like, conferences are a great example. Investing in your staff to attend or taking the initiative to ask to attend a conference in an element of job quality. Attending conferences ensures that your programs are up to date on what’s new in afterschool. Still, it also provides staff with opportunities and inspiration to evolve their career in OST, find potential mentors, and see that the world of OST and its impact is much bigger than their program.
Young Professionals:
As we work to create stability in our workforce, a key component is ensuring those newly entering the OST workforce have the knowledge and support needed to make OST a career. I have now been able to host YP Meets Up at three conferences. I want to share some common themes that present themselves. Here are a few things Young Professionals want to know:
- What does a career in OST look like?
- How do I network?
- How do I manage people for the first time, especially if my employees have been in the field longer than me?
I encourage the more seasoned professionals in the field to sit down with the younger employees and start the conversation on what they need to be successful in their roles and follow through with support and resources.
Belonging:
Putting on a conference is challenging, from finding a location, exhibitors, and presenters to creating an experience for hundreds of people over several days. When done well and with intention, an environment is created that provides opportunities to learn, share ideas, innovate, and sometimes vent, but most importantly, it provides a sense of hope and belonging. The work of afterschool professionals is demanding and might leave you wondering if you made the right career choice, but as workshops fuel excitement, keynotes inspire, and you make friends along the way, it makes you realize it was the right choice.
I will continue to cherish the knowledge gained, shared laughter, and stories told in 2023. And I look forward to creating new memories in 2024, starting with the NAA24 Convention taking place in Dallas March 17-20, 2024. Come see it for yourself!
Angelica Portillo, Director of Advocacy and Workforce Initiatives, National AfterSchool Association
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