The Mereese Ladson Diversity Scholarship was established in 2005 in honor of the late Mereese Ladson, Controller at Brooklyn College (CUNY). Ms. Ladson was a President and long-time leader of NACAS East, and a great friend to the entire association. Ms. Ladson’s professionalism, commitment to inclusiveness for all, and leadership were sources of inspiration to our members. This scholarship program is intended to further her work to promote the advancement of diverse, career-minded, higher education professionals and to enhance their auxiliary services skill and knowledge base through NACAS professional development programs.

"I perceive the Mereese Ladson Scholarship to be an extension of Ms. Ladson’s passion," said Melvine Walker, one of three recipients of the 2018 scholarship. "My greatest passion is to be an integral part of humanity’s growth and the Mereese Ladson Scholarship is providing me this privilege. I’m elated to share in Ms. Ladson’s legacy and just as eager to give back through my strong commitment and servitude to NACAS, NACAS East, and my campus community."

Application Due Date: February 28

 

The NACAS Leadership Series, presented by PrismRBS, seeks to provide auxiliary service professionals with tailor-made programs to boost them into the next level of their learning journey.

We invite you to join us for one or more of our newly-designed events. INITIATE your career at the Emerging Professionals Academy. Learn about the INTERSECT between organizational politics and collaborative leadership at the Institute for Leadership & Management. Discover how to INTEGRATE industry trends and business models at the Senior Executive Summit.

 

Reporter and Storytelling Consultant; Director of the Storytellers Brand Studio

Megan Finnerty is a journalist and storytelling consultant who works with individuals, nonprofits, and brands. Essentially, she’s a professional listener... who also likes to talk. She’s the director of the Storytellers Brand Studio and the founder and director of the Storytellers Project, a nationwide series of live storytelling events from the USA TODAY Network in more than 20 cities. Her storytelling coaching methods have helped almost 3,000 people tell their stories on stages across the country.

Finnerty has coached more than 1,000 people to share true, first-person stories. She graduated from Purdue University, and was a news features reporter at The Arizona Republic for 14 years.

 

Editor at The Guardian; Former President of Uncomfortable Learning at Williams College; and free speech advocate

Zachary R. Wood wants to encourage open conversations about hard topics. He is a Robert L. Bartley Fellow at The Wall Street Journal and a class of 2018 graduate of Williams College, where he served as president of Uncomfortable Learning, a student group that sparked national controversy for inviting provocative speakers to campus, from John Derbyshire to Charles Murray. Wood’s defense of such conversations led him to give Senate testimony in the summer of 2017.

His recent writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Nation, The Weekly Standard, Times Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Jet, and SLAM Magazine. In 2018, he published Uncensored, a book that tells his own personal story to enrich and deepen his work as an advocate for difficult conversations.