By invitation only, Campaign Academies are designed for affiliate staff and members that are currently in the NEA Campaign Lab. There are three levels of leadership within the NEA Campaign Lab: Organizing Team Leads, Campaign Coaches, and Mentor Coaches.
Team Leads are local member leaders who have submitted a Campaign Lab application and have been working with a Campaign Lab Coach. They are focused on developing an Organizing Team and leading that team in designing and implementing an issue campaign cycle.
Campaign Coaches are members who have experienced leading an organizing team through at least two issue campaign cycles. Campaign Coaches commit to growing the capacity of at least one Team Lead to successfully implement a campaign cycle.
Mentor Coaches are either affiliate staff or members who have broader experience with leading teams and locals implementing issue campaigns. Mentor Coaches are committed to growing the capacity of coaches to move their Team Leads through campaign cycles.
Each Campaign Academy begins on a Friday morning at 8:30 a.m., lasts for two and a half days, with return travel on Sunday after 4:00 p.m.
NEA Lead for these programs is Amanda Kail, [email protected].
Registration
The registration process for Campaign Academies begins with an invitation from NEA Campaign Lab Staff to Team Leads, Coaches, and Mentor Coaches. Managers of staff who are invited must complete the Manager’s Recommendation Form for any affiliate staff that plan to attend a Campaign Academy. For those staff who are bringing member teams, they should provide the full member team list with First Name, Last Name, and Email of each person for the Manager to include on the Recommendation Form. Please note, the form must be completed by the manager for any Academy sessions that you approve your staff to attend, and for any that include member teams.
Find more information about Registration and participant expectations
Campaign Academy Schedule
In the 2026-27 Program Year, there will be four Campaign Academies.
Coaching Academy
September 25-27, 2026
Intended for Campaign Lab coaches or those who want to learn coaching skills, this training covers the fundamentals of coaching a campaign lead through their campaign. Learn how to diagnose problems and how to center the lead in your response. Participants will also get an overview of the mechanics of a campaign cycle and learn how they can help develop plans, analyze data, and encourage strategic thinking in those they are coaching. Participants will also receive certification as an NEA Campaign Coach. Participants will learn how to help themselves and others:
- Develop core coaching skills that transform individual and team agency into action within an issue campaign
- Build strong leadership teams with defined boundaries and roles
- Develop skills around strategic planning, leadership tests, data collection, and narrative development.
- Move away from episodic mobilization of the already engaged – to the deeper work of moving people to “our” side.
- Focus on long-term campaign planning around organizing issues.
This training is appropriate for Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders who are already Team Leads, Coaches, or Mentor Coaches in the Campaign Lab System. Participants should leave with a level of confidence, knowledge, methods, and resources allowing them to coach and lead an issue campaign cycle.
Coalition and Strategic Planning
February 19-21, 2027
Intended for advanced campaign teams who have completed at least one campaign cycle. This workshop is an intensive dive into creating a multi-year, multi-issue plan that will intentionally and strategically build community support and coalitional power. Exhausted from having to react to constant attacks? Using case studies of best practices, learn how to create narrative shifts that put pro-public education, pro-labor, pro-justice movements in the drivers seat. Participants will leave with tools for identifying and aligning with potential coalition partners, and a clear plan for building local and regional power to attain goals that achieve a long-term vision rooted in shared values. This training is for those who are ready and committed to level up! This training requires a team of at least 5 members to register. Participants will learn how to help themselves and others:
- Develop core coaching skills that transform individual and team agency into action within an issue campaign
- Build strong leadership teams with defined boundaries and roles
- Develop skills around strategic planning, leadership tests, data collection, and narrative development.
- Move away from episodic mobilization of the already engaged – to the deeper work of moving people to “our” side.
- Focus on long-term campaign planning around organizing issues.
This training is appropriate for Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders who are already Team Leads, Coaches, or Mentor Coaches in the Campaign Lab System. Participants should leave with a level of confidence, knowledge, methods, and resources allowing them to coach and lead an issue campaign cycle.
Building Teams to Win
March 12-14, 2027
Intended for new leaders or campaigners who are just starting out. Are you a “one-person-show” at your local? Tired of being the only one who does union work? Learn how to build teams of diverse leaders with the skills, vision, and commitment needed to build a leaderful campaign and an active base strong enough to win. Participants will leave with a clear plan to identify, engage, and recruit new leaders, a clear understanding of best practices for organizing teams, how to build worksite structures everywhere, and techniques for communicating in ways that increase engagement and participation. Participants will learn how to help themselves and others:
- Analyze their current situation in the context of a broader political landscape
- Build a vision based on shared values and analyze that vision through an equity lens
- Articulate solidarity as a strategic choice as well as a union valu
- Understand why a team is vital to a campaign
- Learn the strategy of base-building
- Learn key skills to build a team: 1:1 organizing conversation, worksite mapping and charting, and leader identification
- Learn about examples of how to troubleshoot common problems with organizing teams.
- Create a plan to build the strongest, tightest, most resilient organizing committee possible
This training is appropriate for Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders who are already Team Leads, Coaches, or Mentor Coaches in the Campaign Lab System. Participants should leave with a level of confidence, knowledge, methods, and resources allowing them to lead an issue campaign cycle.
Making a Plan to Win
April 23-25, 2027
Intended for organizing teams who want to workshop their campaign plans. This workshop focusses on how to research your opposition in order to do a power analysis that guides the creation of escalating tactics for the win. Also, learn how to create, track, and use structure tests and compression points to gauge how much power you have built already. Also learn how to pivot when your best plans go sideways. Participants will leave with a better understanding of their opposition and a tailored plan of escalating tactics designed to effectively build the power necessary to win your goal. This workshop requires a team of at least 3 participants. Participants will learn how to help themselves and others:
- Develop key coaching skills and apply them for appropriate interventions and growth of leaders within an issue campaign
- Coach for the growth and agitation of leaders and activists in ever expanding structures
- Understanding the methods for developing and supporting coalitions
- Design strategic alignment of leadership tests and tactics using scenarios and case studies.
- Understand “organizer math” for the number of people needed at each strategic point of a campaign and how to coach teams towards those metrics.
- Focus on long-term campaign planning around organizing issues.
This training is appropriate for Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders who are already Team Leads, Coaches, or Mentor Coaches in the Campaign Lab System. Participants should leave with a level of confidence, knowledge, methods, and resources allowing them to coach and lead an issue campaign cycle.
