Staff and members teams interested in Focus Academies may already be in the NEA Campaign Lab at the Power Building (Base Building and Developing Structure) or they may be teams outside of the Campaign Lab. Affiliate Staff may attend individually or as part of a team.
Each Focus Academy begins on a Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m., lasts for two and a half days, with returning travel on Thursday after 4:00 p.m. Organizing on HBCU Campuses is co-located with the HBCU Summit and begins on a Sunday to allow for those who may be attending both. (All locations are TBD, pending hotel contracting.)
Registration
The registration process for all in-person programs begins with the completion of the Manager’s Recommendation Form for any affiliate staff that plan to attend a Focus 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. Directions for completing the form, participant expectations, and access to the form can be found here.
2025-26 UniServ Focus Academy Schedule
November 5-7, 2025—Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders who work on or attend HBCU campuses or other non-predominantly white institutions of higher ed know that these institutions have a legacy of success for the students who attend. Studies show that these institutions of higher education provide their graduates with much higher rates of upward economic mobility than graduates of predominantly white institutions. Despite this, systems of power and inequality still plague the workers and students on these campuses.
UniServ, Organizers, and Members in these settings have to be highly skilled in leading, coaching and organizing across racial differences and especially in dealing with systems of economic and racial oppressions. This training will build participants’ skills in developing successful campaigns to win student and worker rights. Participants will learn how to build strong programs that elevate leaders, mobilizers, and activists in this important higher education setting. Participants will:
- Understand role staff, leaders, and rank-and-file members play in building locals while maintaining a member-driven program
- Explore best practices from a number of member engagement case studies
- Explore a number of successful affiliates that have focused on HBCU Programs and Campaigns
- Develop skills around strategic planning, leadership tests, data collection, and narrative development.
- Complete a basic issue campaign plan
This training is appropriate for Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders working to build campaigns on HBCU campuses and other non-predominantly white institutions of higher education. Registration priority will be given to teams of Staff and Members who are ready to work on an issue campaign. Participants should leave with a level of confidence, knowledge, methods, and resources allowing them to lead a campaign cycle focused on Racial Justice.
December 2-4, 2025—Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders work with colleagues, and community members who belong to and are allies of the LGBTQ+ community. Understanding this community and their issues are critical to providing support and guidance that is not only inclusive but liberating. With partners from the Center for Racial Justice, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and other experts participants will learn how to:
- Establish common understandings about the identities under the LGBTQ+ community umbrella
- Develop a shared understanding of the anti LGBTQ+ policy landscape and how to develop counter narratives of inclusion and equity
- Deepen skills and strategies to confront implicit bias, micro-aggressions and stereotypes in the LGBTQ+ community
- Develop a toolset of tactics for dismantling systems of privilege and oppression as it relates to LGBTQ+ educators and students
- Complete a basic issue campaign plan
This training is appropriate for Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders working to build campaigns around the issues critical to the LGBTQ+ community. Registration priority will be given to teams of Staff and Members who are ready to work on an issue campaign. Participants should leave with a level of confidence, knowledge, methods, and resources allowing them to lead a campaign cycle focused on LGBTQ+ Justice.
January 13-15, 2026—Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders work with colleagues, supporters and partners to address white supremacy culture in many settings. They have to be highly skilled in leading, coaching and organizing across racial differences and especially in dealing with white fragility and interpersonal oppressions. UniServ, Organizers, and Members need to understand the methods and commitments required to center Racial Justice in all aspects of an issue campaign. The NEA Center for Organizing and the NEA Center for Social Justice provide training designed to build participants’ skills through awareness of white supremacy culture, interpersonal racism and systemic racism. Participants will learn how to help themselves and others:
- Establish a common language for talking explicitly about white supremacy culture in a campaign cycle
- Deepen skills and strategies to confront implicit bias, micro-aggressions and stereotypes
- Develop a shared understanding of the levels of racism with a focus on a power analysis required to make change at various levels
- Develop a toolset of tactics for dismantling systems of privilege and oppression
- Complete a basic issue campaign plan
This training is appropriate for Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders working to build campaigns around Racial Justice. Registration priority will be given to teams of Staff and Members who are ready to work on an issue campaign. Participants should leave with a level of confidence, knowledge, methods, and resources allowing them to lead a campaign cycle focused on Racial Justice.
February 10-12, 2026—Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders understand that there is a difference between the scope of worksite campaigns and local political campaigns such as school board elections. While both are important, school board elections make a huge impact in the day-to-day lives of public school employees. These campaigns also provide important union presence and power building internally and externally. To win, staff need to continue to build strong leaders, mobilizers, and activists while also building relationships with outside groups, mobilizing voters, and finding candidates. Participants will:
- Understand role staff, members, and leaders can play to guide their locals while maintaining a member-driven program
- Realize member engagement plans must communicate to members as voters, volunteers, and campaign leaders
- Recognize different roles the public can play in candidate recruitment and outreach through traditional voter contact and coalitions
- Explore best practices from a member engagement case study, an organized opposition campaign, and strategic candidate recruitment models.
This training is appropriate for Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders planning to support locals engaged in school board elections. Registration priority will be given to teams of Staff and Members who are ready to work on an issue campaign. Participants should leave with a level of confidence, knowledge, methods, and resources allowing them to lead a campaign cycle focused on a local school board race.
March 25-27, 2026—Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders who work with ESP locals are responsible for identifying and developing leaders, organizing issue campaigns, and understanding and advocating for the unique needs of ESP members. Strong ESP affiliates have a high ratio of engaged leaders to rank and file members and structures that allow for rapid response, relationship development and collective action. This NEA Center for Organizing training is designed to build skills around ESP leadership identification and development. They will learn how to establish differentiated and innovative structures that can increase member engagement and union presence within and across worksites of the various job families within ESP. Participants will learn how to help themselves and others:
- Identify and develop potential ESP leaders
- Develop a shared understanding of ESP leadership structures
- Explore a number of successful affiliates that have focused on ESP leadership development and engagement structures
- Identify relevant resources available for ESP led career and leadership development
- Build and deepen skills for working with ESP leaders and growing potential leaders
This training is appropriate for Affiliate Staff, Members, and Leaders planning to support locals engaged in ESP issue organizing. Registration priority will be given to teams of Staff and Members who are ready to work on an issue campaign. Participants should leave with a level of confidence, knowledge, methods, and resources for them to lead a campaign cycle focused on ESP Issues.
