Did you know that there was over 6,000 attendees for the 2021 Virtual National Leadership Conference?

Over the past two weeks, BPA members who earned their way to the top through Regional and State Leadership Conferences competed in over one hundred (100) competitive events, earned hundreds of industry certifications (through Certiport, Precision Exams, and TestOut) and engaged with fellow members through a wide variety of leadership workshops!

POST-CONFERENCE WEBSITE
Please take some time to visit the Post-Conference website: https://nlc.bpa.org to review successes from the two-week event including, but not limited to:

• Recordings of the General Sessions (including the Grand Awards)
• Talent Show Winners
• Best in Show Virtual Showcase Winners
• Take the Post-Conference Survey to be entered into multiple prize drawings
• Instructions to download earned Industry Certifications
• And so much more!

VIEW FINAL RANKINGS FOR ALL COMPETITIVE EVENTS
For BPA Members: Log into the BPA Members section of the Registration system (https://register.bpa.org/members).  Click on the Conferences tab and then select the conference to review your historical NLC results.

For Local Chapter Advisors: Log into the Registration system (https://register.bpa.org/).  Click on the Conferences tab and then select the appropriate conference.  You will then be presented with an option to download a report of your Chapter’s performance.

For State Advisors: Log into the Registration system (https://register.bpa.org/).  Click on the Conferences tab and then select the appropriate conference.  You will then be presented with an option to download a report of all members in your located within your State.

Spencer Christensen Joins BPA as New National Officer Coordinator

Business Professionals of America is pleased to welcome Spencer Christensen to our organization’s National Center staff as the National Officer Coordinator. He began his position on Monday, May 3, 2021.

In this part-time position, Spencer will be responsible for serving as the primary support to the National Officer Team and guiding them through coaching, leadership training and engagement opportunities. He will oversee all aspects of the National Officer team’s activities including, but not limited to, National Officer Orientation and Summer Officer Training, Winter Officer Meeting, NLC preparation and participation, officer elections, and any other activities involving BPA National Officers.

A former two-term National Officer himself, Spencer has continued his work in student leadership development through a variety of engagement activities to include service as a BPA local chapter advisor as well as in various other roles within Idaho BPA. He has served on several national committees as well. Additionally, Spencer can be credited with the development and management of the inaugural Student Certification Series on the (then) Community Moodle site. Under his vision, the Officer Team worked to develop the curriculum, materials and design.

In his own words, Spencer shared “At the heart of this position, I see my role as a mentor, guide and coach. National Officers have earned the position and come to Business Professionals of America with strong skills, talents, ideas and energy. My job would be to nurture and support the team as well as advocate for them while balancing the needs of the organization.”

Spencer completed his educational studies at Idaho State University and earned teaching certifications in business technology, Spanish and economics. He also earned a CTE Administrator certification.

Currently, he works as a clinical lecturer at Idaho State University where his main role is to prepare CTE teachers to become certified to teach in the classroom. Outside of working in education, Spencer enjoys outdoor activities and traveling with Chelsae, his wife of seven years, and their three-year-old son Raymond.

We at BPA are very excited welcome Spencer to the National Center staff to serve in this role and help mentor the next generation of leaders. Spencer can be reached via email at: schristensen@bpa.org.

2021 National Officer Team Announced

Business Professionals of America (BPA) is pleased to announce the slate of officers who will serve for a one-year term on the Executive Council for the 2021-2022 membership year. The new National Officer Team for both Secondary and Post-secondary Divisions are:

Secondary Division
President – Elijah Johnson (Minnesota)
Vice President – Keegan Ward (Idaho)
Secretary – Grace Tang (China)
Treasurer – Shree Kidavatiganti (Texas)
Historian – Nathan Slater (Oklahoma)
Parliamentarian – Daniyal Ghayasuddin (Texas)

Post-secondary Division
President – John Lucas Guimaraes (Massachusetts)
Vice President – Engen Sundberg (Alaska)

Each year, the National Association of Business Professionals of America elects up to ten student members to represent the organization as a National Officer on the Executive Council from the Secondary and Post-secondary Divisions.

The primary responsibility of a National Officer is to serve and advocate on behalf of the organization in local, state and national efforts while representing the student interest. Additionally, presidents from each division will have a one-year term of service on the National BPA Board of Trustees.

The National Officers are elected by voting delegates from the organization’s membership and slated by a nominating committee.

According to National Officer Coordinator, Spencer Christensen, "I frame my educational philosophy around John Wooden's definition of success. He says, 'Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.' Our National Officers begin their terms with such great experiences and knowledge gained from their previous leadership roles. While I know each team will accomplish worthwhile goals, it is my priority to expound on what each officer brings to their position and support them as they grow into the best professionals they are capable of becoming throughout their term."

National BPA Executive Director Dr. LouAnn Ross agreed saying, “Each of these young, inspiring leaders have a tremendous opportunity to make a significant impact on behalf of the students of our organization. I look forward to seeing their progress throughout the membership year.”

Over the summer, the National Officer Team will participate in leadership development training where they will set out their Program of Work for the upcoming membership year. Then, throughout the year, they will work to lead, support and engage with BPA students and stakeholders through service learning, advocacy, educational enrichment and networking.

Business Professionals of America Announces 2020-2021 National Board of Trustees

Business Professionals of America, Inc. (BPA) is pleased to announce the election of six new members to its Board of Trustees, four of which will serve three-year terms, and two will serve a one-year term each. Joining the Board of Trustees for a three-year term of service are Dr. Brenda Jacobsen, Post-secondary Representative; Paxton Cavin, At Large; Devon Winters, Secondary Representative; and Mark Burch, State Supervisor Representative. Elijah Johnson, Secondary National President, and John Lucas Guimaraes, Post-secondary National President, will both serve one-year terms during their service on the BPA National Officer Team.

In addition to the election of new trustees, the new Board of Trustees Officers were also appointed. Leading the organization’s Board as Chair will be Dr. Brenda Jacobsen of Idaho who has been involved with the organization for 23 years.

Angie Benson, Project Coordinator with Restaurant Technologies and BPA Alumni Representative, will serve as Vice Chair of the Board; Paxton Cavin, State Advisor for Oklahoma BPA, will serve as Secretary; and Evan Wolff, Business Representative and BPA National Business Advisory Council member from CPA.com, a subsidiary of American Institute of CPAs, will serve as Treasurer.

"We welcome the new members of our National Board of Trustees and look forward to working together to continue supporting and advancing the students we all serve, " said Dr. LouAnn Ross, BPA Executive Director/CEO. “Additionally, I am thrilled to recognize the newly elected officers for the coming year led by Dr. Brenda Jacobsen. We would also like to express our sincere appreciation to Mrs. Debbie Darnell for her dedicated leadership through a challenging year as we faced a number of uncertainties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her unwavering commitment to our organization is commendable and our organization is stronger because of it!”

In addition to recognizing the newest members of the Board of Trustees, BPA would also like to express its appreciation for the dedicated service of the five outgoing members who have completed their terms: Ryan Nkongnyu, Sophia Pearson, Shauna Williams, Athena Frank, and Natasha Smith.

Lead4Change provides students the opportunity to lead, create and implement virtual or in-person team projects. Lessons take student teams through a service project in their school or community. Each year student teams can win up to $10,000 for their charity or school in the Lead4Change Challenge. 

The program offers a collaborative learning experience while strengthening social emotional skills. See the program alignment to CASEL SEL here. Alignment to PBL Works can be found here. Recently released evidence-based research highlights student growth in SEL and leadership learning. The full study is published on the Lead4Change website at: Lead4Change.org/research.

Lead4Change is adaptable and works across any setting, subject area, advisory or after school. Program support for members includes:

• Mentoring from active participants
• Professional development sessions for teachers, schools or administrators
• Instructional videos available for every step of the program
• Educator outreach consultants available 1-on-1 

Join other active BPA chapters to bring improved skills, recognition and support to your school. More than 50 BPA chapters are currently using Lead4Change! How can we get you started?

Register for free today at Lead4Change.org/register for access to lessons and resources—and receive weekly tips, ideas, support and encouragement. Start now by exploring some virtual project ideas here.