March 26-27, 2016: What’s Next for NeMLA

[This past week, after many years of planning and many posts in this space, I helped host the 2016 Northeast MLA convention in Hartford. In this week’s series of recap posts I’ve focused specifically on the new initiatives I brought to the convention. I’d love to hear more follow ups of yours, but I wanted in this weekend post to share a bit of what’s to come—and how you can get involved!]

I’m gonna keep this relatively short, for reasons directly related to item #1 below—and because I hope we can keep talking, here and elsewhere, about what’s next for NeMLA and how you can and should be part of it!

1)      It’s important to start by highlighting the ongoing work of our new President, Hilda Chacón, who is moving us toward our March 2017 convention in Baltimore very smoothly. I can say with certainty, based on my own final year of conference planning, that Hilda will greatly appreciate any and all ways you can contribute to that planning and convention—whether you’re in Baltimore or the area, further afield but hoping to join us in 2017, or just someone with ideas to share for the convention and NeMLA. Please feel free to contact me (I remain on the Executive Board for one more year!), Hilda, or anyone who’s part of NeMLA to add your voice!

2)      One specific way you can immediately get involved, for 2017 and beyond, is to run for one of the many Board positions that are up for election in 2016 (and would thus begin at the 2017 convention). The full list is here (a page that also highlights those positions that will be open in 2017, ahead of future president Maria DiFrancesco’s 2018 convention in Pittsburgh), and I encourage you to consider running for the Board and to let me know any questions or concerns you might have before doing so.

3)      Finally, and most personally, I very much hope that the specific initiatives I’ve discussed in this week’s posts—most especially the public school visits, but also the idea of president-sponsored sessions on key contemporary issues and conversations—can continue into the Baltimore convention and beyond. More broadly, I hope that we can keep talking about ways to help NeMLA connect to communities and our contemporary world—and I know that Hilda shares that hope as well. If you want to be involved in any of that continuing work, have other ideas or perspectives to share, or just want to be kept updated on where we go from here, please let me know! I can’t wait to see what’s next for NeMLA and hope you can be part of it.

Next series starts Monday,

Ben

PS. Other NeMLA follow ups you’d share? Ideas for NeMLA’s future? I’d still really love to hear them (and feel free to email them to me if you prefer)!