ASPA Annual Conference Event: Strategic Imperative Group 1

This was a great meeting. The group here was very inviting to everyone, including students. This group needs to address who does ASPA need to appeal to, what are its assets, what segments of the market are not reached out to, and how ways to creatively use our assets to increase and retain memberships. This all fell under their Membership Initiatives.
These discussions are very similar to the discussions we have been holding in the MPA Student Association at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In essence, we have the same goals of increasing membership, member participation, and retaining members by providing services that are beneficial and of interest to them. This also coincides with the research the MPA Student Association conducted on chapter strategies for the new diversity where we tried to identify what do new members and young professionals want from ASPA Chapters. This research will be presented on Monday, March 23, 2009 at 9:45AM in Gardenia B.
What I found most interesting was that they welcomed ideas, assistance, and support from everyone. I, as a new professional, was slightly taken aback when asked “would I like to work on a committee.” This showed me that I too can be a real part of ASPA. Additionally, the committee also provided everyone with a detailed outline of their previous, current, and future plans.

Jose Luis Irizarry, MPA
President, MPA Student Association
John Jay College of Criminal Justice