Friday, November 5 | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm | ICC Education Center

Staff and Managers Track is a unique program just for Staff, Managers & Administrators of co-ops. This all-day program, which runs concurrently with NASCO Institute's Friday schedule, serves as a collective learning forum for campus co-op staff, managers & administrators from across Canada and the United States. Staff and Managers Track supplements NASCO's spring annual Staff & Managers' Conference, where participants share ideas through workshops, discussions and informal networking.

Sessions

Three sessions are offered; two are formal workshops, and the third is an open session. In the open session, participants have the opportunity to choose one or more topics to discuss as a group.  

Session One | Wellness Issues
Kellie Carbone, University of Michigan University Health Services
In this workshop, we will explore six dimensions of holistic wellness and focus on how substance use and abuse affects each dimension. In addition to substance abuse, participants will be able to focus on other wellness issues, such as mental health, eating disorders, emergency preparedness against infectious diseases. Participants will take away supportive intervention tools and prevention through member education.

Session Two | Building a Staff That's Both Cooperative and Effective

Laird Schaub, Consensus And Network Building for Resolving Impasse & Developing Group Effectiveness (CANBRIDGE)

It's important that co-op houses are managed in a way that models cooperative principles. Given that governing boards have hired an individual as general manager or executive director to bottom line operations, how can you foster a cooperative culture where power is unevenly distributed? What are the special challenges of being a person of authority in a cooperative setting? We'll look at how to handle critical feedback, accountability, evaluations, appreciation, transparency, and staff integration. We'll also discuss the delicacy of how much structure is needed for things to run smoothly.

This session is two hours long, with the opportunity to do more immediately afterwards. If you have specific challenges that you'd like addressed, please email your questions or a description of your difficult situation to Laird ahead of time, and he'll cover as many of these as possible:
laird@ic.org

Laird Schaub has lived 36 years at Sandhill Farm, an income-sharing rural community in Missouri that he helped found. Laird is also the main administrator of the FIC, a network organization he helped create in 1986 that serves as a clearinghouse of information about North American communities. He's also a meeting junkie and parlayed his passion for good process into a consulting business on group dynamics. His specialty is conducting up-tempo meetings that engage the full range of human input, teaching groups to work creatively with conflict, and being ruthless about capturing as much product as possible.

Session Three | Open Session

Staff & Managers Track fees

NASCO Member:
USD/CAD $110

Non-Member:
USD/CAD $150

The conference fee includes a light breakfast, coffee, tea, snacks, and the dinner.