Margaret Valyou (Assistant Director of Prospect Development, Research & Strategy at NC State University) is the recipient of the 2020 Apra Carolina’s Professional Development Scholarship. The scholarship can be applied to any professional development activity offered by Apra Carolinas or Apra International. Margaret used the funds to attend this year's virtual Apra PD Conference in August. She shared the following impressions of her experience through a Q&A session:
Tell me a little about yourself. How long have you been in prospect development?
I’m originally from New York State and moved to North Carolina to pursue an MPA degree at UNC-Chapel Hill. Once I realized that warm spring weather could come as early as February in the South, I was hooked and never moved back north! I’ve worked in the Office of Prospect Development at NC State University for 11 years. Prior to that, I worked at several nonprofits in various fundraising operations roles.
What did you think of the virtual format of the conference?
This is the first virtual conference I’ve attended. Overall, it worked out well for me. I enjoyed having options for how much live interaction I wanted in a day. There seemed to be enough flexibility to accommodate both introverts and extroverts, while providing similar networking opportunities that you would find at an in-person conference. I also appreciated the breaks that were built into the schedule. Multiple hours of virtual sessions can be tiring on your body and mind.
Have you attended Apra PD before this year?
Yes, several times over the years I’ve worked at NC State.
Why did you choose this conference in particular?
A co-worker had previously won the Apra Conference registration in a prize drawing (thank you Apra Carolinas!) but was no longer available to attend. So, I was fortunate to be able to transfer the registration and attend in her place.
Did you have a favorite session?
I enjoyed the keynote presentation by Frank Sesno and the parallels he drew between his work and our industry. Some meaningful takeaways for me were:
- “The key is not necessarily the first question asked but the follow up question/s.”
- “When you pose a question to others you create a partnership, you invite others into the dialogue, you give them a sense of ownership.”
- His suggestions on how to structure a successful discussion
The Corporate and Foundation Research and Relationship Management session by Megan Tedeschi was also interesting because she walked through how her shop determines capacity on organizations, which is always a great topic. It was helpful that she outlined several options and described the methodology. [Editor's Note: We're glad you enjoyed it, Margaret! Megan will be presenting that session for us as part of our Apra Carolinas fall conference, so plan to register if you missed it at PD!]
Did you notice any common themes throughout the sessions? The idea of how much/what kind of data to collect and then what to do with it once you have it – in terms of ethical data use, privacy regulations, and diversity/inclusion – was an overall theme referenced in most of the sessions I attended.
Did anything unique stick out about this conference as compared to others you’ve attended?
As you might expect, the uncertainty and urgency spawned by the pandemic and social injustice protests were at the top of most people’s minds at this conference.
Is there one thing that you’re committed to making happen at your organization as a direct result of attending the conference? I had already been thinking about the idea of diversity in prospect pools. How do we increase diversity within the research process of identifying suspects when we’re working on a data level and dealing with data points, not people with individual characteristics? There were a couple conference sessions that touched on this and gave me some different ways to think about it, so I’ll definitely be continuing down that road. [Editor's Note: We will also be hosting a wonderful session on DEI at our fall conference, so stay tuned for more details!]
