Hosted each fall, Leader Summit is a leadership development conference organized by the Center for Student Engagement and the Student Government Association. Bringing together Tech’s aspiring, new, and returning student leaders, the summit engages participants in a day of conversation and activity to drive collaboration, training, information sharing, and networking with a collective goal in mind: preparing student leaders to make meaningful change within their organizations and across campus.

This year, the Leader Summit will take place on Sept. 27 from 9 a.m. to noon. For Leader Summit 2020, we will be using the platform Gatherly. This platform, developed by Yellow Jackets, will provide the technical scope necessary to host 200 students in a virtual conference.

In the midst of a tumultuous year that has seen anti-Black violence, human rights crises, and a pandemic, the 2020 Leader Summit theme is “Catalyst for Change.” We will be focusing on topics of racial justice and social justice. The keynote will be a conversation between College of Engineering Dean Steve McLaughlin (who will assume the role of provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs Oct. 1) and Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Dean Kaye Husbands Fealing to discuss their approaches to leadership and social justice. Additionally, this year’s Leader Summit will feature dedicated student networking time and breakout session modules that will be beneficial to all organizations — including navigating member recruitment and retention, and fundraising and finances for student organizations.

Program registration: gatech.campuslabs.com/engage/event/6209525

Attendees will receive credit toward their progress on GOLD (Guiding Organization Leader Development) Route,a new program designed to help student leaders acquire the skills and knowledge they need to make meaningful change.

All students are invited to attend Leader Summit. Even if you don't think of yourself as a leader, if you've never held an elected position on campus, or if you've been the president of an organization — Leader Summit is for you. To support our Registered Student Organizations (RSOs), we encourage each RSO to send at least two representatives: a current officer and an emerging leader (a junior officer or a member the organization is encouraging to run for future officer roles). To register for the Leader Summit, visit Engage: gatech.campuslabs.com/engage/event/6209525

For more information, contact the Center for Student Engagement team at engage@gatech.edu.