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EXCEL/PROVE/MOBILIZE

 GEAR UP Directors’ Summit

MARCH 3-4, 2025 | MIAMI, FL

GEAR UP Directors from across the country are invited to attend this unique, participant-driven experience! Attendees will:

  • Build relationships and establish new connections through networking and discussion

  • Gain support from peers with structured time to consult and share best practices

  • Engage in collaborative problem-solving centered on improving the design, implementation, and impact of GEAR UP

Join this exclusive opportunity to harness the collective wisdom of the GEAR UP community.

Join Us in Miami

Each grant, by unique PR/Award Number, may register one Director or Principal Investigator. Optionally, each grant can add one additional senior leader who will be placed on a waitlist.

  • January 10, 2025 – Priority registration deadline; waitlisted attendees will be registered if space is available.

  • February 10, 2025 – Final registration and last day to book overnight rooms at the event hotel. Subject to close earlier if we reach capacity.

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Who should attend?

This event is deliberately kept small; therefore, registration will initially be limited to one GEAR UP Director or Principal Investigator per grant. If space allows, a second senior leader from a grant may attend. Follow up will begin on January 11 to those on the waitlist. 

After you register, NCCEP must approve your registration. If paying by credit card, you will not be charged until you have been approved.

Although all GEAR UP Directors are strongly encouraged to attend, the goals of the event may not be for everyone. Read “What should I expect?” to learn more and determine if this event is a good fit for you.

What should I expect?

This is not your typical conference! The focus is on improving GEAR UP through collaborative problem-solving, improving our leadership, and strengthening relationships among Directors. See the at-a-glance agenda.

In addition to structured networking opportunities, attendees can select which topic(s) they want to contribute to. Volunteer facilitators from within the GEAR UP Director community will walk through a methodology to identify root causes and brainstorm possible solutions to some of the core challenges faced by GEAR UP.

Topics were nominated by GEAR UP Directors and selected in collaboration with the planning committee. The majority of the Directors’ Summit will focus on these key challenges:

  • Academic Readiness: How can GEAR UP prepare students to enroll and succeed in a challenging high school academic curriculum?

  • Aligning Goals to Workforce: How can we align GEAR UP goals and programming with the current emphasis on workforce and economic development?

  • Balancing Centralization: How can GEAR UP programs better navigate the programmatic tension between accommodating local school flexibility and pushing for grant-wide centralization and fidelity?

  • Family Leadership: How can GEAR UP develop and empower family members as peer leaders?    

  • Student Motivation: How can GEAR UP motivate students on a systemic level to engage with the program and their education?

Attendees can also opt to continue the conversation and work beyond the Directors’ Summit. The goal will be to ultimately create actionable tools or resources to help address the common challenges faced by GEAR UP Directors.

Where does it take place?

The 2025 GEAR UP Directors’ Summit will be at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay, 1633 North Bayshore Drive, Miami, FL. This newly renovated hotel offers 360 degrees of stunning views and easy access to the waterfront. A room block is reserved; make your hotel reservations by February 10, 2025 to secure the room rate.

 

What does registration include?

Your $925 registration fee includes breakfast, lunch, and networking coffee breaks on Monday, March 3 and Tuesday, March 4. See our cancellation policy.

In order to keep the Directors’ Summit squarely focused on building relationships between GEAR UP Directors, the event will largely be exhibitor / sponsor-free.

A networking reception on Monday is made possible through support from Vernier.

 

“Tackling core topics in a deep, rich, meaningful, and collaborative way felt really useful and inspiring. Connecting with peers who share similar challenges and hopes reinforces the collective nature of our work.”
— 2024 GEAR UP Directors' Summit Participant
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2025 Planning Committee

We appreciate the time and input offered by the following GEAR UP Directors:

  • Cathy Cruz, Miami GEAR UP

  • Chrystal Abernathy, GEAR UP Jefferson County (AL)

  • Deserie Lozano, California State University Monterrey Bay GEAR UP

  • Duane Gregg, GEAR UP Tennessee

  • Jacque Deahl, GEAR UP Idaho

  • Robert Swaggard, Cleveland Heights - University Heights GEAR UP (OH)

  • Shenita Bolton, GEAR UP Fort Wayne (IN)

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