International Student Leadership Conference

The 9th Annual International Student Leadership Conference will take place

March 27 and 28, 2009 in Harrisonburg, VA.

We look forward to seeing you then!

Please note that early bird registration ends on March 6, 2009, and the final day for registration is March 20, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.

Keynote Speaker

The keynote speaker for this year’s conference is Michael Tapscott, the Director of the Multi Cultural Student Services Center at the George Washington University. 

Mike has 30 years' experience in higher education administration, with stops at Gallaudet University, Tufts University, The American University, George Mason University, Regent University Graduate School and now at GW.  Mike is the former Host of “Timeout” and Co-Host of “Mason Sidelines,” two sports talk shows on Cable television in the DC region. He has presented to local, regional, and national organizations on issues related to Diversity, Cross Cultural Communication, Leadership, and Minority Student Recruitment, Development and Retention.

Theme: Faces of Leadership

The theme for this year’s conference is: Faces of Leadership.

Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Mohatma Gandhi, Desmond Tutu… these are but a few faces of leadership that immediately come to mind. This conference will encourage the participants to recognize the attributes of these great leaders, and to identify similar attributes in themselves. Thus in the future, when participants are asked to identify the faces of leadership, they will be challenged to recognize their own faces.

Moderator

Salorne McDonald has agreed to serve as advisor to the ISLC Committee, and as the moderator of the Conference. Many of you remember Salorne as the 2006 keynote speaker from Trinidad and Tobago who was kind enough to return in 2007 to lead Friday night activities and a workshop. With Salorne acting as advisor and moderator, we anticipate increased conference cohesion and energy.

Salorne was born in the rural eastern part of the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago. During his formative years Salorne was involved in youth clubs, debating competitions, and school student councils, which provided rich training
for his current work, and helped to develop his gift of gab. Ardent work with the youth of his own nation and others around the world has given him an uncommon understanding of the life and development issues that young people face globally.
Becoming involved in HIV and AIDS peer education sparked a special
passion with Salorne, whose current position is the Regional Behavior Change
Communication Manager with PSI/SFH in Trinidad. Salorne also works with the
local YMCA and Trinidad Youth Council, providing education and leadership training
to youth in his nation and abroad. A specialist in working with particularly
vulnerable populations, he continues to aid in policy development as well as project
planning and execution.