Photos
All Conference photos are available on our Flickr page, click here to view them.

Video
Full 2015 Conference Video

By the Numbers
325 In-person participants
Check out our social media from the day on our Storify of #NCoC15.
1.34 Million Impressions of #NCoC15 from 138 contributors
708 total tweets with #NCoC15

Program Overview

The 2015 Annual Conference on Citizenship was held on October 9 in Washington, DC. The theme for this year’s Conference was “Civic Innovations in Action.”

The morning plenary was held in the Grand Ballroom at the Mayflower Hotel. NCoC Board Chair Michael Weiser opened the Annual Conference and introduced Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to provide her insight on the importance of Service in America. NCoC Executive Director Ilir Zherka introduced Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, who discussed the groundbreaking Service Year Campaign and Alliance – a venture to dramatically increase the number of young people serving in America. Jennifer Ney of Voices for National Service and Amy Baker of ServiceNation then shared brief presentations on their organizations’ role in expanding national service.

Later in the morning, Shirley Sagawa, Chief Service Officer of NCoC, provided an in-depth demonstration of the Service Year exchange (SYx). The exchange is an online marketplace that brings service organizations, young people, and funders together in one place for the first time.

Our first panel of the day was moderated by John Bridgeland and Alan Khazei. Together with panel members Beth Swanson of The Joyce Foundation, Tae Yoo of Cisco, and Jamie Merisotis of Lumina Foundation, they discussed unique opportunities and challenges facing the Service Year Alliance.

This year’s Franklin Award was presented by Craig Turk, NCoC Board Member, to Senator John McCain for his work in federal service to strengthen citizenship in America. McCain delivered remarks on the importance of expanding national service opportunities for all Americans.

Our final panel of the plenary was moderated by Michaela Pereira, co-host of CNN’s “New Day.” Panel members Margo Drakos of the McChrystal Group, Rusty Greiff of 1776, Perla Ni of GreatNonprofits, and Marnie Webb of Caravan Studios discussed how disruptive technology is transforming the way individuals serve and engage their communities.

At the end of the morning session, Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet delivered remarks on the Peace Corps as a “Service Year” experience.

This year’s George A. Smith HOOAH award was presented by David Smith, former NCoC Executive Director and Managing Director of the Presidio Institute, to Becky Kanis Margiotta, co-founder of the Billions Institute and the 100,000 Homes Campaign. Becky delivered remarks about the importance of an engaged citizenry and the many ways she has created change in communities across America.

In the afternoon, the Conference featured 11 dynamic breakout sessions focused on Civic Health Initiatives, Corporate Citizenship, Service Year for Organizations and Higher Education, and K-12 Civic Educations. The afternoon sessions included:

The Service Year Exchange: The Next Big Thing
Service and 21st Century Skills
Developing Service and Civic Leaders in Higher Ed Institutions
K-12 Civic Education – Service Learning and its Impact on Students
Understanding the Policy Landscape: Federal Funding for National Service and How You Can Be A Champion
Civic Health Initiatives: Toolkit Workshop
Presidential Candidates and the American Public: Making National Service Part of National Dialogue
Building a Grassroots Movement
Higher Education + Service Year Innovation
Locally Led Service Year Efforts
Successful Legislative Strategies for Improving K-12 Civics Education