A first-time attendee and new Network Partner Director shares her experience
The MST Network Partner Conference (NPC) is an annual event that brings together more than 100 people from across the United States and the world. This year, 20 network partners were represented, with people coming from 14 states and 8 countries.
As a brand new Network Partner Director at the Center for Effective Interventions at the University of Denver, this was my first NPC. Not quite the United Nations, but it was wonderful to see peers and learn from their experience. After only three months on the job, the opportunity to attend this conference at this time was greatly appreciated and needed.
In my new role, I faced a steep learning curve. There are so many aspects of adjusting to a new job—not the mention the new acronyms. Spending two-and-a-half conference days immersed in the world of MST, being with colleagues I’d only met by phone (who surprisingly, overall, matched my mental picture of them) and getting that glorious opportunity to reflect, was nothing short of amazing. After a few months of trying to figure out how to make copies and what my long-distance code is to work my phone (still haven’t mastered the fax machine), having a chance to take in and reflect on why I’m here and what brings me to this work was much needed.
Like so much in a new job, it can feel like you are drinking from a firehose of information—and this conference was no different. I confess: I’ve never tried drinking from a real fire hose. I can imagine it would be painful. But this conference was the opposite. It was energizing and inspiring. I feel a great deal of pride about my network partnership, and what the teams and experts accomplish each and every day. This conference gave me an amazing perspective of the scale of support families are receiving.
I have an entire dresser drawer filled with t-shirts given out at conferences over the years. They make great night clothes or are good for a quick jog around the lake. But this year’s t-shirt (in addition to a wonderfully stylish cut and nice fabric) is a standout. No other t-shirt in my drawer says "20 years and 200,000 families." Holy smokes! That was a huge takeaway for me.
Helping great agencies get even better
And, I learned that there is still a lot of room to grow. The emphasis on ensuring that the current teams are operating at full capacity is a critical one. Agencies that are delivering MST are top notch, though many still have untapped capacity. I appreciated the time to reflect on why that is and think through some strategies to help our agencies improve program delivery.
One of the biggest things I’m leaving the conference with is a fatter Rolodex (okay, cellphone numbers, no one uses Rolodex anymore) of people I can reach out to for advice. Not just people within MST Services, but my peers, other network partner directors who are serving families everywhere. It’s an amazing and supportive community where I know I can continue the conversations that I started this week.
My staff and I will be back next year, drinking again from the firehose. And, by next year, I will have over a year’s experience under my belt. I hope to share my strategies for success and how I overcame barriers around growth. And, I hope people in my neighborhood ask me about my t-shirt. I’ll be excited to talk about the program, what I do and the families who are able to keep their children in their communities and thriving in life because of MST.
Suzanne Kerns is the network partner director at the Center for Effective Interventions in Denver, Colorado. She is pictured above featuring her t-shirt.
To learn more about the impact that MST has had on families over the years, download this 25-year follow-up study.
