Built for the People Behind Your School's Story
Thursday, September 17 | 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Veracross Global Headquarters | 701 Edgewater Dr Suite 330 Wakefield, MA
ABOUT THIS EVENT
A full-day summit built around your school’s questions
Independent schools run on relationships with families, with donors, and with the students you're working to enroll and retain. The teams behind those relationships deserve a day built around them.
The Connect Sessions for Institutional Advancement brings together admissions, marketing, and development professionals from private and independent K-12 schools for a full day of peer conversation, practical learning, and hands-on exploration at Veracross's Wakefield offices. By joining us for this in-person day of professional development, you’ll learn about:
- Fresh approaches to enrollment, retention, and family engagement
- Ways to modernize your school’s storytelling and digital marketing
- AI for the independent school context
- Website, mobile app, and communications best practices
- Hands-on sessions with the Veracross team
Come ready to share what's working, hear how other schools are navigating the same challenges, and get a closer look at the tools and strategies shaping the future of independent school advancement.
This event is invite-only and designed for the people who help independent schools grow, give, and tell their story. Registration closes on Friday, September 11 and is limited to 3 staff members per school.
WHY ATTEND
Hear directly from schools navigating similar challenges.
Customer spotlights put school voices at the center, because the most useful thing you can take back to campus is what's actually working at a school like yours.
Get hands-on with the tools behind the work.
Spend time with Veracross's website, mobile app, VC Automations, and VC Studio and learn how these tools are reshaping how to tell your school’s story.
Walk away with something you can actually use.
Every session is built around practical takeaways. You'll leave with a clearer picture of what's possible for your school in the year ahead.
Find your people.
The relationships you build in a room like this — with peers, with the Veracross team, with leaders from schools across the country — tend to be the ones that last.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This event is designed for leaders across the admissions, enrollment, marketing and communication, and development functions at private and independent K–12 schools:
Admissions & Enrollment Leaders
Marketing & Communications Leaders
Development & Advancement Leaders
AGENDA
Check out our evolving agenda below. Full details to come! Please note, this agenda is subject to change.
CHECK-IN
9:00 AM -
9:30 AM
Kitchen
Check-in & Breakfast
Arrive at the Veracross Global Headquarters, pick up your event information at the check-in table, and join us for coffee and a light continental breakfast as you connect with fellow school leaders from the area and the team at Veracross.
WELCOME
9:30 AM -
9:45 AM
Sydney Opera House
Welcome & Introductions
Kick off the event with a welcome from our host and a chance to share what you're hoping to take away from the day.
Keith Krass
Head of Sales, Business Suite, Veracross
KEYNOTE
9:45 AM -
10:45 AM
Sydney Opera House
The Importance of an Inspiring AND Authentic Brand in School Advancement
Scott Allenby
Scott Allenby, Chief Strategy and Communications Officer, Proctor Academy and Founder of Backroad Strategy Group
BREAK
10:45 AM -
11:00 AM
Kitchen
Recharge & Refuel Break
Grab a quick snack and refuel for the morning.
Office hours with our support team available from 10:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. in the Veracross kitchen.
SESSION
11:00 AM -
12:00 PM
Sydney Opera House
The Tools Behind the Journey: Websites, App, Portals & Automations for the Family Experience (Product Showcase)
A look at how Veracross's website, mobile app, VC Automations, and VC Studio are helping schools like yours modernize enrollment, giving, and communications.
Ashley Santana
Content Marketing Manager, Veracross
Mallory Kidd
Principal Solutions Engineer, Veracross
Jeremy Anderson
Global Director of Solutions Engineers, Veracross
LUNCH
12:00 PM -
1:00 PM
Kitchen & Sydney Opera House
Lunch & Networking
Lunch is served in the Veracross kitchen.
Office hours with our support team are available during the lunch break in the Veracross kitchen.
SPOTLIGHT
1:00 PM -
1:30 PM
Sydney Opera House
The Brand Under Pressure: A Candid Conversation on Crisis and Communication
Scott Allenby returns for a candid follow-up conversation on what it looks like to manage your school's brand and communications in times of crisis. A moderated Q&A on the decisions, lessons, and role of authentic storytelling when a school needs it most.
Scott Allenby
Scott Allenby, Chief Strategy and Communications Officer, Proctor Academy and Founder of Backroad Strategy Group
Keith Krass
Head of Sales, Business Suite, Veracross
WORKSHOP
1:30 PM -
2:30 PM
Sydney Opera House
Powering Institutional Advancement with VC Automations & VC Studio
How data and AI are changing the way schools approach enrollment, communication, and donor strategy. We'll start this session in the Sydney Opera House hearing from product expert, Nathan Williams, on our new VC Automations tool. The group will then divide into two to explore VC Studio for Admissions and VC Studio for Development (team members from Marketing and Communication, and Technology please select one of these two groups to attend).
- VC Studio for Admissions - Sydney Opera House
- VC Studio for Development - Boston Commons - Daryl Olson
Nathan Williams
Product Manager, Veracross
Daryl Olson
Director of Project Management, Veracross
BREAK
2:30 PM -
2:45 PM
Kitchen
Recharge & Refuel Break
Grab a quick snack and refuel for the afternoon.
ROUNDTABLES
2:45 PM -
3:45 PM
Roundtables (choose your session)
Join a facilitated discussion by Veracross team members:
- VC Automations - conversations continued, future-state, etc. - Nathan Wiliams - Boston Commons
- Leveraging AI in your schools and in the product - Daryl Olson - Sydney Opera House
- Brand and Communication - Ashley Santana - The Shard
- Office hours with the support team - Beckie Adams, Michael Curtis, Dillon Maloney
Nathan Williams
Product Manager, Veracross
Daryl Olson
Director of Project Management, Veracross
Ashley Santana
Content Marketing Manager, Veracross
CLOSING
3:45 PM -
4:00 PM
Sydney Opera House
Closing Remarks & Key Takeaways
Share one insight or one idea you are excited to explore further.
Keith Krass
Head of Sales, Business Suite, Veracross
Ready to join us on September 17?
Free to attend. Lunch included. An invitation only event with limited space – secure your spot today.
Traveling from afar? Let us know when you register so we can gauge interest in a pre-event evening dinner on September 16. If you are traveling in for this event, please book your stay at the Four Points Sheraton Wakefield Boston. This hotel is a short 3-min Uber/Lyft ride from the Veracross Global Headquarters.