As we begin a new year together, I want to pause, on behalf of POD leadership, and honor the moment we are entering.
The close of the past year and the opening of this one have carried significant activity across our campuses, within our communities, and around the world. Many of us are holding complex realities at once: hope and fatigue, momentum and grief, clarity and uncertainty. Some are returning to campuses with renewed energy; others are returning while still processing what has unfolded in recent months. Wherever you are, whether steady, stretched, or somewhere in between, please know that POD recognizes the intensity of this season and the real human weight it can carry.
Many of you joined us at the 50th Annual Conference, and some may have seen my year-end reflections or the “Humanized Organization” series I shared in various spaces. In that work, I offered a simple but demanding premise: organizations are living systems, and like living systems, they have nervous systems. When we do organizational development well, we are not only refining structures; we are also strengthening the human capacity inside those structures. We are building containers sturdy enough for humanity to thrive.
That framing remains central as we move into 2026. And it connects to a related theme that has been guiding my more recent work: what I call human literacy—the inner capacities that help us navigate complexity with greater agency, integrity, and care. If we cannot always change everything happening around us, we can strengthen what is within our influence: how we regulate, how we respond, how we relate, and how we lead. Human literacy is not about retreating from the world; it is about meeting the world with more groundedness and choice so that our decisions, our conversations, and our communities become more coherent and more humane.
This is precisely why POD matters. Our members are uniquely positioned to support individuals and institutions as they attempt to sustain excellence without sacrificing humanity. In a time when higher education is being asked to adapt quickly amid shifting realities, competing demands, and multiple forms of pressure that educational and organizational developers help campuses sense, repair, realign, and regenerate.
As a network, we are continuing to move forward with intentionality and momentum:
Strategic Planning & Future Search
We remain committed to a Future Search-informed approach to listening broadly, aligning across difference, and translating shared purpose into practical action that serves our members and strengthens the organization for the long term.
Connected Conversations
We are excited to continue our Connected Conversations series, including an upcoming session on Tuesday, January 13 at 12 pm EST focused on Collective Genius where there will be an exploration of how we harness shared insight, distributed leadership, and collaborative intelligence in times that demand more than any single voice, strategy, or solution. Learn more and register.
Broader Influence & Visibility
We are also proud of how POD continues to show up in wider conversations about leadership, learning, and organizational development. At the upcoming AAC&U convening, POD will highlight this work through a session that underscores our impact and the strategic value educational developers bring to institutions navigating complexity with wisdom and care. Learn more about the AAC&U Pre-Meeting Workhop: Delivering the Mission: Educational Development as a Site of Institutional Strategy.
Finally, as we look ahead, I’m pleased to share that POD is entering this next chapter with strong leadership continuity. We are excited to welcome Robin Pappas as our incoming President-Elect. Robin has been an active member of the POD Network since 2010, including service on the Core Committee, the Digital Resources and Innovation Committee, the Governance Committee, and the Diversity Committee.
Robin currently serves as the IT Governance Program Manager (Berkeley IT) at the University of California, Berkeley. She has previously served as Instructional Innovation Program Manager in the Office of the CIO and Vice Provost for Information and Technology at Oregon State University, as well as Assistant Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Oregon State.
With longstanding involvement in institutional and organizational strategic planning across her POD and professional roles, Robin brings depth of experience, presence, and commitment that aligns powerfully with POD’s values and future direction.
Robin will join the Executive Committee as President-Elect in July of 2026, at which time Jon Iuzzini will transition into the role of President, and I will transition into the role of Past President.
Thank you for the ways you continue to serve your campuses, support your colleagues, and contribute to this community. POD is not simply an organization you belong to; it is a collective effort you shape. I look forward to continuing the work of humanizing our organizations together, strengthening our inner capacity, improving our outer systems, and expanding what becomes possible when we lead as a community committed to learning, understanding, and vitality.