Emerging Leaders Get Ready For the Future

With the end of the year approaching, the 2026 Emerging Leader cohort met for their final session of the year. The topic for the meeting was how to blend emotional intelligence with DEI. The session was led by national speaker Marci French of French Leadership Solutions. Marci is also the incoming president for the National Apartment Association Education Institute.

The morning began with a time of reflection over the past year. The cohort members were asked to look back over the different events, meetings, volunteer opportunities and philanthropy projects the participated in. They had some time to discuss in small groups and then shared how attending events like Day on the Hill, EdCon & WAO had impacted them. They also shared that the largest impacts were made through relationship building with their mentors and fellow cohort members.

As we moved into the featured content of the day, Marci drew in everyone immediately through story-telling & her own lived experience working in the DEI space and how being a black woman in our industry has shaped her own story. She was able to captivate and engage everyone in the room by creating a brave space for others to share their own stories. Marci connected emotional intelligence to effective DEI initiatives. The group was able to walk away with real strategies to incorporate DEI principles that are more than just “checking-the-box” but actually make impacts in our industry.

This may have been the final session, but it’s just the start of the journey for these cohort members. They will join our Emerging Leader Alumni Society which will connect them with graduates from past cohorts. They are also encouraged to join committees in 2027 and apply for programs such as NAA’s 20 on the Rise, Diversity Leadership Program & Leadership Lyceum.

Congratulations to each graduate!