Dear NADOHE Members,
This year, NADOHE proudly celebrates a remarkable milestone: 20 years of advancing inclusive excellence and strengthening leadership, practice, and scholarship that create meaningful change.
For two decades, NADOHE has been shaped by visionary founders, dedicated members, and courageous leaders committed to building stronger, more inclusive institutions. As we honor that legacy, we are also looking ahead—to what our work can mean, whom it can serve, and the impact we can make together in the next 20 years.
20 Years Rooted. Renewing. Rising.
Rooted in the mission and values that have guided us from the beginning.
Renewing our commitment and evolving how we equip leaders to navigate change.
Rising to meet this moment with new ideas, new voices, and an expanded vision for our collective impact.
Higher education will always be central to NADOHE’s history and community. But the principles that have guided our work are not confined to colleges and universities. Fairness. Opportunity. Human dignity. Inclusive leadership. Organizational excellence. These values matter wherever people learn, work, lead, and build community.
As we enter our third decade, NADOHE is broadening the reach of this mission—welcoming leaders and organizations within higher education and beyond; emerging professionals and seasoned executives; individuals, teams, institutions, corporations, and other organizations committed to translating inclusive leadership into meaningful action.
That evolution is already underway.
Our Rooted in Mission and Values guide offers research-informed strategies and practical tools for leaders working to create sustainable, systems-based change. Developed from the experience of higher education leaders, the resource was intentionally created for leaders both within and beyond higher education who are working to advance fairness, opportunity, and success for all.
We are also expanding how we equip leaders through three new strategic partnerships centered on Coaching, Curriculum, and Capacity. These collaborations provide new opportunities for leadership development, coaching, organizational strategy, and capacity building—supporting professionals at different stages of their careers and helping organizations respond to increasingly complex challenges.
This is what it means to renew: to remain firmly grounded in our purpose while expanding how—and where—we put that purpose into action.
Twenty years is more than an anniversary. It is a moment of reflection, recommitment, and possibility—and an opportunity to ask: What can NADOHE’s next 20 years make possible?
As we close out 2026 and throughout 2027, we will celebrate the people, ideas, and progress that have shaped NADOHE while inviting new voices, leaders, organizations, and partners into the work ahead. When we gather in Baltimore for our 20th Annual Conference, we will celebrate not only how far we have come, but the future we have the opportunity to shape together.
We are rooted in our values. We are renewing our commitment. And together, we are rising to meet what comes next.
Here’s to the next 20 years.
In community,
Emelyn A. dela Peña, Ed.D.
President & CEO
NADOHE