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Post AftA12

What a phenomenal weekend at the Americans for the Arts annual conference, held in beautiful San Antonio, TX. I have so many anecdotes, stories, lessons, and meetings I want to process and share.

It's been over 15 years since I've flown anywhere, 16 since I've worked a conference, and--unless you count a layover in Dallas when I was 8--I've never been to Texas. This had felt very magical, at times surreal, and I've had to think of it as my debutante ball in the arts administration world. The weekend had made me question what my path is and what the next steps are I need to take.

I will share many of the stories and insights soon, after I've had a chance to reflect and, well, unpack (miracle of modern technology: writing this on my phone in an airport). For now, I just want to thank the folks who were instrumental in making this weekend happen:

*Megan Cornett, director of Marketing, Admissions, and Communications for the graduate programs at Goucher,
*Katja Hill, who bravely tackled the box office while I was gone,
*MariaLaura Leslie, my networking partner and famous colleague,
*Kim and Dulcie, my Goucher table cohorts,
*Kristina, my link to brisket and beer,
*Ramona, the most perfect program director and the big picture thinker to my detail planner,
* and the most spectacular Liz, my AA fairy godmother and mentor.

Yeah, the music played me off stage a while ago. I'll say more later.

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