The Virginia Society of CPAs had been looking for the best ways to engage young professionals in the state for several years. They wanted to be able to offer their 35 and under members something of value, and hoped that, in turn, the experience would encourage more engagement in the future on the part of the participants.

The Virginia Society and many of their members had been talking about the value of a “pipeline,” or a steady source of younger people coming into the profession with clear goals to move forward, people building their skills now with the intent of advancing into leadership roles in the future. The Society was hearing from its members the importance of supporting future leaders in the present. They booked the Business Learning Institute’s Leadership Academy to that end.

Molly Wash, the Academic and Career Development Director at the Virginia Society, says that the best thing to come out of the session was participants’ increased engagement, “With the material, with each other, and with the Virginia Society. Many graduates of that first session have significantly increased their volunteer activity with us, and several are coming back to serve on an alumni panel at our next session.”

BLI has been offering Leadership Academies around the country for years. One of the most rewarding things for us is to hear the stories of graduates from years ago.

In 2009, Ebonie Jackson, CPA, attended a BLI Leadership Academy, and her career and confidence accelerated.

While we use the proprietary i2a: Insights to Action process in the Leadership Academy, we also teach participants participants how to apply the i2a process at their jobs with their teams. And that is exactly what Ebonie did right after graduating from the Academy.