National Conference 2026 Recap

On Saturday, July 18th, Phi Sigma Rho hosted its National Leadership Conference in sunny San Diego, California. This Leadership Conference introduced a new model of programming for collegians. In an effort to elevate the member experience and meet the needs of our current members, Phi Sigma Rho Headquarters decided to localize the upcoming iterations (2026, 2028, 2030) of the National Leadership Conference to specific regions of the country. The 2026 Leadership Conference served chapters from the western region.

Learning through Leadership

The day began with an interactive session hosted by Director of Member Experience, Maggie Krzeminski, focusing on identifying one's Enneagram style through an assessment from the Enneagram Institute. The Enneagram is a powerful tool that helps us understand our motivations, core beliefs, and unconscious patterns that drive our behavior. By knowing one's Enneagram type, leaders can recognize blindspots, understand motivation and drivers, and deepen their self awareness as it relates to their decision making style as a leader. By knowing thier one and their executive board's Enneagram type, leaders can improve team dynamics strenghthening the operations of an executive board.

Following the individualized assessment and debrief, we welcomed our keynote speaker, James Robilotta.

James Robilotta

James Robilotta is an improv comedian, professional speaker, author, and host of the podcast Diner Talks with James. He speaks to willing and unwilling audiences internationally about authentic leadership and promoting memorability. As a speaker, he is doing the two things he loves the most: causing audiences to think critically about their leadership journeys and making people laugh! His thought-provoking talks are infused with self-awareness and comedy stemming from his background as a trained stand-up and improv comedian. James loves to help people get out of their own ways to live the lives they deserve and be the leaders they are capable of becoming.

James presented two interactive sessions focused on authentic leadership and improving communication as a leader. Both sessions were funded through a LEAP grant from the Phi Sigma Rho Foundation.

The first program, "Leading Imperfectly: The Value of Being Authentic For Student Leaders and Human Beings" highlighted the importance of authenticity in leadership. Participants were able to discover the importance of being a leader who is purposeful, empowering, real, and moral and recognize the power of their own story in their leadership style. His message focused on the value of talking about yourself before you can talk about others and how being more authentic inspires open communication, forms tighter bonds, and causes members to be more engaged.

The second program, "IMPROV Your Teamwork and Communication," emphasized the importance of working together with effective communication. James helped the collegians break down communication issues within their current executive board environment in safe and supportive manner. Through learning the skills and rules of improv, the participants were able to understand the benefits of being an active particpant on a team rather than trying to do everything by themselves.

Over lunch, the Phi Sigma Rho Foundation presented a session focusing on alum engagement and lasting legacy. Caitlin LaFontaine, Phi Sigma Rho Foundation's Vice President of Donor Relations, presented a virtual program entitled, "Building a Lifelong Phi Sigma Rho Community." She demonstrated how engaging members throughout their entire Phi Sigma Rho lifecycle (candidate, active, alum) can create an engaged alum and how engaged alums fuel a healthy chapter and can become a potential donor to the Foundation.

Dr. Allison Brownlee

We were fortunate enough to host Dr. Allison Brownlee, a licensed marriage and family therapist and leadership trainer who specializes in emotional intelligence, communication, and resilience in high-performance environments. Dr. Brownlee and her practice are local to the San Diego area.

Her session was entitled "Leading with Emotional Intelligence: Strengthening Leadership, Connection, and Confidence." This address focused on developing leaders with strong emotional intelligence. The workshop introduced participants to the core components of emotional intelligence and explored how self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, and communication influence leadership effectiveness."

The Amazing Race

Participants at Conference 2026 had the opportunity to partake in the debut edition of the Phi Sigma Rho Amazing Race! The Amazing Race was an interactive team challenge designed to build communication, collaboration, leadership, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills through a series of engaging tasks. Each team was made up of members from different chapters, different officer positions, and team members who had just met for the first time that day.

Each team participated in a series of fast-paced activities that focused on communication and strategy. Working with a brand new team mimicked the experience of working with a brand new executive board. The activities included The Maze, The Human Knot, Blank Puzzle Challenge, Puzzle Relay, Tower Build, The Helium Hoop, The Tarp Protocol, Phi Sigma Rho Trivia, and Balloon Cup Challenge. Each activity was facilitated by a Phi Sigma Rho Staff Member or National Board Member. After each team completed The Amazing Race, they worked with a facilitator to debrief the challenges and see how well their team worked together in leadership, adaptability, communication, and teamwork and discussed how each of these activities connect to a real chapter experience.

After all was said and done, the Pink Team won the Amazing Race!

The leadership programming wrapped up with a session by Phi Sigma Rho Staff Member, Emily Grimes - Chapter and Member Services Coordinator, entitled "Phi Rho AND You." This program focused on how to navigate being both an officer and a member of Phi Sigma Rho and how to manage those identities even though they can sometimes be in conflict.

Beach Picnic Bash

The weekend concluded with a picnic on the beach at La Jolla Shores for collegians and local alums alike. With boho seating, lawn games, and a Mediterranean picnic on the beach over looking the sunset it, it was a perfect way to say goodbye to our sisters before we departed the next day.

Convention 2027

Join us July 15 - 19, 2027 at the 2027 National Convention located in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Graduate Hotel!