AITF has developed dues-paying professional development subgroups to provide an opportunity for members with common interests to engage in peer learning and exchange. Each Subgroup is facilitated by Marga staff and meets four times a year. AITF’s current Subgroups include:
The Economic Development Subgroup
The Economic Development Subgroup is composed of a diverse team of highly specialized and dedicated university representatives who have devoted their careers to working on issues of economic, social, and racial equity. The Subgroup provide a forum to exchange ideas, promising practices, and successes as well as discuss challenges that arise when trying to foster stronger University-Community relationships.For more information on this Subgroup, including how to join, please contact Xiania Foster at x.foster@margainc.com.
Health Professionals Subgroup
The purpose of the Health Professionals Subgroup is to provide a forum for professionals in various health fields to share ideas, best practices, and challenges about how anchors can effectively address health disparities and enhance the well-being of their communities. Current Subgroup members are committed to addressing health equity and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) in order to improve health outcomes.For more information on this Subgroup, including how to join, please contact Sharmila Lawrence at slawrence@margainc.com.
Higher Education Presidents Subgroup
The Higher Education Presidents Subgroup serves as an ongoing forum for peer learning and exchange among members of the AITF who are college or university presidents. The Subgroup helps to strengthen how college and university presidents continue to build a case for deepening the local engagement of their institutions and infuse a commitment to community partnerships throughout their campuses. The Subgroup also includes an Education Subcommittee, which provides a forum for sharing about the ways in which local partnerships can expand social mobility for children and youth from underserved communities by strengthening educational and career opportunities. Members of the Higher Education Presidents Subgroup appoint representatives from their institutions to the Education Subcommittee. For more information on this Subgroup or Subcommittee, including how to join, please contact David Maurrasse at dmaurrasse@margainc.com.
Emeritus Anchor Leaders Subgroup
The idea for this Emeritus Anchor Leaders Subgroup emerged out of discussions in AITF’s Higher Education Presidents Subgroup. As various leaders of anchor institutions retire from their positions, there is a need for a home through which these leaders can draw upon their wisdom, engage with each other, and stay connected to a continually evolving field. This Subgroup would include retired Chief Executives/Presidents/Chancellors from various fields. While the idea of the group originated in discussions among higher education leaders, this new Subgroup would intentionally include retired leaders from a wide range of fields representative of the local ecosystems of organizations in which the engagement of anchor institutions flourishes.
Emeritus Anchor Leaders Subgroup Details
Anchor Partnerships Subgroup
AITF’s new Subgroup, like its other existing ones, will become a forum for learning exchange and mutual support among peers. The added complexity of multiple anchor institutions jointly pursuing common ends, sometimes in tandem with government and philanthropy, requires substantial attention. It is crucial to create spaces that enable mutual learning that participants in anchor partnerships can bring back to their home communities and enhance their value. For more information, including how to join, please contact David Maurrasse at dmaurrasse@margainc.com.
AITF Anchor Partnerships Subgroup Details
Anchor Fellows Subgroup
The Anchor Fellows Subgroup adds a dimension to existing training of future leaders of anchor institutions by preparing a next generation committed to AITF’s values to successfully navigate the engagement of anchors in their local communities. Each year a new cohort of Fellows is selected through an application process. The Fellowship period spans the calendar year. Training during this period highlights the competencies required to build and maintain the commitment and infrastructure to sustain an anchor institution’s comprehensive commitment to local engagement.
Anchor Fellows Subgroup Details
See our 2019 class, 2022 class, 2023 class, 2024 class and 2025 class of Anchor Fellows.