2026 Service Symposium
250 & Beyond: Our American Story
A nationwide celebration of service
April 24, 2026 | 10am
On April 24, 2026, we hosted a nationwide celebration of service: Thank you to everyone who joined our FREE live broadcast from across the country for our landmark hybrid symposium.
As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, the 2026 Service Symposium | 250 & Beyond: Our American Story served as a celebration of a movement launched in 2024 to honor and inspire the American spirit of service. Learn more about this movement.
By bringing together Americans from across the nation —including students, educators, nonprofit leaders, public servants, and community members—we reflected on our past, highlighted incredible acts of service happening today, and inspired the next 250 years of American service.
Recap the insightful conversations through the YouTube playlist, gaining insights from leaders at Giving Tuesday, 9/11 Day, National Museum of American History, Lilly School of Philanthropy, Hispanic Heritage Foundation and so many more!
JoAnna Arnold, PhD
Literacy Specialist with Georgia's Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA)
Nathan Dietz
Director, Do Good Lab
Joy G. Kinard, Ph.D.
Chair, Division of Political History, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Kelly McFarland Stratman
Executive Director, National Council for the Social Studies
Tay Moore
Associate, Education and Society Program, Aspen Institute
Dr. Amir Pasic
Eugene R. Tempel Dean,
Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Jose Antonio Tijerino
President & CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation
Dr. Akilah Watkins
President & CEO, Independent Sector
Brian Baird
Founder, National Museum and Center for Service
Maureen Eccleston
Chief Impact Officer at Service Year Alliance
Caity Leavey
Ambassador
9/11 Day
Antoinette S. Mitchell, Ph.D.
State Superintendent of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education
LeAnn Naillon
Lead Strategist of Telos Coaching & Consulting
Deborah Sran
Senior Manager I, John R Lewis Leadership Program
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Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Attorney & Former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
Julie Budkowski
Managing Director, National Museum and Center for Service
Stanley Fontaine
Special Assistant in the Office of the President at the Annie E. Casey Foundation
Victoria Leonhardt
Director, Communities, Giving Tuesday
Mioshi Moses
Vice President of Volunteer Programs at AARP Foundation
Zeta Ouanes
Co-Founder of Sidwell Friends School NMCFS Project
Ava Tavakkoli
Co-Founder of Sidwell Friends School NMCFS Project
John Tyler
General Counsel, Secretary, and Chief Ethics Officer,
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Vanessa Diamond
Chief Program and Impact Officer at Points of Light
John Hewko
General Secretary and CEO of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation
Linda Mathes
Chief Advisor Bipartisan Leadership Project
Jeffrey Moore
Chief Strategy Officer, Independent Sector
Osewe Ogada
Co-Founder of Sidwell Friends School NMCFS Project
Trygve Throntveit
Research Professor in Higher Education and Associate Director, Center for Economic and Civic Learning, Ball State University
Shreyaa Venkat
Founder and CEO, NEST4US
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