Member Login
Search

EACE 2026 Board of Directors Elections

President-Elect Candidate

monique sample headshotMonique Sample
Student Programs and Employer Partnerships Specialist
Virginia Commonwealth University

1. Describe your interest in serving on the EACE Board in this capacity.

EACE has long served as a space where career services and employer professionals come together to learn, collaborate, and advance our shared work. As our profession continues to evolve, I believe our association has an important role to play in helping members navigate change while remaining grounded in the core purpose of career development: expanding opportunity and access for students.

Throughout my involvement with EACE, I have focused on creating spaces that encourage dialogue, innovation, and community among members. Whether through serving as Conference Programming Co-Chair for the 2025 conference, co-leading the Black and African American Affinity Group, or contributing to conversations about emerging topics such as AI and its intersection with equity and career development, my goal has been to help ensure that EACE remains responsive to both current and emerging challenges within our field.

If elected President-Elect, I would aim to support initiatives that strengthen three key areas of our association’s impact. First, continuing to expand opportunities for member engagement and leadership development, ensuring professionals at all stages of their careers see a pathway to contribute and lead within EACE. Second, fostering innovative professional learning opportunities that equip members to address emerging trends affecting career services, higher education, and the workforce. Third, maintaining a strong commitment to community and belonging within the association, recognizing that the strength of EACE lies in the diversity of experiences and perspectives its members bring to the profession. There’s an interesting leadership paradox hiding here. Associations rarely fail because of bad intentions; they stagnate because the environment changes faster than the organization has the ability or time to learn. The best candidate quietly signals that they understand this dynamic. My work centered around conference innovation and conversations about AI and equity already puts me in this lane, someone paying attention to where the field is heading, not just where it’s been.

I believe EACE is uniquely positioned to help shape the future of career services in our region. By continuing to invest in our members, encourage thoughtful dialogue, and support innovative ideas, we can ensure that our association remains a vibrant professional home for both current and future leaders in the field.

 

2. What skills and experiences do you possess that have prepared you to be successful in this role?

Professional associations are curious organisms. They run on volunteer energy, collective trust, and the quiet machinery of governance. The President-Elect role sits right at the intersection of those forces. They're led by people who can harness and guide with the right skill those forces. My preparation for the President-Elect role is grounded in leadership within EACE, experience in professional association governance, a commitment to strengthening our profession through innovation and inclusive engagement and trust from those I've worked with and lead that I bring the best set of skills to lead as the future association president.

Since joining EACE in 2022, I have contributed to the organization through several leadership roles that have allowed me to support member engagement and program development. As Conference Programming Co-Chair for the 2025 EACE Annual Conference, I helped lead efforts to expand the range of perspectives represented in conference sessions and introduced WORK Talks, a new format designed to highlight emerging ideas and practitioner insights. These efforts contributed to a more dynamic and inclusive conference experience for attendees.

I have also focused on cultivating spaces for connection and leadership development within the association. As Co-Lead of the Black and African American Affinity Group and current Co-Lead of the Leadership Empowerment Subcommittee, I have worked with colleagues to support professional community building and create pathways for members to deepen their engagement with EACE while also learning for their peers.

Beyond EACE, my experience as Director of Operations for the Virginia Association of Colleges and Employers (VACE) provided valuable insight into board governance, organizational operations, and strategic planning within a professional association. Additionally, I have collaborated with colleagues to present nationally on AI and its intersection with equity and career development, contributing to important conversations about how emerging technologies are shaping our field.

Together, these experiences have prepared me to help guide EACE’s continued growth while supporting innovation, leadership development, and meaningful engagement across our membership. At the heart of my work is a belief that professional associations should do more than convene us for one big annual conference, they should challenge us to think differently, expand who feels welcomed into the conversation, and create pathways for members to lead and shape the future of our field. I am committed to helping ensure that EACE continues to be a space where new ideas are explored (even unconventional ones), diverse voices are valued, and members feel empowered to contribute their expertise in ways that strengthen both our association and the profession as a whole.

 

3. What ideas and/or goals do you have for this position?

Organizations age the same way living systems do: not by failing outright, but by slowly repeating yesterday’s solutions to tomorrow’s problems. The President-Elect role is interesting because it’s one of the few places where someone can gently bend the trajectory of the organization, introducing experiments without destabilizing what already works. My strengths sit at the intersection of innovation, equity, and professional community, so the ideas I have naturally grow from that. As the profession of career services continues to evolve, I believe EACE has an opportunity to further position itself as a space where members can both respond to emerging challenges and shape the future of our field. If elected President-Elect, I would focus on initiatives that strengthen member engagement, encourage innovation, and expand leadership pathways within the association.

As higher education institutions and our employer partners face increasing financial constraints, I believe EACE has an opportunity to explore new models that expand both member value and long-term organizational sustainability. Rather than relying solely on traditional revenue streams such as conferences or workshops, I would be interested in exploring initiatives that leverage the unique position career services professionals hold at the intersection of higher education, employers, and the evolving workforce. Associations that thrive in the next decade won’t just be membership organizations. They’ll become knowledge engines, places where insight, experimentation, and professional expertise generate value beyond the annual conference. When that happens, revenue tends to follow the gravity of the ideas.

One innovative area could be the development of an EACE Talent Insights initiative, where member institutions collaborate to identify emerging trends in student career preparation, employer engagement, and workforce skill development. Aggregated insights could inform an annual regional report or briefing series that positions EACE as a thought leader on the future of talent development while creating opportunities for strategic sponsorship and partnerships.

I would also be interested in exploring opportunities to elevate the expertise within our membership by creating peer consulting or innovation networks, where experienced practitioners support institutions navigating emerging challenges such as AI integration, evolving internship models, or new employer engagement strategies. This approach could both generate revenue and highlight the depth of knowledge that already exists within our community.

My goal would be to explore forward-thinking approaches that strengthen EACE’s financial sustainability while reinforcing its role as a hub for innovation, collaboration, and leadership within the career services profession.

 

4. EACE History/Additional Experience

Years of Membership: 3 years

EACE Service History: 

  • Co-lead, Black and African American Affinity Group (2023-2024)
  • Conference Programming Co-Chair ((2024-2025) with program innovation (WORK Talks + broader representation)
  • Co-lead, Leadership Empowerment Subcommittee (2025-2026)

Awards & Presidential Citations:

  • Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award (2023)
  • Presidential Citation (2023-2024)
  • Presidential Citation (2024-2025)

Additional Experience (outside of EACE):

I previously served as Director of Operations for the Virginia Association of Colleges and Employers (VACE) from December 2022 - January 2024, which provided experience supporting board governance, organizational operations, conference logistical support and strategic planning within a professional association.

National presentations on AI vs DEI with EACE colleagues (Amy Smith and Chris Miciek)