The Marketing Committee is pleased to release our inaugural issue of LEPE’s Newsletter. It will be distributed on a quarterly basis—January, April, July and October.

Welcome to the first edition of the Leaders in Experiential Project-Based Education (LEPE) newsletter. Our community is built on a simple premise: students learn best when they apply ideas to real problems, in real time, with real consequences.

For more than 15 years, LEPE has brought together faculty, staff, and administrators from business schools to advance this mission. We have published standards for assurance of learning in project-based experiential courses, hosted annual conferences that highlight innovation in practice (see reflections from Berkeley Haas, Wake Forest, and MIT Sloan), and grown a community of more than 30 institutions who share successes and challenges.

The moment for experiential learning is now. Artificial Intelligence is transforming higher education, but as I recently observed, experiential learning may be what “saves” colleges from AI. At the same time, Dartmouth’s president recently reminded us that education must be about teaching students how to think, not just what to think—a vision that experiential, project-based work uniquely supports.

This newsletter is meant to continue our collaboration. We will share practices, highlight upcoming events, and provide perspectives from across our community. Most importantly, we invite your voice—your insights, questions, and experiments.

Thank you for being part of this growing effort. I hope you enjoy the newsletter.  Please let us know what you think and if you have ideas or information to share. We want to learn from you.

Sincerely,
Shannon McKeen

LEPE Executive Board 2025-2026

• Shannon McKeen – Chair 
• Nima Farshchi – Vice Chair
• Deidra Stephens – Treasurer
• Halley Jones – Secretary

Committee Reports

Content Marketing Committee

Chaired by Terri Albert/Vice Chair, Amy Pakes

Our committee is responsible for creating and sharing LEPE content on social media and website platforms, disseminating information about the organization’s activities and resources. We began sharing on LinkedIn with the Spotlight Series, best practices and 2025 Conference updates. This newsletter will inform our LEPE community of updates from the officers and Committees.

Membership Committee

Chaired by Andrew Allen

Although LEPE has existed for decades, 2025 marks its first year as a 501(c)(3). Schools and individuals can now join as members, and we’re already nearing 70. Our membership committee will reach out soon to share benefits and upcoming opportunities for engagement.  

Research Committee

Co-Chaired by AJ Oglivie and Amee McDonald

The committee plans to focus our research on measuring competencies in project-based learning in business schools, primarily in the US. Our deliverables for the 2025/2026 academic year include a literature review, a presentation proposal for LEPE 2026, and potentially an article submission to the Academy of Management's MED journal.

Technology Committee

Chaired by Tom Davis

On the horizon this academic year, we plan to maintain focus on building out the fledgling LEPE website into a full-featured digital hub for all things LEPE. Our roadmap includes prioritizing mobile as well as exploring new features both for everyone, such as a regular newsletter, and for members-only such as a job board, discussion forum, and beyond.

Our Inaugural Conference

Wake Forest hosted our first conference as a formal association: LEPE 2025: The Future of Experiential Learning. It was a powerful gathering of minds, featuring sessions such as: AI in Action; Measuring Client Impact; and Strategic Funding for Sustainable Experiential Learning. Huge thanks and gratitude to Angie Lynde, Shannon McKeen, and their team for curating such a memorable experience.

Presentations, panels, and even a baseball game in Winston-Salem!

Save the date: LEPE 2026

Mark your calendars! LEPE’s next conference will be hosted by Washington University in St. Louis – Olin Business School, from June 15–17, 2026. Stay tuned to this newsletter for updates as well as on our website: https://lepe.wildapricot.org/events