Community Action Month
2026 Shine the Light Honorees
Shine the Light is NYSCAA’s Community Action Month campaign celebrating the staff whose dedication, skill, compassion, and lived experience strengthen communities across New York State.
Meet the Honorees View 2025 Honorees
2026 Campaign Complete
All five 2026 honorees have been announced: Michael Dougherty, Joanna Seaman, Ruth Bagley, Kevin Burns, and Sally Servello.
2026 Honorees
Meet the 2026 Shine the Light Winners
NYSCAA is proud to recognize five staff members from across New York State whose stories reflect the heart, skill, and dedication of Community Action.
Michael Dougherty
UCCAC
Weatherization Program Director
Returned to Weatherization and built his path from crew member to Program Director.
Weatherization • Hope
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Joanna Seaman
Tioga Opportunities, Inc.
Greeter
Helps people feel welcomed, seen, and valued from the moment they walk in.
Welcome • Connection
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Ruth Bagley
CAPCO
Family Advocate
Her connection to Community Action began in childhood and continues through service.
Head Start • Paying It Forward
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Kevin Burns
Tioga Opportunities, Inc.
Social Care Navigator
His path to human services was shaped by lived experience and service.
Lived Experience • Service
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Sally Servello
MVCAA
2026 Honoree
Her story reflects hope, belonging, family, resilience, and purpose.
Purpose • Belonging
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2026 Story Collection
Full 2026 Stories Coming Soon
NYSCAA will share the full Shine the Light story collection so the Network can read and celebrate each honoree’s full submission.
Why Shine the Light Matters
A spotlight on the people who make Community Action possible
Shine the Light gives NYSCAA a way to pause during Community Action Month and recognize the people whose work often happens quietly, consistently, and with deep impact in communities across New York State.
Elevates Voices
CAA staff have a platform to share the personal stories behind their work.
Honors Commitment
The campaign recognizes the dedication, compassion, and persistence of Community Action staff.
Builds Connection
Sharing stories across agencies strengthens pride and connection across the Network.
How Shine the Light Works
Share a story. Recognize a colleague.
The campaign is designed to make it easy for Community Action staff to share stories that show the people and purpose behind the work.
1. Submit a Story → CAA staff submit a short personal story about their work, journey, or impact.
2. NYSCAA Reviews → Selected stories are prepared for campaign promotion.
3. Share the Spotlight → Honorees are featured through NYSCAA’s website, social media, and communications.
Past Honorees
2025 Shine the Light Honorees
NYSCAA was proud to recognize the following Community Action staff as 2025 Shine the Light honorees.
2025 Archive
Read All 2025 Submissions
Thank you to all 2025 submitters. Your stories help show the heart, strength, and impact of Community Action across New York State.
Read Submissions
2026 Honorees Announced
Thank you for helping NYSCAA shine the light on Community Action staff across New York State
NYSCAA is proud to celebrate this year’s honorees and the many Community Action staff whose stories show the purpose and impact of this work every day.
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Save the date for the 2027 NYSCAA Annual Conference
Location and details announced soon.
The 2026 call for proposals is closed. The 2027 call will be posted on this page and shared in the NYSCAA eNews.
Subscribe for updates See how the call works
21-24
Tuesday through Friday
Where things stand for 2027
Location and details
Announced soon. Subscribe so you hear first.
Call for proposals
Not open yet. It will be posted on this page and shared in the NYSCAA eNews when it opens.
Sponsors and exhibitors
Registration has not opened. Contact NYSCAA and we will let you know when packages are available.
How the call for proposals works
The 2027 process will be posted when the call opens and may differ. Here is how the 2026 call for Resilient by Nature: The Power of Community Action worked, so you can start planning a session now.
Through June 30, 2026
Proposals accepted online. The deadline was extended to June 30.
July 2026
Applicants notified by email. Selected presenters then received details on session logistics, registration, materials, room assignments, and A/V needs.
September 15-18, 2026
The conference at the Niagara Falls Convention Center in Niagara Falls, New York.
What we looked for
Interactive, practical, skill-building sessions with clear takeaways, useful tools, and strategies attendees could bring back to their agencies. Preference went to sessions with clear learning objectives, practical tools, and real examples.
Sessions ran 60 or 90 minutes and could be a workshop, panel, presentation, or interactive demonstration.
How proposals were reviewed
NYSCAA reviewed submissions for alignment with conference goals, practical value, audience relevance, and presenter experience.
What made a proposal strong
- A clear problem or challenge. The session helps attendees address something specific.
- Practical tools or examples. Templates, policies, checklists, forms, workflows, case studies, or resources.
- Clear learning objectives. What attendees will learn, understand, or be able to do.
- Engagement beyond lecture. Discussion, activities, Q&A, peer learning, or interactive examples.
Have this ready before you start
- Presenter name, title, organization, email, and phone
- Session title and description
- Preferred session length and format
- Topic area and intended audience
- 2-4 learning objectives
- Tools, templates, or handouts you plan to provide
- Co-presenter information, if applicable
2026 topic areas
Proposers chose one or more of these. The 2027 topic areas will be posted with the call.
Agency Operations
Human Resources
Finance
Labor Law
Nonprofit Management
Programs and Service Delivery
Head Start / Early Head Start / Early Childhood
Weatherization / Housing
Program Innovation
Data, Technology, and Results
Artificial Intelligence in Service Delivery
Data / ROMA
Reporting, evaluation, and outcomes
Last updated: September 2026.
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NYSCAA Resource
Community Action Plan Templates
In partnership with the New York State Department of State and NYSCAA, a workgroup of Community Action Agency staff developed Community Action Plan Templates for the network to use as a reference when preparing Community Action Plans.
Download the Template
About the Templates
Community Action Plan Templates, also known as workplans or Attachment C, are intended to help agencies organize program information, identify benchmarks, and report outcomes in a clear and consistent way.
These templates are designed as a reference guide for agencies developing Community Action Plans and can support planning, reporting, and internal review processes.
Supporting ROMA-Based Planning
The templates highlight the use of Results Oriented Management and Accountability, commonly known as ROMA, along with related concepts, principles, and best practice approaches for documenting program benchmarks and outcomes.
Planning Support
Helps agencies structure Community Action Plan content in a consistent and practical format.
Benchmarks & Outcomes
Provides a framework for reporting benchmarks, outcomes, and program-level results.
ROMA Alignment
Encourages the use of ROMA concepts and results-oriented practice throughout the planning process.
Download the Community Action Plan Template
Access the template file and use it as a reference when developing or updating Community Action Plans.
Download Template
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