AAMVA’s Leadership Academy has been training and inspiring future leaders in the motor vehicle administration and law enforcement community for 10 years. Since 2014, the Leadership Academy has brought together 174 of the best and brightest in the AAMVA community to spend a few days together focusing on leadership strategies and development, so when the opportunity to take on new challenges and leadership positions presents itself, they are ready to hit the ground running.

AAMVA’s Leadership Academy was created in 2014 at the request of members to fulfill an identified need to assist with leadership development and succession planning within the AAMVA community. This annual program provides an opportunity for one representative from 20 different jurisdictions to come together and share in a highly interactive learning experience that is unique to the AAMVA community. Participants are asked to complete an evaluation survey after each Academy, and AAMVA uses this feedback to make changes to the topics covered and the trainers providing the sessions. Current training sessions include: team building, coaching, challenging your leadership paradigm, building a better workplace through DiSC, visiting a local DMV to learn about its operations and new initiatives, effective presentation and speaking skills, and open roundtable discussions with other community leaders.

Over the years, many graduates from the Leadership Academy have gone on to take their place as chief administrators, secured positions in federal agencies, and have filled seats on the AAMVA Board and as AAMVA staff members.

AAMVA’s MOVE Magazine spoke with some graduates of the AAMVA Leadership Academy about how the lessons they learned in the classroom stay with them in their career.

“The AAMVA Leadership Academy that we went through in 2014 was absolutely one of the most rewarding experiences that I have ever been a part of,” says Spencer R. Moore, now Commissioner at the Georgia Department of Driver Services and the first AAMVA Leadership Academy graduate to serve as Chair of the AAMVA International Board of Directors. “I have been through many leadership trainings over the course of my almost 28 years in State Government. Going through different leadership programs, you learn something at each training, but the AAMVA experience was unique. From day one until the graduation ceremony, you are living an experience with colleagues from around the country who you don’t necessarily work with on a day-to-day basis. I had never experienced that before. I’ve been fortunate to return and teach Leadership Academy Classes, most recently as the AAMVA Chair, and I got to share my thoughts on leadership. It’s amazing that 10 years later, many of the things that we did that first year are still being taught! The most amazing part continues to be the camaraderie and the friendships that develop in a week of training. You could see it at the graduation ceremony of the 2024 Class as the attendees embraced and were thinking of having to go home and not see each other on a daily basis. I can’t say enough about my experience with the AAMVA Leadership Academy. It has helped me to develop and strengthen my approach in professional and personal situations. More than strengthening my knowledge, it gave me the foundation to build more relationships that have helped me during my 12 years in the AAMVA community.”

“The Leadership Academy was pivotal in shaping my approach to leadership and understanding who I am and who I could become as a leader,” says Dr. Georgia Steele, class of 2014, now Regional Field Administrator – Southern Region with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. “Ten years later, the lessons I learned continue to influence my career. The program’s focus on collaboration, organizational performance, and the unique challenges of leading within the motor vehicle and law enforcement sectors provided me with a strong foundation to drive impactful change. Serving as a trainer on change management at the Academy further solidified my belief in the power of adaptive leadership. Today, in my role as Regional Field Administrator for FMCSA’s Southern Region, the skills and insights I gained from the Academy are integral to my efforts in improving safety, saving lives and operational efficiency across multiple states. The program’s emphasis on strategic thinking and leadership agility has been invaluable in navigating the complexities of our industry.”

The program’s emphasis on strategic thinking and leadership agility has been invaluable in navigating the complexities of our industry.

– Dr. Georgia Steele, Regional Field Administrator, FMCSA’s Southern Region

“The communication-focused messages still carry weight with me today,” says Melissa Gillett, class of 2015, now the Director of the Iowa Motor Vehicle Division and Secretary of the AAMVA International Board of Directors. She says the sessions utilizing improvisation communication techniques have stayed with her. “The ‘yes, and…’ exercise vs. using ‘however’ or ‘but,’ as well as the training we received regarding handling media inquiries—creating your talking points and main messages and deliberately sticking to those no matter what.”

“I recall us talking a lot about the ‘leader’s toolbox’ and how things like the Leadership Academy added several tools into my toolbox. I still use this reference of leadership toolbox and continuously add new tools to it,” says 2016 Leadership Academy graduate Roger Grove, now the Executive Director, Motor Vehicles and Registries Administration in Alberta, the 2024 Region 4 President and a member of the AAMVA International Board of Directors. “Ultimately it really gave me more confidence in being an overall leader, but it gave me more specifics I could directly relate to the motor vehicle industry. Shortly after I graduated, I received a promotion and I am confident the Leadership Academy helped me be in the role I am today. It also helped me to gain a better understanding of AAMVA and made me want to get more involved in the organization. I hosted the Region 4 conference in Edmonton this year, and I know without my Academy experience that would never had happened.”

“There were so many great things that I learned in AAMVA’s Leadership Academy,” says Angelique McClendon, General Counsel at the Georgia Department of Driver Services, a 2023 graduate of the Leadership Academy and now a member of the AAMVA International Board of Directors. She says her time in the Leadership Academy taught her that being a leader is possible no matter what level you hold in your organization. “Leading up to attending, I made notes about what I wanted to learn, and one thing was how to ‘influence up.’ I wanted to learn how to lead in situations where you are not the head of your unit or organization. In a sense, that is what true leadership is all about—leading and influencing others regardless of your position or title. Trust and humility are huge factors in being able to influence those around you, even if they are your ‘bosses.’ Being someone who is trusted with the knowledge to lead in any scenario, even if leading means showing humility and allowing others to shine, and being a person your leader trusts to lead others in a way that results in improved trust and morale within your organization will broaden your influence in all directions.”

“For me, my participation in the Leadership Academy has had a lasting impact on my approach to leadership and management,” says Jessi Ross, class of 2015, and now Driver License Compact & Reciprocity Program Director at AAMVA. “The lessons, experiences and, most importantly, the strangers I met who became friends—yes, most of us are still in contact—during the program continue to influence my daily decision-making and strategic thinking. AAMVA took a chance on us and invested in our current and future leaders, and I am forever thankful for that. P.S. The ‘yes, and…’ concept is something I now say daily.”

“The lessons I personally took away from attending the academy were many, but to highlight a few would be the insight of understanding my personal leadership style—the segment we had on the Myers Briggs,” says Nancy Prescott, Director of Operations at the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles and a member of the 2014 inaugural class of the Leadership Academy. “This assisted me on recognizing my leadership style specifically, how, when, and where I could consider being open to incorporating other styles and other individuals to be a more effective leader. This not only gave me insight on my leadership style but insight into other traits and the skill sets of those around me. This opened the venue how I could best utilize the various skills sets among the teams. This built on the session we had on Team Collaboration and the nuances of [how to] improve.”

Hear more from graduates Nancy Prescott and Amy Anthony in AAMVAcast episode 204:

See the 2024 Class of AAMVA Leadership Academy in action in this video recap: