NAIS Thrive 2026
Thrive, the NAIS annual conference, is the premier event for independent school leaders. Join us in Seattle, February 25–27, for critical insights, innovative strategies, and valuable connections that empower you to thrive in your professional role and foster a thriving school community.
Registration Is Now Open!
Registration for Thrive 2026, the NAIS annual conference, is now open! Don’t miss this opportunity to join us in Seattle, February 25-27.
Thrive 2026 will be held at the Seattle Convention Center, Summit Building, 900 Pine St., Seattle, WA, 98101.
Thrive: Why Should You Attend?
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Connect
Build lasting relationships with peers and pioneers who share your commitment to leading schools into the future. In Seattle, you’ll join a community of forward-thinking leaders who are eager to exchange ideas, collaborate across roles, and expand the collective vision for independent schools.
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Explore
Dive into futurist thinking and emerging trends in education designed to spark fresh strategies you can adapt to your school’s unique context.
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Inspire
Hear stories of resilience, creativity, and transformative leadership that remind you of the promise of education. Whether from a keynote stage or a hallway conversation, you’ll gain the perspectives and encouragement that rekindle your optimism and renew your spirit for leadership.
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Recharge
Step away from the daily pressures of school leadership and realign with your purpose. Through reflective sessions, energizing keynotes, and Seattle’s culture of innovation, you’ll leave with the clarity, momentum, and confidence to guide your community toward a brighter future.
Keynote Speakers
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![Cassie Holmes]()
Cassie Holmes
Renowned happiness expert Cassie Holmes shares the secret to increasing our creativity, happiness, and ability to pay attention. She says it’s not about making time—it’s about protecting the time we already have. The award-winning professor of marketing and behavioral decision-making at the UCLA Anderson School of Management examines how focusing on time (rather than money) increases happiness, how the meaning of happiness changes over the course of your lifetime, and how much happiness people enjoy from extraordinary versus ordinary experiences.
The bestselling author of Happier Hour, a practical guide to taking control of time and finding fulfillment, says time isn’t only a challenge—it’s the solution. When we’re able to see our days, weeks, months, years, and careers broken down into the quality of our time, we can use that information to reconstruct our schedules and lives based on what we need.
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![Bryan Stevenson]()
Bryan Stevenson
Bryan Stevenson is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a human rights organization in Montgomery, Alabama. Under his leadership, EJI has won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent death row prisoners, confronting abuse of the incarcerated and the mentally ill, and aiding children prosecuted as adults.
His work has won numerous awards, from the prestigious MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Prize to the National Humanities Medal awarded by President Biden.
Stevenson is the author of the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller Just Mercy, which was adapted as a major motion picture. He is also the subject of the Emmy Award-winning HBO documentary True Justice.
Agenda and Schedule
Explore our dynamic lineup of pre-conference and conference programming, including keynote speakers, featured speaker sessions, a Master Class, deep-dive Three-Hour Workshops, general workshops, The Quad, special events, and more. In addition to the core programming, you'll also find special opportunities such as Signature Experiences, Learning Labs, Teach with Tech, Skills Studio, Coaches' Corner, and the Idea Exchange.
Workshops and Programming
Sponsor and Exhibit
Become a Sponsor
Sponsoring Thrive builds visibility for your brand, connects you with educators, and gives you a forum to share your organization’s expertise. Whether you are trying to reach schools at the local or national level, aligning your company with this conference will win your brand valuable exposure to thousands of attendees, including independent school leaders, administrators, and teachers throughout the country.
Become an Exhibitor
Exhibiting at Thrive offers an excellent way to gain in-person access to the independent school community and its leaders. Exhibiting opportunities are offered within The Quad at Thrive, where attendees gather for resources, programming, networking, lunch and coffee breaks, and more!
Featured Sponsors
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Diamond
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Gold
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