Managing Your World in 2026
January 2026
There is a phrase psychologists use for seasons when many major changes happen at once: a lifequake. Bruce Feiler, who has studied these pivotal moments extensively, describes them as “a massive change that leads you to reinvent your life story in some fundamental way.”
I did not know the term when 2025 began, but I came to understand it well by year’s end.
Less than a week into my new role as President and CEO — one I had never held before — I was in Southern California attending the Public Affairs Institute. I was excited and, admittedly, nervous to meet the attendees and faculty who would shape those critical first days. At the same time, wildfires disrupted the program while major geopolitical developments unfolded thousands of miles away.
Last year was my lifequake.
A new organization to lead. A new board to serve. A new ecosystem to navigate. Children graduating and launching into their own lives. Losing a loved one. A new White House administration redefining power and influence in Washington and beyond.
I am certain these quakes were not unique to me. Many of you experienced them too. Each change on its own would have been manageable. Together, they created that unmistakable sense of everything shifting at once — not destructively, but in a way that permanently reshapes the landscape.
My biggest takeaway? A lifequake strips away autopilot and sharpens your focus. When everything is in motion, you become ruthless about what matters — what deserves your energy, what no longer fits and what kind of leader you choose to be next.
Finding Direction in Motion
I returned to Washington from that first Institute with an early sense of the road ahead. I accepted the newness and leaned into VUCA: volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. To stabilize, I had to move forward with purpose.
Over the next six months, in partnership with our Executive Committee, my team and I undertook a rigorous process to define the Council’s vision. By October, we launched Horizon 2028, our strategic plan centered on three priorities: cultivating member success, future-proofing the Council and fortifying our intellectual standing. (See the sidebar for how these priorities benefit members)
Our ambition is straightforward: to be the universal standard in public affairs — where leaders connect, careers advance and the profession evolves.
Last week, I returned to Southern California for the 2026 Public Affairs Institute and the experience affirmed our direction. Different turmoil, same VUCA. Trade wars. Energy markets. Currency fluctuations. Immigration enforcement. The challenges evolve, but the reality remains: The Public Affairs Council is here to help you manage your world.
You Get to Decide
In a world defined by constant disruption, you get to decide whether you actively manage your world — or allow your world to manage you.
One of the most consequential choices you can make is where you invest in yourself: in your growth, your perspective and your ability to lead through complexity. Those investments compound. They sharpen judgment, expand influence and deliver returns long after moments of disruption pass.
The Public Affairs Council is here to be a partner in that investment — connecting you to insight, peers and development opportunities that support your growth and strengthen your leadership.
A lifequake may reshape everything.
Where you invest in yourself determines how you emerge.
What the Horizon 2028 Strategic Priorities Will Mean for You
Cultivating Member Success
- Creating customized member pathways to meet you where you are with what you need.
- Offering more high-touch, immersive gatherings and experiences that foster member success and growth. We’re using our successful Public Affairs Institute and D.C. and Brussels Study Tours as a template.
- Expanding digital content across all our mediums: PAC.org, Council Connect, Impact and more.
Future-Proofing the Council
- Harmonizing our U.S. and European offerings to deliver a more unified experience.
- Enhancing professional development to future-proof your career goals, including growing our certificate program so you have more options and visibility.
- Ensuring that we have the technology in place to anticipate change and help you use AI and other tools thoughtfully and effectively.
Fortifying the Council’s Intellectual Standing
- Delivering the industry-leading benchmarking reports and issues research you rely on, while introducing more timely polls and surveys on the issues you’re facing right now.
- Expanding mission-aligned strategic partnerships to broaden the Council’s services and accelerate innovation.
- Strengthening academic collaboration.
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