Managing Meaning: How Narrative and Storytelling Accelerate Organizational Change
Date: 7/21/2026
Time: 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
Room: Grand Ballroom D (Floor 1)
Skill Session - Live lecture, panel discussion or interactive session with time for Q&A. 60-minutes.
LEADERSHIP–Leadership, strategic counseling, management, mentorship in communications and public schools
Session Description
School systems are experiencing constant change—new instructional models, strategic priorities, accountability shifts, technology adoption, and community expectations. Yet too many change initiatives stall, face resistance, or quietly fade away. The reason is rarely the quality of the strategy. More often, it’s a failure of meaning.
This session puts narrative and storytelling as a core change management function, not a communications afterthought. Drawing from change leadership research, cognitive science, and real-world school district examples, participants will explore why people don’t commit to change they don’t understand—and how communication leaders can close that gap.
Participants will learn how narrative creates urgency without fear, builds coherence across complex systems, and helps stakeholders see themselves inside the change. The session provides a practical framework communication leaders can use to support major initiatives before launch, during implementation, and long after the initial rollout—positioning communications as a strategic driver of successful, sustainable change.
Presenter(s)
Shane Haggerty APR
Senior Director, Brand & Client Strategy
AASA, The School Superintendents Association
Shane Haggerty, APR, has worked in the education sector for more than 25 years as a teacher, administrator, school communications leader, and consultant. He currently serves as the senior director of brand and client strategy for AASA, The School Superintendents Association. He has led award-winning campaigns working full-time for two Ohio career-technical school districts and most recently as the managing director of marketing and communications for Battelle for Kids, a national not-for-profit that led change management initiatives for hundreds of school districts and state education agencies for 25 years.
Shane earned a bachelor’s degree in English education from Huntington University (Ind.) and holds masters’ degrees from both the University of Dayton (Ohio) and Xavier University (Ohio). He earned his Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) in 2018 and previously served on the NSPRA Executive Board as a vice-president at-large from 2016-2018. He is a former president of the Ohio School Public Relations Association (OHSPRA). LinkedIn Profile
Managing Meaning: How Narrative and Storytelling Accelerate Organizational Change
Category
Skill Session - Live lecture, panel discussion or interactive session with time for Q&A. 60-minutes.