Guides are welcome to attend the HeadWaters Leadership Conference, or BestPractices Conference at the reduced rate of $500. The Emerging Leaders Conference is only open to ELA participants.

Ideally your project is beneficial to the firm and to your career and not something you would do in the normal course of your job duties. We have created a list of sample projects that you and your guide can use to brainstorm options.

You can request a password change for this system by going to My Profile, typing in a new password and clicking on Save Changes. You can request a password reset for OPT by emailing info@upstreamacademy.com.

You can update your contact information either by emailing info@upstreamacademy.com or by going to the My Profile section of this app and updating information directly. The contact information will be changed immediately. The photo will take a few days to update.

Upstream provides a list of goals each year. You are required to complete several mandatory goals as well as selecting from a menu of other goal choices in each area. You should work with your guide to select applicable goals and set deadlines. Guides have the authority to modify goals to fit a particular participant’s career path.

You must contact Upstream Academy at info@upstreamacademy.com or 406-495-1850 to make changes to your conference.

The participant section of this app has a search feature that can help with both questions. The search feature searches all fields (name, company, bio, etc.) so you can find someone by state, specialty, name, etc.

Yes, each participant should choose or be assigned a guide from within the firm.

The advocate position is optional, but we strongly encourage the firm to assign an advocate if they have more than two participants. This helps coordinate the program and give participants another “go to” person.

When you first join ELA we assign you the same password for each system. Once you change either password, they may not match.

To assist firms in assigning guides, we have developed an ELA Guides document, which lists guides' responsibilities and characteristics.

To assist firms in assigning an advocate, we have developed an ELA Advocates document, which describes recommended Advocate duties and characteristics.

Participants are required to listen to all Leadership Training Forums. The Forums are recorded and you automatically receive access to the recording of each forum. If you are unable to attend the live call, you can view the PowerPoint presentation with audio, or listen to the MP3 of the call on the OPT system.

As with everything Upstream Academy does, your satisfaction with Emerging Leaders Academy is guaranteed. If you are not completely satisfied with the value you receive, we will, at your option, either refund your money or accept that portion of the fees that reflects your level of satisfaction.

Participants will be refunded their registration fee in full if Upstream Academy is notified of their withdrawal in writing by June 30. After this date, participants will be eligible for a prorated refund of their registration fee.

Participants, Guides and Advocates have access to the OPT system. Participants can use this program to enter information on goals and projects. Guides and Advocates can use the program to track participant progress. Additionally, because each participant has a guide from the firm, progress (or lack of progress) is more easily recognized and corrected.

To help participants determine the best Upstream event to attend we have created an Event Comparison document with more information on each event.

Current ELA participants in all three years are listed, along with alumni graduating after 2013.