Frequently Asked Questions About Stride

Stride Family Business Alliance (Stride) is a community and advisory platform for multigenerational family businesses, based in the Albany, New York area. It brings family business owners, next-generation leaders, and the executives who work alongside them together in confidential peer groups, monthly learning sessions, and an annual Family Enterprise Retreat, and offers one-on-one advisory on succession, ownership, governance, and family relationships.

Stride is for anyone who carries a family enterprise across generations: senior-generation owners and founders, next-generation leaders, couples and family members who work together, and the non-family executives and board members who help run family companies. Members come from manufacturing, distribution, retail, construction, hospitality, real estate, and professional services, and most are in New York’s Capital Region, with remote sessions for members further away.

Stride is based in the Albany, New York area. Peer group meetings and events are hosted at member family businesses and venues across the Capital Region — Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Latham, and nearby — and the annual retreat travels: the 2026 Family Enterprise Retreat was held at The Prospect Berkshires in Egremont, Massachusetts. You can reach Stride at 518-441-8406 or jpacker@stridefba.com.

Stride offers two 12-month memberships, each with two member slots. Founding Membership is $500 per year, plus a one-time $100 application fee, and includes the peer community, monthly learning sessions, affinity groups, the digital community, the Insights newsletter, and discounted retreat tickets. STRIDE Family Membership is $2,500 per year and adds monthly 1:1 advisory sessions with founder Jason Packer, the full LEP process, and access to LEP Hub. Details are on the Membership page.

Every membership includes two member slots (family members, non-family executives, or board members), monthly peer-group learning sessions held in person and remotely, member-driven topics with subject matter experts, affinity group forums (Next Gen, Senior Gen, Couples, and more), a confidential year-round digital community, the monthly Insights newsletter, and discounted tickets to the annual conference and retreat. STRIDE Family Membership adds monthly 1:1 advisory with Jason Packer, the full LEP process covering ownership, governance, succession, estate, philanthropy, and strategy, and full access to LEP Hub for documents, meetings, and training.

A family business peer group is a small, confidential circle of people in similar roles at other family companies who meet regularly to compare notes on the decisions only a family enterprise faces — succession, ownership, governance, working with relatives, and planning for the next generation. At Stride, peer groups are facilitated, often hosted at a member’s business with a tour and the host family’s story, and everything said in the room stays in the room.

Rising Gen is Stride’s peer group for next-generation family members who work in their family business and are on the path toward ownership and leadership. Meetings are hosted at member companies — a tour and history from the host family, followed by a facilitated, confidential conversation about generational working styles, legacy, and progress. The group is co-chaired by Christopher Walrath of Walrath Recruiting and Rosie DeFilippo of Albany Management; recent gatherings include the Next Gen Leaders Gathering at Nine Pin Cider Works and the Hoffman Family Tour at Hoffman Development Corporation. Learn more on the Rising Gen page.

The Steward Generation Peer Group is Stride’s group for the senior generation and current owners — the leaders carrying the weight of legacy, ownership, and the decisions that shape what they pass on. It is co-chaired by Jonathan Phillips, a leader at his family’s business, Phillips Hardware, and meets as part of Stride’s monthly peer-group sessions.

Yes. Stride runs a confidential peer group for non-family executives who hold leadership roles inside family businesses, where the demands of the job are different from those in other companies. The group’s next gathering is the Non-Family Executive Breakfast on November 5, 2026, at Launchbox Flexible Warehouse Suites in Latham, New York. Non-family executives and board members can also fill one of the two member slots on any Stride membership.

The Family Enterprise Retreat is Stride’s annual multi-day gathering of family businesses. The second annual retreat took place September 8–10, 2026, at The Prospect Berkshires in Egremont, Massachusetts, with a dozen speakers and sessions on succession, mentorship across generations, using EOS in a family business, financially transitioning a business, and the next phase of life in the family enterprise. The 2027 retreat is being designed with a member planning committee. Read the 2026 recap or visit the Retreat page.

The LEP process is Stride’s structured advisory process for family enterprises. It covers ownership, governance, succession, estate, philanthropy, and strategy, and it is delivered through monthly one-on-one sessions with founder Jason Packer for STRIDE Family members. LEP Hub, the companion online platform, keeps a family’s documents, meetings, and training in one place.

Jason Packer is the founder and CEO of Stride Family Business Alliance. A fourth-generation family business leader, he grew up in his family’s company, Hill & Markes, a distribution business, and became its CEO, leading it through a cultural transformation and a private equity sale. He now advises families on succession, governance, and leadership. He holds an MBA from American University and a bachelor’s degree in Policy Studies from Syracuse University, has family business certifications from the Family Firm Institute, and is completing a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. He lives in the Albany area with his wife and four children.

Yes. Confidentiality is the foundation of Stride’s community. Peer group meetings are closed to non-members, discussions are not recorded or shared, and every member agrees to the community Code of Conduct. As the community puts it: what is shared in Stride stays in Stride.

Apply through the Membership page — Founding Membership has a one-time $100 application fee — or contact Jason Packer directly at jpacker@stridefba.com or 518-441-8406. Prospective members are also welcome at open events such as mixers, learning sessions, and introductory breakfasts; peer group meetings themselves are confidential and reserved for members.

Some Stride events are open to prospective members by registration — mixers, expert-led learning sessions, and introductory gatherings such as the Non-Family Executive Breakfast — while peer group meetings, including Rising Gen and Steward Generation sessions, are confidential and reserved for members. Upcoming events are listed on the Events page.

The Succession Plan Health Test is a free online assessment from Stride that scores how ready a family business is for succession and surfaces patterns worth discussing. Scores are AI-generated to prompt conversation, not a professional diagnosis, and nothing in the assessment constitutes legal, financial, or therapeutic advice. Take it at stridefba.com/tools/compass.