Association Brain Food: 11.6.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

a scenic view of brightly colored fall leaves on the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina

Good Reads for the Association Community

Grants members talk about. Members notice when your association pays for someone’s exam fee or conference trip. Grant recipients share their good news and tend to say yes when you ask them to volunteer. OpenWater explains how to launch a member grant program on a modest budget and keep it small enough for one person to run. The post suggests using recipients’ stories to bring in future applicants and build your case for another year of funding.

A value proposition needs upkeep. Members’ needs and the competition keep shifting, so a value proposition written into a strategic plan years ago can fall out of step. Christine Saunders (Halmyre) explains how to keep it current, using research and member behavior data to guide decisions. She also warns against two common traps: letting the board set strategy on its own and reshaping plans around the loudest voices.

Where credentialing is headed. TopClass LMS rounds up several changes underway in certification and CE programs, including stackable microcredentials, digital badges, automated renewal reminders, and AI recommendation tools. The guide makes the case for giving credentialing programs more attention at budget time now that dues income keeps shrinking across the industry. It also describes the main types of platforms on the market and how much manual tracking costs a small staff in lost hours and turnover.

Membership for the next generation. Caroline Cohn (Marketing General) encourages associations to consider what would make Millennial and Gen Z professionals want to belong. Her advice starts with a value proposition built around how membership helps younger professionals reach their career goals. She cautions against lumping everyone in a generation together and shows how your member data can help you tailor your messaging.

What members need now. Members can get an answer from an AI tool in seconds, so an association’s content library carries less weight than it used to. Sherry Budziak (.orgSource) urges associations to focus on what people need when they hit a tough problem at work, such as a trusted explanation and a clear next step. She describes how connecting your experts and research with the communities you already have can help members move from a question to action.

Non-dues revenue playbook. Your website, newsletter, and member directory can earn more than they do now. GrowthZone’s guide covers ways to make money with channels you already run, with ideas ranging from directory upgrades to tiered sponsorship packages. You’ll also find sample pricing and a 90-day starter plan that won’t overload a small team.

When AI takes the wheel. Driverless cars now get through busy city traffic with fewer reported crashes than cars driven by people. Sidecar says AI could take over many of the technical tasks your members get paid for, much sooner than most leaders expect. Clients would then pay members for their judgment and the trust they’ve built. The post lays out why associations are well placed to help, since bringing people together has always been their core strength.

Design events for the feeling. Attendees remember how a conference made them feel long after they’ve forgotten the session content. Dave Lutz (Velvet Chainsaw) shows how the peak-end rule—the idea that people judge an experience mostly by its most intense moment and its ending—can shape your opening and closing sessions. He shares how the American Occupational Therapy Association brought “all the feels” to life at its conference.

Snacks

A record-low 31% of Americans say a college education is “very important,” which opens a door for associations. | Megan Brenan, Gallup News

With the Plaza Hotel closing for four years, this article covers who pays when events get canceled. Read it before your association negotiates its next hotel or venue contract. | Andrea Doyle, Skift Meetings

The Substack Slow Read Almanac lists long, patient reads of big books, one installment at a time.

Local Wikipedia shows Wikipedia entries for places within a half-hour walk of you. If fewer than 25 entries fall that close, it pulls in the nearest 25 within six miles.

If you need CAE credits, check out Ed Rigsbee’s 42 workshops, including nine one-hour ethics sessions. You earn one CAE credit for each workshop by passing its test.

If Brain Food has been useful to you or your team, or helped promote your webinars, please buy me a beer. One beer is only $5, and you can check a box to make it monthly. Thanks!

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You Never Grow Old at the Table

I made a chicken mushroom skillet ahead of time for Friday’s dinner in the mountains of North Carolina. Oh my, were the leaves spectacular this year, the most vibrant I’ve ever seen. I skipped the oven step and finished it on the stovetop. I also added gnocchi to give it extra oomph. It hit the cozy spot. On the side, I served my usual roasted broccoli with red onion, garlic powder, and sweet smoked paprika.

Since 2012, I’ve made election night pasta from a recipe I found in the Raleigh News & Observer print edition way back when. Sadly, it’s no longer online. This recipe welcomes whatever you have on hand, so you can’t go wrong. This year’s version had hot Italian sausage and ground beef; onion, fennel, red bell pepper, mushrooms, and garlic; marinara, basil pesto, and spinach; five cheeses (smoked Gouda, Parmesan, Asiago, mozzarella, and provolone); and fusilli.

About CAE credits: Per ASAE, “any continuing professional education offered by any professional entity may be accepted toward the [CAE] professional development requirement as long as it is directly related to either association or nonprofit management as defined by the CAE exam content outline.”

Hello, education providers: If you have a free webinar or event coming up, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon the week before it’s scheduled. I’m happy to feature it as long as it’s not product-centric.

Mon 11/9 at 8 a.m.* – What Board Members Think (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Every week, Rogue Tulips brings the association community intriguing guests who discuss vital topics affecting associations around the world. Episodes are published Monday mornings in both audio and video format, available on YouTube and the usual podcast channels.

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Jeff De Cagna, Foresight First

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Mon 11/9 at 12 p.m. – Membership Monday: Member Onboarding Toolkit Release

Join us for the first look at The Onboarding Toolkit, a new resource created by ASAE’s Membership Professionals Advisory Council (MPAC). We’ll walk through suggested messaging and timelines for engagement, how to scale based on your team size or budget, and ways to measure your success. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE

Tue 11/10 at 11 a.m. – Till System Death Do Us Part: Lasting Partnerships

Find out how to avoid the costs of constant system churn by choosing technology partners you can stay with. Learn how to pin down the real problem and your requirements before you select a partner, and how governance routines keep the relationship healthy. Hear why implementations go off the rails. Get tools like scorecards and health checks for repairing a strained relationship and extending the life of your system. Hear how to resist shiny-object distractions. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Tobin Conley, CAE, CIP, VP, Client Education, DelCor Technology Solutions
David Stephenson, Senior Vice President of Technology, Entrepreneurs’ Organization

Tue 11/10 at 12 p.m. – Tech Tuesday: Killing the AI Buzz Without Being a Buzzkill

Between the nonstop headlines, new tools, and predictions about how AI will change everything, it’s easy to get caught up in the noise. But what happens when we stop treating AI like a major event and start making it part of how we work? Explore moving past the hype—separating practical opportunities from unnecessary noise; making AI part of everyday work—finding ways to use AI without adding complexity; and keeping it realistic—balancing expectations, concerns, and the human side of adopting AI. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE

Facilitators:

Reggie Henry, CAE
Dave Coriale, CAE, President, DelCor Technology Solutions

Tue 11/10 at 1 p.m. – Renewal Campaigns That Keep Members Coming Back

Find out why members often decide whether to renew before they see your first renewal notice. Hear about the Ask, Capture, Act approach, which starts conversations 90 days out and routes answers automatically so members on the fence get the right follow-up. Learn how one professional association turned a single renewal question into $956,000 in renewal value and about 12,000 conversions, and how a trade association began by confirming member contact information. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Dave Will, Co-Founder and CEO, PropFuel

Tue 11/10 at 2 p.m. – Leading Across Borders: Strategies for a Changing World

Find out how to decide whether, where and how your association should expand internationally, and how to operate once you’re there. Learn how associations use local insights and trusted relationships to test assumptions, decide what stays consistent across borders and what adapts locally, and respond as economic and market conditions change. Leave with a framework for deciding when to enter, adapt, expand, continue or pause an international initiative. 1 CAE credit. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE

Speakers:

Adam Thocher, SVP of Global Programs and Insights, Global Cold Chain Alliance
Tarnbir Kaur, Vice President, Membership and Strategic Engagement, American Chemical Society
Tiago Opazo Ricciardi, Regional Director, Latin America, Global Navigators

Tue 11/10 at 3 p.m. – Building an AI Ready Culture: Leading People Through the Shift

Learn how to lead your team through the cultural side of AI adoption. Hear about four blockers that stall progress, including fear of irrelevance, silence at the top, permission culture and innovation shame, along with an antidote for each. Find out how H.E.A.R.T.-powered leadership helps you move from control to empowerment, from certainty to curiosity, and from fixed plans to experiments. Live polling and rapid-fire scenarios let you practice responding to skeptics and resistance. Second in a three-part series. 0.5 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: re:Members

Speaker: Kevin Ordonez, President and Managing Director, Digital Strategy, .orgSource

Wed 11/11 at 11 a.m. – Office Hours for LMS Buyers: How to Replace an Aging LMS

Find out what to do when your LMS contract is up for renewal, your vendor gets acquired, adoption stays weak, or costs keep climbing. Learn about a decision framework to help you choose whether to renew, replace, or redesign your learning platform. Half of the 45-minute session is open Q&A, so bring your questions. Vendors are asked not to attend, which keeps the conversation focused on buyers. More info/register.

Host: Talented Learning

Speaker: John Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst, Talented Learning

Wed 11/11 at 11 a.m. – Beyond the Legacy AMS: Scaling Your Association With Flexible, Future-Ready CRM Solutions

Learn when a rigid legacy AMS starts holding your association back and how an enterprise CRM platform such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Salesforce can support growth. Hear about personalization, integrations, AI-driven workflows and predictive analytics, and how to evaluate ROI. Find out what a transition roadmap should include, from change management and data migration to getting staff to adopt the new system. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Dustin Sitton, Principal, Incite Automation

Wed 11/11 at 1 p.m. – The Scorecard No One Shows You: Understanding Business Evaluation From Different Seats at the Table

Find out how destination organizations evaluate a meeting differently than a single hotel does. A destination looks at a meeting’s impact across the whole market, so an event that doesn’t fit one property may still be valuable to the city, opening doors to better dates, alternative venues, incentives, grants or marketing support. Learn why you should engage destinations earlier and how to use their economic-impact data in site selection, negotiations and the business case you make internally. More info/register.

Host: Meetings Today

Speaker: Emily Scheiderer, vice president of professional development, Destinations International

Wed 11/11 at 2 p.m. – Affordable Solutions When Everything Is #%#*! Expensive

Find out how to keep delivering strong events as costs climb for food, transportation, A/V and nearly every other meeting expense. Learn budget-friendly strategies for managing rising costs, negotiation tactics that stretch your event dollars, and ways to improve the attendee experience without spending more. You’ll also pick up tips for getting more value from suppliers, partners and sponsors. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speaker: Sarah J.F. Braley (moderator), Managing Editor, Northstar Meetings Group

Thu 11/12 at 11 a.m. – Beyond the Demo: What You Can’t See in an AMS Evaluation (and How to Find It)

Find out what AMS demos don’t show you and how to uncover it before you sign a contract. Learn how to build scenario-based demos around your association’s real workflows so you can compare vendors on equal terms. Find out how to tell configuration from custom development, spot hidden costs and staffing needs, test integrations with accounting, LMS, email marketing and single sign-on, and separate AI features available today from roadmap promises. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

David Schulman, Co-Founder, Beacon Tech Research
Vanessa Dennison, CAE, Owner, Dennison & Associates

Thu 11/12 at 11 a.m. – Niche to Network: Special Interest Groups for Professional Associations

Learn how to create special interest groups that keep members talking and learning from one another. Find out how to give each group a clear purpose, support the volunteer leaders who run them, and keep discussions going between meetings. Hear how to measure a group’s engagement with something more meaningful than the number of people who signed up. More info/register.

Host: Tradewing

Thu 11/12 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. – GURU Conference 2026

Pick up practical email marketing advice at this free two-day virtual conference for email and digital marketers. Tracks cover nonprofits, B2B, AI tools, one-person teams, and SMS and social. Sessions include planning your 2027 email strategy, building an AI-powered email system, marketing automation, and donor storytelling for nonprofits. Hear from email experts along with celebrity keynotes from Dan Levy and Molly Ringwald. More info/register.

Host: GURU Media Hub

Some of the speakers over the two days:

Jay Schwedelson (host), Founder, GURU Media Hub
Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs
Kath Pay, Lead Trainer, Holistic Email Academy
Nancy Harhut, Chief Creative Officer, HBT Marketing
Katelyn Baughan, Nonprofit Email Consultant, KB Digital
Iana Robitaille, PhD, Communications Strategist, DonorPerfect

Thu 11/12 at 12 p.m. – The Board Partnership Playbook: 7 Proven Ways to Build Engaged, Collaborative & High-Performing Boards

Learn seven practices for building trust, candor and collaboration between your board and staff. Find out how to discover what motivates each board member, match their talents and interests to meaningful work, and set clear expectations that build volunteer ownership. Hear how to run board meetings that invite strategic conversation and how to show board members the impact of their service. Practice with real board scenarios and receive a Board Partnership Scorecard afterward. More info/register.

Host: Wendy Scott & Associates

Speaker: Wendy Scott, CAE, Wendy Scott & Associates

Thu 11/12 at 12 p.m. – Top Membership Challenges: Preparing for the New Year and Each Quarter

Learn the five reasons membership growth stalls and a quick fix for each. Hear how to identify your biggest bottleneck and why you should reassess it every quarter as you plan for the new year. Find out why “I don’t see the value” often signals a messaging problem and how member conversations can sharpen your message. You’ll leave with messaging homework to put the ideas to work. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Shari Pash

Thu 11/12 at 12 p.m. – On The Hunt

Join a monthly virtual meetup for AWTC members who are job hunting, exploring new roles or thinking about their next career move. Connect with peers, swap leads and resources, and get encouragement from people who understand what a job search feels like. Each gathering mixes casual conversation with an optional themed discussion and time to think through your next steps. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Thu 11/12 at 1 p.m. – Using Pipeline Reports to Navigate Funding and Improve Sustainability

Find out how to build a funding pipeline report that tracks grants, major gifts, donors and contracts by stage. Learn how to use close rates and forecasts to spot gaps early and develop contingency plans. Learn how pipeline data can inform budget and program decisions and help you show the board how your organization will stay financially sustainable. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

A. Michael Gellman, CPA, CGMA, Co-Founder, Sustainability Education 4 Nonprofits
Paul Preziotti, CPA, Partner, Johnson Lambert LLP

Thu 11/12 at 1 p.m. – Deferred Compensation Decoded: Practical 457(b) and 457(f) Strategies for Associations

Learn how deferred compensation plans can help your association compete for executive talent. Get two perspectives: HR’s view on participation and retention, and an advisor’s view on funding, investment structure and risk. Case studies show how associations used these plans to recruit a new CEO and keep a key executive. Find out how 457(b) and 457(f) plans differ, five questions to ask before you implement one, and a roadmap from board approval through administration, including who owns each step. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Raffa Investment Advisers

Thu 11/12 at 2 p.m. – The CIO Hour: The AMS Selection Process

Build your IT know-how at this monthly webinar for association staff who don’t work in technology. November’s topic is choosing an AMS. Send questions ahead of time through the registration form or ask them in the chat during the program. Panelists stay for an extra 30 minutes for questions and discussion about the selection process. Sessions are recorded if you can’t attend live. More info/register.

Host: 501Works

Speaker: James Marquis (host), CIO, 501Works

Thu 11/12 at 2 p.m. – Before You Add AI: Should Your Association Build, Buy, or Partner?

Get a practical framework for deciding whether an AI initiative should be built in-house, purchased, pursued with a partner, or put on hold until the right foundation is in place. Learn how to pin down the problem you need to solve and the AI opportunities that add the most staff capacity or member value. Assess readiness factors such as workflow clarity, data, governance, staff capability and human oversight, and leave with one practical next decision for your association’s AI strategy. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speaker: Helanah Warren, Executive Coach, Organizational Consultant & AI/Leadership Strategist, Thrive By Design

Thu 11/12 at 2 p.m. – The Association Revenue Shift: How Enduring Trust, Impact and Value Will Redefine Growth

Find out why leaning heavily on dues is a risky long-term growth strategy as membership growth slows and members grow choosier about where they spend their time and money. Learn practical approaches to non-dues revenue through education, certifications, digital learning, sponsorships, premium content and workforce development. Explore how diversified revenue can reduce financial vulnerability, and leave with ideas for launching, expanding or improving revenue-generating programs at your association. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speakers: Bill Sheehan, Global Head of Association Strategy, and Julia Park, Revenue Marketing Strategist, D2L

Thu 11/12 at 2 p.m. – The Rise of the Marketing Engineer: How to Capture the Opportunity in AI Marketing

Find out how AI search is changing the way people find and evaluate organizations, and how to check whether AI tools describe your programs accurately. Learn about the new marketing engineer role and how teams use AI agents to turn research into repeatable workflows for content briefs, brand monitoring and content creation. Hear how to give agents shared brand context so work stays consistent across your marketing team. More info/register.

Host: Content Marketing Institute

Speaker: Nick Lafferty, Founding Marketing Engineer, Profound

Thu 11/12 at 3 p.m. – AI Without Replacing Your AMS: What Connects and What Doesn’t

Find out how to start using AI with the AMS and other systems your association already has, even when no native integration exists. Learn how AI can reach your data, from simple exports and uploads to direct integrations and external connections. Learn where automation can live, what changes when tools connect directly, and what you can still do without a native integration, so you can see what your current technology stack may already support. More info/register.

Host: Member Lounge

Speaker: Farhad Khan, CEO, Member Lounge

Thu 11/12 at 3 p.m. – 3 Enduring Truths for Nonprofit Messaging

Learn three messaging principles that hold steady as AI, technology and digital trends keep changing how nonprofits raise money and market themselves. Hear how these truths build emotional connections with people across cultures and generations. Hear real-world examples of nonprofits that applied them and saw more donations, volunteer engagement and corporate partnerships, along with stronger donor and member loyalty. More info/register.

Host: Nonprofit Nav

Speaker: Jeff Terpstra, Founder, Scott Allen Creative

Thu 11/12 at 4 p.m. – PM for Association and Nonprofit Pros Workshop

Bring a project, any project, to this three-session virtual workshop and build a working plan as you go. Draft your plan in the first session using a five-phase project framework, then refine it while you work through stakeholder scenarios, difficult conversations, committees and vendors, change management, and prioritizing projects by ROI. No project? Follow a year-long case study from Meals on Wheels People. Sessions meet November 12, November 19 and December 3. More info/register.

Host: PM for Pros

Speaker: Dawn Tedesco, Founder, PM for Pros

Fri 11/13 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. – GURU Conference 2026

Host: GURU Media Hub

Some of the speakers over the two days:

Jay Schwedelson (host), Founder, GURU Media Hub
Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs
Kath Pay, Lead Trainer, Holistic Email Academy
Nancy Harhut, Chief Creative Officer, HBT Marketing
Katelyn Baughan, Nonprofit Email Consultant, KB Digital
Iana Robitaille, PhD, Communications Strategist, DonorPerfect

Fri 11/13 at 1 p.m. – Foresight Fridays: One Election, Ten Drivers – What the 2026 Midterms Tell Associations About What’s Next

Find out how the results of the November 3 midterm elections could affect associations, their missions and their members. The ASAE ForesightWorks Advisory Group and a panel of association leaders connect the outcomes to ten ForesightWorks drivers of change and discuss whether policies from the new Congress, governors and state legislatures might speed some drivers up, slow others down, or send them in a new direction. Learn how to apply a foresight approach to political and policy uncertainty. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE ForesightWorks Advisory Group

Speakers:

Michael Carr-Tatonetti, CPP, CAE (host), Founder, Pricing for Associations
Tommy Goodwin, MBA, FASAE, CAE, PMP, CMP (host), President & Chief Executive Officer, Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance
Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, AAiP, Chief Public Policy and Governance Officer, ASAE
Lindsay Currie, CAE, Executive Officer, Council for Undergraduate Education
Matthew Ott, MS, FASAE, CAE, CMP, AAiP, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Momentum Association Management
Oyango A. Snell, Esq., CAE, IOM, President & Chief Executive Officer, Corporate Legal Operations Consortium
Andrea Wieters, Director of Strategic and Future Focused Research, ASAE

Fri 11/13 at 2:30 p.m. – The Certification Audit: Cost, Renewal, Revenue, and Where AI Fits

Take a practical look at the numbers behind your certification program. Learn how to calculate what your program costs and what it earns, and find ways to grow non-dues revenue through practice products, certificate programs and renewals. Find out how self-service renewals and automatic capture of continuing education credits reduce lapse risk, and how AI can save your team time on program operations. More info/register.

Host: Momentive Software

Speaker: Chris Capistran, VP of Sales Strategy and Acceleration, Momentive Software

Mon 11/16 at 8 a.m. – The Power of Thank you Notes (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Cynthia Lockrey, Lockrey Communications

Mon 11/16 at 1 p.m. – When It Mattered Most with Joanna Pineda

Join the ASAE Research Foundation for a conversation with Joanna Pineda, CEO of Matrix Group International, about her new book, When It Mattered Most. The book shares the stories of association leaders and the trust that members, professions, and industries place in their associations. Joanna will read a short excerpt and talk about why she wrote the book. She’ll then lead a conversation on leadership and trust with CEOs featured in the book. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Panelists:

Todd Hauptli, CEO of AAAE
Dr. Devin Jopp, CEO of APIC
Patti Montague, CAE, FASAE, CEO of SNA
Terri Hinkley, CEO, NASN

Tue 11/17 at 10:30 a.m. – Meditation Skills for Busy Lives

Take 20 minutes away from your workday to learn a simple mindfulness practice that helps ease stress and burnout. Each monthly session gives you five minutes to settle in, 10 minutes of guided meditation, and five minutes for questions and reflection. A new area of meditation and a practical skill you can carry with you are introduced every month. Open to everyone, with no meditation experience needed. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Speaker: Moira Edwards (meditation leader), Owner & President, Ellipsis Partners

Tue 11/17 at 11 a.m. – Is Your Marketing Department Built for Growth?

Find out why a busy marketing team doesn’t always produce growth in membership, revenue or engagement. Learn six warning signs that marketing is stuck in reactive execution mode, and why the cause usually comes down to how the function is structured, led and measured. Get a framework for moving marketing from producing deliverables to driving growth, along with leadership changes that improve alignment, accountability and results. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Brianne Wheeler, CEO and Founder, Levitate Marketing

Tue 11/17 at 12 p.m. – AI Leadership Without Losing the Human Touch

Learn how to decide which tasks to automate, delegate, augment or keep human, and when to skip AI altogether. Find out how to protect the leadership work AI can’t replace, including judgment, empathy, trust and relationships. Hear how to use AI to cut low-value work, set clear expectations for your team’s AI use, and decide where human review matters most. Leave with one habit or workflow to redesign. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Holly Duckworth

Tue 11/17 at 1 p.m. – Beyond the Checklist: Is Your Conference Actually Strategic?

Find out whether your conference is doing what your organization needs it to do, even when everything runs smoothly. Learn what it means to design an event around purpose, audience, experience, value and outcomes, and pick up five questions that move your planning from habit to intentional decisions. Use a Conference Strategy Assessment to spot where your own event has room to rethink, refocus or improve. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Event Garde

Tue 11/17 at 2 p.m. – Coffee & Credentials: Building a Volunteer Ecosystem

Hear from three credentialing organizations that rely on volunteers for test development, governance and program development. Learn how to set clear roles and expectations for each volunteer group, build workflows that support volunteers from onboarding into leadership roles, and grow your volunteer pool while keeping appropriate staff oversight. Find out how to keep volunteers coming back and meet the expectations of NCCA Standard 13. Eligible for ICE-CCP CE credit. More info/register.

Host: Quadterion

Speakers:

Nathan Burn, MS, ATC, Exam Development Manager, Board of Certification & Quadterion
Alexandra Link, MS, Director of Credentialing, American Council on Exercise
Taylor Tylka, BSN, RN, OCN, CBCN, Credentialing Program Specialist, Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation

Tue 11/17 at 3 p.m. – Building an AI Ready Culture: From Framework to Practice: Experimenting with AI in Real Time

Watch AI handle low-risk tasks live, from the starting prompt to what the first output got right and wrong and how the presenters adjusted when limitations appeared. Learn how to pick low-risk, high-frequency tasks for your first experiments and how to evaluate AI output with a critical eye. Leave with a 30-60-90 day experimentation plan built on trust, communication and experimentation. 0.5 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: re:Members

Speakers:

Patrick Dorsey, SVP, Sales & Marketing, re:Members
Jason Vance, Director of Client Experience and Solutions, re:Members

Wed 11/18 at 11 a.m. – Where Is Your Association Leaving Revenue on the Table?

Find out how to connect the audiences, programs, content and engagement your association already has so they produce more revenue. Work through the Association Revenue Flywheel Workbook to assess your current revenue mix, find gaps between member engagement and monetization, connect programs across the member journey, and set priorities for growth. More info/register.

Host: Advanced Solutions International (ASI)

Speaker: Beau Harbin, Chief Client Success Officer, ASI

Wed 11/18 at 12 p.m. – When the Board Says “Grow”: Translating Vague Governance Mandates into Strategic Focus

Find out how to turn a board’s vague call to “grow” into a focused strategy your staff can deliver. Learn how to use Halmyre’s Six Types of Growth framework to sort competing board expectations into a shared vocabulary, run prioritization exercises that help directors commit to a few primary growth levers, and anticipate the unintended consequences of growth choices. Set success metrics that protect staff capacity by separating core priorities from operational distractions. More info/register.

Host: Halmyre

Speaker: Christine Saunders, Founder and President, Halmyre

Wed 11/18 at 12 p.m. – The Hybrid Marketer: Blending Strategy, Tech, and Data Without Burning Out

Learn what it takes to be a hybrid marketer who juggles strategy, technology, analytics and content. Find out which marketing skills are growing in importance and which matter less, how small association teams can manage both marketing communications and marketing technology without overload, and which organizational structures help keep staff from being stretched too thin while the team stays effective. More info/register.

Host: Highroad Solution

Speakers: Garra Swayne, Strategic Account Manager, and Maneesha Manges, CXO, HighRoad Solutions

Wed 11/18 at 12 p.m. – 10 Tips for a Best-in-Class Finance Department

Learn what separates a best-in-class nonprofit finance department from the rest. Find out which qualities make strong finance team members, how internal controls support a strong department, and which practices keep the finance function running efficiently. Designed for people who are new to nonprofit financial management or want a refresher. More info/register.

Host: YPTC (Your Part-Time Controller)

Wed 11/18 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Who’s Filling the Pipeline? The Role of Certification in Building the Future Workforce

Find out how credentialing organizations can help build the future workforce by raising awareness of career paths and showing the value of certification at every stage of a professional’s career. Credentialing leaders share strategies and examples from their own programs, followed by Q&A. More info/register.

Host: Certification Network Group

Speakers:

Angela Macauley, President & CEO, National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy
Laura Skarnulis, CEO, Dental Assisting National Board
Michelle Lee, VP of External Relations & Policy, Dental Assisting National Board

Wed 11/18 at 1 p.m. – Engagement to Loyalty: Designing an AI-Ready Member Loyalty Ecosystem

Learn how to turn member engagement data into loyalty strategies that drive growth. Find out how structured engagement modules, behavioral insights and AI-enabled personalization can help you identify high-value members, predict who is likely to become an advocate, and keep members participating. Hear how to move from measuring member activity to building a community of loyal members who help your association grow. More info/register.

Host: Causeis

Wed 11/18 at 1 p.m. – Ditch the Deck, Keep the Message

Find out why slide decks lose attendees and what to use instead. Learn about formats and tools that make conference sessions, webinars and presentations feel fresh and interactive, and get a simple framework for auditing and updating the content you already have. More info/register.

Host: ShowReady

Speakers:

Dahlia El Gazzar, Speaker, DAHLIA+ Agency
Elle Pagel, Art Director, David James Group
Kelsey Reed, Director of Digital Content & Media, David James Group
Amanda Eberle, Vice President, ShowReady

Wed 11/18 at 2 p.m. – The Human Touch: How to Foster Connection in an Increasingly Virtual World

Learn what builds a genuine human connection: shared experiences, moments of vulnerability and the unplanned conversations that happen outside of the formal sessions. Hear how to structure agendas that leave room for real conversation, how event apps and tech tools can be leveraged to enhance face-to-face interactions; and how to create shared experiences people remember. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speaker: Alex Palmer, Group Vice President, Content, Northstar Meetings Group

Thu 11/19 at 11 a.m. – AWTC Open Doors

A monthly online gathering for AWTC members—45 minutes designed for genuine connection, discussion, and problem solving. With rotating hosts from the AWTC community, volunteers, board, and other leaders in the field, it’s a space to meet new members, deepen relationships, and tap into the collective expertise of the community. Each session opens with an ice breaker, moves into a featured topic or AMA, and includes a “Situation Room” where you can bring a real challenge and gather insight from peers. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Thu 11/19 at 11 a.m. – Career Growth: The Membership Benefit Trade Associations Underuse

Find out how trade associations can support the professional growth of people who work at member companies through learning opportunities, mentorship and peer connections. Learn how to make career resources easier for member employees to find and use, how to strengthen the perceived value of membership, and how to show employers the impact of the professional development you offer. More info/register.

Host: Tradewing

Thu 11/19 at 12:30 p.m. – From Booth to Pipeline: How Event Teams Turn Sponsor ROI Into Revenue

Find out how to help sponsors prove the value of their participation so they come back next year. Learn how to decide which smaller field events, such as hosted dinners, roundtables and receptions, deserve your investment, how to fill the room with the right people, and how to balance those events with your flagship conference. Hear how teams build a repeatable playbook so they don’t plan every event from scratch. More info/register.

Host: Bizzabo

Speakers:

Adam Parry, Founder, Event Tech Live
Kayla Drake, field marketing practitioner

Thu 11/19 at 1 p.m. – Presentation Mastery: How to Leverage Storytelling, Influence, and Focus to Inspire Action

Hear how to turn important messages into presentations people understand, remember, and act on. Learn how to focus your message around one clear idea, connect with your audience, build credibility, and use purposeful stories to make your point stick. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Stan Phelps, Speaker at StanPhelpsSpeaks.com

Thu 11/19 at 1:30 p.m. – Insights & AI Ideas: Rethinking the Annual Meeting: A Year of Data, Lessons, and Partner Wins

Find out what a year of data showed after the North Carolina Dental Society replaced its annual meeting with a series of smaller events, and how the change affected members, corporate partners and staff. Learn how to find member insights in event and LMS data, turn conference sessions, webinar recordings and unaccepted proposals into year-round learning that earns revenue, and use AI workflows to repurpose content and flag learners who have stalled. 1 CAE/CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Insight Guide

Speakers:

Duncan Jennings, CAE, Chief Innovation and Growth Officer, North Carolina Dental Society
AJ Sallis, CEO, Intuto
Barbara Armentrout, CAE (moderator), Founder, BJA Solutions for Associations
Teri Carden (hostess), COO, Insight Guide

Thu 11/19 at 2 p.m. – From Events to Intelligence: How Chapters Can Become Your Association’s Early Warning System

Find out how chapter leaders can act as your association’s eyes and ears, gathering insights that inform strategy, advocacy, education and member engagement. Learn practical ways to collect member insights without adding reporting requirements, use existing chapter touchpoints to spot new trends, risks and opportunities as they pop up, and turn chapter observations into information leadership can use. Hear how to move chapter relations from a support function to a strategic partner. More info/register.

Host: re:Members

Thu 11/19 at 2 p.m. – The Non-Dues Revenue Playbook: Data, Products, and Member Trust

Find out how to turn your content, events, sponsor relationships and member data into new non-dues revenue. Hear how leaders from two manufacturing-industry organizations used member insights to develop new products, open new revenue streams and engage members in ways that create value on both sides. Learn where to start, how to evaluate and launch offerings based on member needs, and how to grow revenue while protecting member trust. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speakers:

Elizabeth Kachoris, Vice President Digital, PMMI Media Group
April Hanrahan, Director of Audience Development, Fabricators & Manufacturers Association
James Capo (moderator), CEO, Omeda

Thu 11/19 at 2 p.m. – How to Banish Event AV Anxiety for Good

Get the AV knowledge you need to make sure lighting, sound and production are ready for your next event. Learn which questions to ask during AV contract negotiations, what the basic types of AV equipment do, and creative ways to make a strong impact on any budget. Hear from an AV veteran and two experienced event professionals who have produced events of every size. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Smart Meetings

Speaker: Scott Frankel, President, Animatic Media and Conference-On-Demand + LIVE

Thu 11/19 at 4 p.m. – The Ethics Edge: Frameworks, Dilemmas, and Decisions

Work through up to three ethical scenarios drawn from ASAE’s Ethics Toolkit, first in small breakout groups and then with the full group. Panelists who have faced ethical dilemmas in senior association roles add their perspective along the way. 1 CAE ethics credit. More info/register.

Host: Reston Loudoun Idea Swap for Associations

Speakers:

Clarissa Russell, CAE, CMP, IEC, Co-Chair, Reston/Loudoun ASAE SWAP
Ann Link, CAE, Chief Operations Officer, National Association of Regional Councils

Fri 11/20 at 3 p.m. – Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative Monthly Networking Meeting

Organizer: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Lots going on. How about buying me a beer in appreciation of what you’ve learned from webinars I’ve shared in the past and what you’ll learn from these.

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Association Brain Food: 10.30.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

tall bare tree trunks in a dark forest lit up by the setting sun

Good Reads for the Association Community

Build your education budget case. When a board member asks whether education pays for itself, an activity report full of charts isn’t the answer you want. TopClass explains how to build a single-page education value report that translates learning data into revenue and retention terms—the kind of report that makes a strong case for a bigger budget. You’ll also find a simple test for choosing which metrics belong on the page and learn why every number needs a target beside it.

When change piles up. Associations are juggling far more changes than they did a few years ago. Jamie Notter argues that most organizations still manage change with an old-school playbook, where experts design a program and roll it out from the top. The trouble, he says, is that a staff retirement or a new AI project can wipe out the assumptions your plan depends on. He recommends building your organization’s ability to test ideas and adjust course quickly.

Troubling membership trends. I look forward to Marketing General’s Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report every year, but this year’s findings are sobering: membership growth is slowing and renewal rates are softening. Lessons abound in the data, though. Growing associations, for example, communicate their value clearly and treat engagement and retention as seriously as recruitment. The report also tracks how associations are responding to generational change and AI.

Don’t let your sponsorship strategy haunt you. Is your association stuck in a witches’ brew of one-size-fits-all sponsor packages? This Halloween-themed guide from Lori Zoss Kraska and Bruce Rosenthal shows how to make sponsors light up like jack-o’-lanterns—from building custom programs around each sponsor’s goals to keeping sponsors from ghosting you. Stop hiding behind gold/silver/bronze tiers and start building long-term partnerships.

Ask about weaknesses and play to strengths. Mark Wallach (Engagement Mobile Strategies) makes the case for helping people get even better at what they do best, then pairing them with colleagues and technology that cover their weak spots. He also explains why admitting a weakness can give a board or client more confidence in you, as long as you can show how you’re handling it. And when you’re choosing a vendor, he suggests asking about a weakness they’ve addressed and how they know the fix worked.

Defend and refresh your member magazine. If the board keeps asking about magazine costs, m3Magazines shares an ROI case you can take to them. Their guide explains how a well-designed publication builds member trust and loyalty while pulling in non-dues revenue. It also includes a five-point checklist for spotting when your magazine needs a refresh and describes the kind of content that keeps members turning pages.

Renewal starts at onboarding. Chris Vaughan (Sequence Consulting) says a member’s renewal decision takes shape in their first few months, so onboarding needs to find out why they joined and deliver it, whether that’s a credential or a network in a new city. He recommends tracking a metric he calls “time to first value.” He also shows how an overall renewal average can hide a higher dropout rate among first-year members.

Feedback for younger staff. Gen Z employees want clear, frequent direction from their managers, and many feel anxious when they don’t get it. In The Wall Street Journal, Ray A. Smith reports on employers who are replacing annual reviews with regular two-way check-ins and coaching their managers to be as specific as possible. Some younger workers say they don’t need effusive praise, even though many managers assume they do. They’d prefer a manager who points out a mistake and offers a solution.

If Brain Food has been useful to you or your team, or helped promote your webinars, please buy me a beer. One beer is only $5, and there’s a box you can check to make it monthly. Thanks!

You Never Grow Old at the Table

One of my basil plants is still standing. We haven’t had a freeze yet, so I’ve put off harvesting the entire thing. I plucked some leaves for pan-seared cod fillets in a white wine, tomato, and basil sauce. On the side, I served my usual broccoli roasted with red onion, garlic powder, and smoked paprika, which I also enjoy in my breakfast burritos.

We hadn’t had pizza night in a long time, so I planned one for Friday when our grandkids were coming over. Short on time, I bought three pizza dough balls from Publix (recommended) and made a plain cheese for my grandson, a linguiça-only for my granddaughter, and one with linguiça, onion, red bell pepper, jalapeño, and garlic for the rest of us. I topped the pizzas with a mix of mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan cheese. The kids’ pizzas came out of the oven first, so the adults dug into those too.

For years, I’ve been adapting an old Fine Cooking (RIP) recipe for pork chops Marsala. This week’s version included butter, olive oil, onion, cremini mushrooms, red bell pepper, garlic, dried thyme, fresh rosemary, flour, Marsala, chicken broth, and evaporated milk.

Last time I made firecracker salmon, I had twice as much marinade as I needed, so I saved the extra for this past week. For our side, I sautéed green cabbage with bacon, onion, jalapeño, red bell pepper, carrot, garlic, and ham broth.

Mon 11/2 at 8 a.m.* – The CSE Mindset (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Cheryl Ronk, CAE, FASAE, SoRight LLC

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Mon 11/2 at 11 a.m. – Designing AI Adoption Around How Teams Actually Work

Find out why AI speeds up individual tasks while the gains often stop at the team level, when AI use stays private, scattered and bolted onto old workflows. Hear how to redesign workflows around how people create value, decide which work is done heads-down and which needs people together, and set guardrails and incentives that make experimenting safe. Learn how to build peer champions and measure adoption beyond usage numbers. More info/register.

Host: Kadence

Speakers:

Dave Cairns, VP Strategic Growth, Kadence
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, Behavioral Scientist and Author

Tue 11/3 at 11 a.m. – 3 Ways to Scale Events Without Losing Consistency

Hear how two organizations grew their programs without giving up quality or brand standards. Wounded Warrior Project’s in-house travel and events team supports more than 7,000 events a year, and a 1.5-person team at The University of Texas at Austin supports more than 100 departments on its campus-wide platform. Learn how shared templates and governance keep events on brand, how self-service requests cut manual work, and how registration and engagement data show program value. More info/register.

Host: Cvent

Speakers:

Danielle Coker, Events Manager, Wounded Warrior Project
Seth Curlee, Cvent UT System Administrator, The University of Texas at Austin

Tue 11/3 at 12 p.m. – Prove the ROI of Your Association and Chamber Events

Boards want evidence of results that goes beyond attendance numbers. Learn which questions reveal what your board, stakeholders, and members want from your events before you start planning. Set SMART objectives that support your organization’s mission and apply new metrics that show the reach and value of each event. You’ll come away ready to present event results as a strategic partner your leadership trusts. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Jessie States, Meeting Professionals International

Tue 11/3 at 12 p.m. – Into the Mind of an Event Strategist

Learn how small, deliberate design decisions can change the way attendees experience an event, from a badge that asks a question to a keynote slot given to an attendee. Each panelist walks through one decision, the thinking behind it and the result. Find out what separates a deliberate design choice from an inherited default, which decisions in your own program carry the most weight, and how to explain design intent to stakeholders focused on logistics. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: PCMA Institute

Speakers:

Devon Montgomery Pasha, CMP, CED (facilitator)
JT Long, Vice President & Content Director, Smart Meetings
Anthony Vade, CED, Chief Innovation Officer, Strategy Table Pathways Inc.
Melissa Torres, Event Producer, International Finance Corporation
Andrew Peters, Associate Director, Meetings, National Defense Industrial Association

Tue 11/3 at 2 p.m. – Association Event Strategies Your Execs Will Thank You For

Creative leadership is a requirement during times of change, and events can help an association grow and advance its mission. Learn how to align event design with your executives’ goals so your events deliver on the KPIs leadership watches. Find out how to plan for the long-term future while you manage day-to-day logistics, and how to communicate the value of your events effectively. More info/register.

Host: Smart Meetings

Speaker: Lynda Bouchard Patterson, FASAE, CAE, Founder and CEO, Association CEO

Tue 11/3 at 3 p.m. – Building an AI Ready Culture: Why Culture Decides AI Success

Most AI initiatives stall because of the culture around them, when teams resist change, boards hesitate, and leaders struggle to get people aligned. Get an introduction to the AI-Ready Culture Framework and use live polling to benchmark your own organization. Learn to diagnose the cultural strengths and weaknesses that affect AI readiness, tell the anchors holding your organization back from the speedboats moving it forward, and assess your environment for trust, communication, and experimentation. This 30-minute session opens a three-part series. 0.5 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: re:Members

Speaker: Sherry Whitaker Budziak, Founder and CEO, .orgSource

Tue 11/3 at 4 p.m. – Member Engagement: Small Staff Associations

Small staff associations face unique challenges that demand creativity, resilience and collaboration. Join an interactive session where we’ll celebrate success stories and discuss current challenges. Connect, ask questions, exchange experiences and gain insights to help drive your organization forward. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE Small Staff Associations Advisory Committee

Wed 11/4 at 12 p.m. – Best Practices for Association Mentoring Programs

Get practical guidance on what makes association mentoring programs succeed during an interactive, Q&A-style webinar. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience and four case studies, Christy Pettit covers the must-dos before, during, and after a program, from recruitment and matching to engagement, support, measurement, and follow-up. Learn how to avoid common challenges and design a six-month program that delivers member value without taking much staff time. Bring your own questions, whether you’re exploring mentoring, launching a program, or improving one. More info/register.

Host: Pollinate Networks

Speaker: Christy Pettit, CEO, Pollinate Networks

Wed 11/4 at 12 p.m. – From Long-Haul to Long-Term: Why Some Destinations Deliver More Than a Congress

When an association considers taking an event overseas, the conversation usually starts with flight times and costs. Learn to judge a destination by what it delivers after the event is over. Designed for association leaders evaluating international conferences, this webinar looks at what attendees value, how a destination opens doors to expertise and partnerships, and how a single event can strengthen regional engagement and develop future leaders. More info/register.

Host: Talley Management Group

Wed 11/4 at 12 p.m. – Associations at Day 2,500: Where We’ve Been, Where We Are, and Where We’re Going

Thursday, November 5, 2026, marks Day 2,500 of The Turbulent Twenties. On the eve of that milestone, consider what the association community has learned, or should have learned, during this decade, where it stands in late 2026, and where it’s headed in the final 36 months of the decade and into the 2030s. More info/register.

Host: AIOT

Speaker: Jeff De Cagna, AIMP, DAIG, FRSA, FASAE, FNI.Dir, Executive Advisor, Foresight First LLC

Wed 11/4 at 1 p.m. – How AIIM Uses Peer Cohorts to Extend the Annual Meeting

Find out how AIIM helped attendees feel part of the community before its AI+IM Global Summit and kept those connections going afterward. AIIM used AI-based member matching to place hundreds of attendees into 34 peer cohorts that met before, during, and after the event. Learn a three-phase model for extending an annual meeting, get practical guidance on matching timing, intake questions, and priorities, and hear why facilitators mattered most to a cohort’s success. Hear what AIIM plans to change next year. More info/register.

Host: RallyBoard

Speakers:

Tori Miller Liu, President & CEO, AIIM
Jackson Boyar, CEO, RallyBoard

Wed 11/4 at 1 p.m. – Making Your AMS Implementation Stick: 6 Keys to Success

Picking the right system is only half the work of a successful AMS implementation. Learn the keys to running an AMS or other association system project well, from setting up governance and defining scope to data migration, testing, training, and change management. Drawing on success stories and lessons learned, the speakers share what a well-run project looks like, where the most common breakdowns happen, and how to manage your vendor and internal team so everyone stays aligned. Leave with practical strategies and an implementation success checklist. More info/register.

Hosts: Aplusify and Dennison & Associates

Speakers:

Marti J. Hejl, Director of Customer Experience, Aplusify LLC
Susannah Mechem, Chief Operations Officer, Dennison & Associates

Wed 11/4 at 1 p.m. – Does It Ever Stop? Balancing Technology Innovation With Change Fatigue

Find out how to adopt new technology without overwhelming the staff who have to absorb the changes. Hear about change saturation, which happens when people face more changes at once than they can handle, often as new platforms, integrations and AI tools arrive. Learn to spot early signs of saturation before it leads to burnout and higher costs, apply a structured approach to evaluating technology investments, and tell which decisions are truly urgent. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Fonteva

Speaker: Rebecca Achurch, FASAE, PgMP, PMP, CSM, AAiP, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, Achurch Consulting

Wed 11/4 at 2 p.m. – Redefining Luxury for Today’s Events

Attendee expectations of luxury are shifting away from expensive, exclusive status symbols and toward attentive service and meaningful experiences. Find out how to deliver unique experiences your attendees and stakeholders will value, why the way participants feel can count for more than traditional luxury extras, and why meaning can outweigh cost when you design your next event. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speakers:

Neen James, leadership strategist, keynote speaker, and author of Exceptional Experiences
Michael J. Shapiro (moderator), Director of Content and Industry Insights, Northstar Meetings Group U.S.

Thu 11/5 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Leadership From the Inside Out: A Day of Learning for Association Staff

Spend a virtual day on leadership development designed for association staff. After Joanna Pineda’s opening keynote, four one-hour sessions follow. Learn how to make coaching a shared organizational practice tied to performance, retention, and decision-making, and how to build a resilient finance function for the association you’re becoming. Explore what it’s like to be led by you, including taking ownership, moving through uncertainty, and lifting others, then close the day with a session on rediscovering your inner greatness. Up to 4 CAE credits. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Joanna M. Pineda (keynote), CEO & Chief Troublemaker, Matrix Group International, Inc.
Lori Bruhns, CEO/President, Lori Bruhns, LLC
Teresa L. Henderson, CAE, CPA, Association Practice Leader, Your Part-Time Controller
Brendan Leehe, Sr. Customer Growth & Retention Manager, Higher Logic
Larry Long Jr, CSP, Founder and CEO, LLJR Enterprises

Thu 11/5 at 10 a.m. – Coaching Capital: How Coaching Transforms Leadership Into Advantage That Scales and Sticks

Learn how to make coaching a shared organizational asset that develops leaders across your association. Hear how to build leadership development into a practice that scales and lasts. Find out how coaching connects to performance, retention and decision-making, and take away first steps for setting up a coaching system in your own organization. This session is part of UST Education’s Leadership From the Inside Out symposium. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Lori Bruhns, CEO/President, Lori Bruhns, LLC

Thu 11/5 at 11:15 a.m. – Building a Resilient Finance Function for the Association You’re Becoming

Find out how to build a finance function that can keep pace with where your association is headed. Hear about finance operations that hold steady through growth, staff transitions and new priorities, so leaders can count on accurate information when they make decisions. This session is part of UST Education’s Leadership From the Inside Out symposium. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Teresa L. Henderson, CAE, CPA, Association Practice Leader, Your Part-Time Controller

Thu 11/5 at 12 p.m. – Got Gantt? Project Management in Associations

Compare notes with peers at the first meeting of a new discussion group on project management in associations and nonprofits. Talk through managing strategic initiatives, balancing competing priorities, coordinating across departments, and adapting project management practices to fit association culture. Expect an interactive peer discussion with no presentation, and the session won’t be recorded so people can speak candidly. It’s open to association and nonprofit staff, consultants, partners, PMO leaders, project managers, and anyone responsible for delivering strategic initiatives. More info/register.

Host: Susan Obarski, Sr. Director, Project Management Office, ISPE

Thu 11/5 at 12 p.m. – Marketing Upstream: Out of the Weeds Into Strategy

Join a peer discussion for association marketers who are often asked to promote a program after every decision about it has been made. Hear how some marketing teams got involved earlier in program planning, who owns the brand in practice, and where the time AI saves marketers should go. After a few opening remarks from the facilitators, the conversation opens up so you can share what has worked for you and what hasn’t. Bring a story or a question or come to listen. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE Marketing Professionals Advisory Council

Speakers:

Phil Tretheway (facilitator), VP & Creative Director, Position
Scott Kesselman (facilitator), Senior Director of Marketing and Communications, National Home Infusion Association

Thu 11/5 at 12:45 p.m. – What Is It Like to Be Led by You? Taking Ownership, Moving Through Uncertainty, and Lifting Others

Explore how other people experience your leadership, whatever your title. Hear about taking ownership without taking over, asking for support, and acting when you don’t have all the answers. Guided reflection helps you see how your leadership affects the people around you, and you’ll pick up ways to give credit to others and help them grow. This session is part of UST Education’s Leadership From the Inside Out symposium. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Brendan Leehe, Sr. Customer Growth & Retention Manager, Higher Logic

Thu 11/5 at 1 p.m. – Behind the Pages of When It Mattered Most

Join a fireside conversation with Joanna Pineda about her book, When It Mattered Most, which collects 24 accounts of how associations helped their communities, professions, and industries through the COVID-19 pandemic. Hear what inspired the book, how leaders made decisions under uncertainty, and what their resilience and adaptability can teach association professionals today. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Speakers:

Joanna Pineda, CEO and Chief Troublemaker, Matrix Group International, and author of When It Mattered Most
Rebecca Achurch, FASAE, PgMP, PMP, CSM, AAiP, CAE, Founder and CEO, Achurch Consulting

Thu 11/5 at 2 p.m. – JOLT! Your Life: Get Zapped Into Intentionality to Rediscover & Believe in Your Inner Greatness

Close out the symposium with a high-energy session on living and working with intention. Hear how to rediscover your strengths and believe in your own potential so you return to your work with renewed focus and motivation. This session is part of UST Education’s Leadership From the Inside Out symposium. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Larry Long Jr, CSP, Founder and CEO, LLJR Enterprises

Thu 11/5 at 2 p.m. – Beyond Attendance: What Members Actually Want From Your Events

Strong attendance numbers don’t always mean members are getting what they value from your events. Explore the gap between attendance metrics, member expectations, and event budget realities. Learn what members value most from in-person events, why young professionals continue to prioritize in-person connection, and where event metrics miss the member experience. Find out how registration can become an early engagement touchpoint and how technology can take on logistics so your team can focus on attendees. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Momentive Software

Speakers:

Rich Vallaster, MBA, CEM, AAiP, QAS, Senior Director, Industry Strategy, Momentive Software
Marsha Flanagan, M.Ed., CEM, President and CEO, International Association of Exhibitions and Events

Thu 11/5 at 3:30 p.m. – Can Good Governance Give Your Association a Competitive Advantage?

Find out what good governance changes inside an association and how it can become an advantage. Kim Robinson, Micah Roderick and their FrontlineCo team share lessons from decades of working with associations, including where the lines between board and staff blur and why clear roles, accountability and trust make organizations more nimble. Learn how boards can think strategically about governance beyond following bylaws, and spot practical signs that your governance needs attention. More info/register.

Host: FrontlineCo

Speakers: Kim Robinson, CEO, and Micah Roderick, COO, FrontlineCo

Tue 11/10 at 11 a.m. – Till System Death Do Us Part: Lasting Partnerships

Find out how to avoid the costs of constant system churn by choosing technology partners you can stay with. Learn how to pin down the real problem and your requirements before you select a partner, and how governance routines keep the relationship healthy. Tobin Conley and David Stephenson explain why implementations go off the rails and share tools like scorecards and health checks for repairing a strained relationship and extending the life of your system. You’ll also hear how to resist shiny-object distractions. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Tobin Conley, CAE, CIP, VP, Client Education, DelCor Technology Solutions
David Stephenson, Senior Vice President of Technology, Entrepreneurs’ Organization

Tue 11/10 at 12 p.m. – Tech Tuesday: Killing the AI Buzz Without Being a Buzzkill

Host: ASAE

Facilitators:

Reggie Henry, CAE
Dave Coriale, CAE, President, DelCor Technology Solutions

Tue 11/10 at 1 p.m. – Renewal Campaigns That Keep Members Coming Back

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Dave Will, Co-Founder and CEO, PropFuel

Tue 11/10 at 2 p.m. – Leading Across Borders: Strategies for a Changing World

Host: ASAE

Speakers:

Adam Thocher, SVP of Global Programs and Insights, Global Cold Chain Alliance
Tarnbir Kaur, Vice President, Membership and Strategic Engagement, American Chemical Society
Tiago Opazo Ricciardi, Regional Director, Latin America, Global Navigators

Tue 11/10 at 3 p.m. – Building an AI Ready Culture: Leading People Through the Shift

Host: re:Members

Speaker: Kevin Ordonez, President and Managing Director, Digital Strategy, .orgSource

Wed 11/11 at 11 a.m. – Office Hours for LMS Buyers: How to Replace an Aging LMS

Host: Talented Learning

Speaker: John Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst, Talented Learning

Wed 11/11 at 11 a.m. – Beyond the Legacy AMS: Scaling Your Association With Flexible, Future-Ready CRM Solutions

Learn when a rigid legacy AMS starts holding your association back and how an enterprise CRM platform such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Salesforce can support growth. Hear about personalization, integrations, AI-driven workflows and predictive analytics, and explains how to evaluate ROI. Find out what a transition roadmap should include, from change management and data migration to getting staff to adopt the new system. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Dustin Sitton, Principal, Incite Automation

Wed 11/11 at 1 p.m. – The Scorecard No One Shows You: Understanding Business Evaluation From Different Seats at the Table

Host: Meetings Today

Speaker: Emily Scheiderer, Scheiderer vice president of professional development, Destinations International

Wed 11/11 at 2 p.m. – Affordable Solutions When Everything Is #%#*! Expensive

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speaker: Sarah J.F. Braley (moderator), Managing Editor, Northstar Meetings Group

Thu 11/12 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. – GURU Conference 2026

Host: GURU Media Hub

Some of the speakers over the two days:

Jay Schwedelson (host), Founder, GURU Media Hub
Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs
Kath Pay, Lead Trainer, Holistic Email Academy
Nancy Harhut, Chief Creative Officer, HBT Marketing
Katelyn Baughan, Nonprofit Email Consultant, KB Digital
Iana Robitaille, PhD, Communications Strategist, DonorPerfect

Thu 11/12 at 12 p.m. – Top Membership Challenges: Preparing for the New Year and Each Quarter

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Shari Pash

Thu 11/12 at 1 p.m. – Using Pipeline Reports to Navigate Funding and Improve Sustainability

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

A. Michael Gellman, CPA, CGMA, Co-Founder, Sustainability Education 4 Nonprofits
Paul Preziotti, CPA, Partner, Johnson Lambert LLP

Thu 11/12 at 1 p.m. – Deferred Compensation Decoded: Practical 457(b) and 457(f) Strategies for Associations

Host: Raffa Investment Advisers

Thu 11/12 at 2 p.m. – Before You Add AI: Should Your Association Build, Buy, or Partner?

Host: ASAE

Speaker: Helanah Warren, Executive Coach, Organizational Consultant & AI/Leadership Strategist, Thrive By Design

Thu 11/12 at 2 p.m. – The Association Revenue Shift: How Enduring Trust, Impact and Value Will Redefine Growth

Host: ASAE

Speakers: Bill Sheehan, Global Head of Association Strategy, and Julia Park, Revenue Marketing Strategist, D2L

Thu 11/12 at 3 p.m. – AI Without Replacing Your AMS: What Connects and What Doesn’t

Host: Member Lounge

Speaker: Farhad Khan, CEO, Member Lounge

Thu 11/12 at 3 p.m. – 3 Enduring Truths for Nonprofit Messaging

Host: Nonprofit Nav

Speaker: Jeff Terpstra, Founder, Scott Allen Creative

Thu Fri 11/13 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. – GURU Conference 2026

Host: GURU Media Hub

Some of the speakers over the two days:

Jay Schwedelson (host), Founder, GURU Media Hub
Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs
Kath Pay, Lead Trainer, Holistic Email Academy
Nancy Harhut, Chief Creative Officer, HBT Marketing
Katelyn Baughan, Nonprofit Email Consultant, KB Digital
Iana Robitaille, PhD, Communications Strategist, DonorPerfect

Fri 11/13 at 1 p.m. – Foresight Fridays: One Election, Ten Drivers – What the 2026 Midterms Tell Associations About What’s Next

Host: ASAE ForesightWorks Advisory Group

Speakers:

Michael Carr-Tatonetti, CPP, CAE (host), Founder, Pricing for Associations
Tommy Goodwin, MBA, FASAE, CAE, PMP, CMP (host), President & Chief Executive Officer, Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance
Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, AAiP, Chief Public Policy and Governance Officer, ASAE
Lindsay Currie, CAE, Executive Officer, Council for Undergraduate Education
Matthew Ott, MS, FASAE, CAE, CMP, AAiP, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Momentum Association Management
Oyango A. Snell, Esq., CAE, IOM, President & Chief Executive Officer, Corporate Legal Operations Consortium
Andrea Wieters, Director of Strategic and Future Focused Research, ASAE

Lots going on. How about buying me a beer in appreciation of what you’ve learned from webinars I’ve shared in the past and what you’ll learn from these.

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

Creative Commons licensed photo by Karsten Würth via Unsplash

Amazon, AssociationBrainFood.com, and Association Academy links allow me to earn a royalty and/or complimentary registration from any resulting leads or sales. Thank you!

Association Brain Food: 10.23.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

view from the sand of the surf and sky at a North Carolina beach

Good Reads for the Association Community

AMS consultants in the AI era. Wes Trochlil (Effective Database Management) admits a well-prompted AI tool can draft a needs analysis and RFP for your AMS search. He then explains what an experienced selection consultant brings to the process that AI can’t, such as knowing each vendor’s track record and whether an ownership change might be underway. A consultant also understands your organization’s personalities and politics, which helps when you need to build consensus and keep the project moving.

Hype eats the future. Sun-ha Hong (UNC-Chapel Hill) explains in Tech Policy Press how tech hype recycles old visions of the future, like smart glasses, and sells them as new frontiers. Bold predictions grab headlines when they’re made, but few people circle back later to check whether they came true. Meanwhile, each wave of hype soaks up money that could fund other ideas and crowds out the bigger conversation about what kind of future society we want to build.

Plan next year’s CE program. If your education team has a planning retreat or budget season coming up, this Oasis LMS toolkit gives you worksheets for mapping out your 2027 education program. You can set goals against last year’s baseline, schedule course launches around accreditation deadlines for bodies like ACCME and ANCC, and track faculty paperwork from contracts to honoraria. It also includes a dashboard template for registrations, completions, credit hours, and revenue by course.

Pick your channels and commit. KiKi L’Italien (Naylor) says small-staff communicators struggle most with focus, a problem no library of AI prompts can solve. In her Association Adviser post, she asks you to be honest about how much you can sustain, then commit to that level of effort. She recommends deciding on your goal and channels before anyone writes a word.

Leadership transparency from the cockpit. During a long flight delay, Lowell Aplebaum (Vista Cova) watched a pilot keep his passengers updated, even walking through the cabin with his weather tablet to show them why the plane wasn’t moving. Lowell brings that lesson home to association governance, where members often say they don’t see enough transparency. He encourages leaders to keep members informed when decisions are hard or the next step isn’t clear, and to share what they’re learning along the way.

Make the case for a membership app. Clowder’s guide explains how a year-round app can support onboarding, renewal reminders, chapter communication, and non-dues revenue from in-app ads and sponsorships. It also compares event apps, mobile websites, web apps, and native platforms, with the strengths and limits of each. The guide includes an evaluation checklist, a feature list, and stories from associations already using one.

Sorting the AI advice. Elisa Pratt (Brewer Pratt Solutions) sat through every association and nonprofit AI webinar she could find. She heard mostly the same advice: write a short policy, keep a person accountable, start small, train staff, and protect member data. When speakers disagreed on pace, disclosure, governance, or whether to build or buy, their positions tended to match what they sell. She also offers a short list of AI questions to bring to your board.

Boards that can change course. Molly Marsh (AMR Management Services) argues that association boards often stall because they’re working from a governance model built for a more stable world. In her model of adaptive governance, boards meet each quarter to dig into what the organization is learning and where to shift resources. Her aim is an organization that can spot change and respond to it.

Security alert for association websites. If you’re an ASAE member, see the Collaborate post by Jason King (Accella) about a PHP vulnerability wreaking havoc on WordPress and Drupal sites. He also shared this article on how to protect WordPress sites.

Job hunting. Keep an eye on my LinkedIn activity, especially my “likes.” I like many of the association job postings in my feed, and the more I like, the more the algorithm sends my way.

If Brain Food has been useful to you or your team, or helped promote your webinars, please buy me a beer. One beer is only $5, and there’s a box you can check to make it monthly. Thanks!

You Never Grow Old at the Table

We expected cool, windy weather for a long weekend at our favorite beach, Salter Path, NC. The night before we left, I prepped an Oktoberfest dinner for Friday. For an app, I made smoked Gouda beer cheese dip with halved soft pretzel bites and pretzel chips. Oh wow, I’ll make that again and again.

For dinner we had bratwurst stewed with sauerkraut, a Michael Symon recipe from Food Network. I loved this one too. I skipped the dill and let the liquid in the pot reduce to just about nothing. On the side, I served roasted potato planks.

For breakfast, I diced the leftover potatoes, sautéed them with onion to go alongside fried eggs, breakfast sausage, and all kinds of muffins.

Back home, I made a skillet dinner with the two leftover brats, sauerkraut, white beans, tomatoes, onion, broccoli stems, sweet and hot peppers, and chicken broth.

Mon 10/26 at 8 a.m.* – Pricing Strategy (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Christine Saunders, Halmyre

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Mon 10/26 at 12 p.m. – Cybersecurity Awareness Month Training

In honor of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, 501CISO is offering live, expert-led cybersecurity training sessions for association staff. What your team will learn: cybercrime now runs like an assembly line, and associations are on the target list; AI is fuel on the fire; in a live, interactive email review, staff learn to catch lookalike domains and spoofed senders; deepfakes and payment fraud—how voice and video cloning work, and why you double-check anything involving money; and simple rules to protect your data when staff use AI tools. More info/register.

Host: 501CISO

Tue 10/27 at 12 p.m. – From Idea to Income, Part 3: How to Sell It

In the final session of this series, learn how to win over the people who control the money first, then bring everyone else along. Start with a three-year revenue projection your board can believe, with every assumption shown. Learn how to position the program as something membership already includes, plan an eight-week pre-launch runway, and win back members who tried an earlier version. You’ll also get a five-slide sequence for board approval and six metrics to track once you’re approved. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speakers:

Angela Robbins, Ph.D., VP Global Business Development & Learning Solutions, Mission Fuel AI
Dr. Michael Carr-Tatonetti, CEO, Pricing for Associations

Tue 10/27 at 12 p.m. – What Matters to Associations in 2026: Highland’s 3rd Annual YPMI National Report and Career Partnership for Young Professionals

Based on Highland’s 2026 Young Professional Membership Index (YPMI) National Report, learn four actions that matter most for engaging young professionals when time and resources are limited: lead with intent through executive sponsorship and board commitment; design experiences that meet functional, social, and emotional needs; become a career partner through peer-to-peer learning; and build mobile-first access to community and learning. Hear about the AI Horizon Profile, which places associations in three stages of AI maturity. More info/register.

Hosts: Forj and Highland

Speakers:

David Whited, Principal, Design Research & Strategy, Highland
Terri Herrmann, Chief Marketing Officer, Forj

Tue 10/27 at 1 p.m. – A Decade of Engagement Data: What Associations Need to Do Differently

MCI’s Association Engagement Index has surveyed more than 40,000 members and customers across 119 associations over the past ten years. Hear association leaders who have taken part in the index look past the numbers at what has changed, what has stayed surprisingly consistent, and what associations can do differently in the next decade. Learn what the engagement gap between younger and older members tells us and how to move people from consuming content to contributing and co-creating. More info/register.

Host: MCI

Speakers:

Erin Fuller, FASAE, CAE, Global Head, Association Solutions, MCI
Peter O’Neil, FASAE, CAE, CEO, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Nikki Walker, Strategic Advisor & Global Consultant
Viola Marx, Director, Insidery

Tue 10/27 at 1 p.m. – The Executive Compensation Gap: How Deferred Compensation Plans Help Associations Compete for and Keep Top Talent

Base salary and a standard retirement match often aren’t enough to recruit and keep top executives. Learn how 457(b) and 457(f) deferred compensation plans can help associations put together competitive, flexible executive offers that encourage leaders to stay. Hear how the two plans differ, how to evaluate your current compensation approach, and how to present a strong total compensation story to your board and to candidates. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speakers:

Jason Dwyer, DPFA, QKA, Founder, Jackson Avenue Advisors
Josh Kopec, AIF, CPFA, Partner, Retirement Plan Practice Leader, Connor & Gallagher OneSource
Kevin Salk, CPFA, Director of Investments, Oppenheimer & Co.
Shelly Howard-Horwitz, AIF, CPFA, Managing Director, Atlanta & Washington DC, World Investment Advisors

Tue 10/27 at 1:10 p.m. – Leading from Identity: Strengths-Based Development Beyond the Assessment

What would leadership development look like if it started with who leaders actually are? In this episode of Innovative Methods for Leadership Development, we’re looking at how assessments like DISC, Myers-Briggs, and StrengthsFinder can serve as a foundation for deeper development, what it means to treat identity as a leadership asset, and the practical frameworks facilitators can use to hold identity-rich conversations in leadership cohorts. More info/register.

Hosts: Tracy King (InspirEd) and Carolyn B. Thompson (Training Systems, Inc.)

Wed 10/28 at 11 a.m. – The Human Algorithm: How AI Makes Big Events Feel Personal

Learn what attendees now expect from event tools, websites, directories, and search; which inputs best match people to the right person or session, and how to collect them at sign-up without adding friction; which moments still deserve a personal touch, such as VIP curation or concierge service; three questions to test any personalization feature before launch; and how to measure success through signals such as meeting fulfillment and participant ratings of conversations. More info/register.

Host: Grip

Speakers:

Laila Hawe, Director of Marketing, Manifest, Hyve Group
Meera Somji, Co-Founder, Grow This Event
Hew Leith, SVP of Marketing, Grip

Wed 10/28 at 12 p.m. – Building Trust and Growing Membership in a Challenging Landscape:  A Look at the Anatomy of One Association’s Successful Membership Recruitment Campaign

Hear a case study examining how an integrated communications campaign helped the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) grow membership recruitment among federal employees at one of the most challenging times in history for this workforce.  Get an inside look at the strategy, execution, and results behind the campaign. Hear fresh insights from association membership and marketing professionals on the priorities, challenges, and barriers shaping association membership growth today. More info/register.

Host: .orgCommunity

Speakers:

Shannon McDaniel, Executive Vice President, BRG Communications
Alexandra Markarian, Director of Sales, Street Level Studio
Nora MacDonald, Director of Member Engagement, NARFE

Wed 10/28 at 12 p.m. – The Invisible Funnel: Converting Anonymous Traffic Into Known, Engaged Prospects

Most of your website visitors may never fill out a form. Learn how behavioral analytics, intent data, cookie tracking, and reverse IP tools can reveal what anonymous visitors care about, help you segment them, and turn them into known contacts. The session is aimed at associations that want to grow audiences, improve event registrations, and increase demand without increasing spending. More info/register.

Host: HighRoad Solutions

Speaker: Maneesha Manges, CXO, HighRoad Solutions

Wed 10/28 at 12 p.m. – Frightening Fraud: Critical Thinking & Prevention Habits in the Age of AI

As AI-powered scams grow more common, learn where critical thinking matters most in fraud prevention. You’ll assess the fraud vulnerabilities that call for human judgment and pick up habit-based strategies that strengthen your controls and reduce everyday fraud risk. The session is designed for nonprofit finance professionals, executives, board members, and others responsible for safeguarding nonprofit resources. More info/register.

Host: YPTC (Your Part-Time Controller)

Wed 10/28 at 12 p.m. – Finance, Business Operations, and Human Resources Meet Up

Join the FBO & HR Council for our monthly meet-up of professionals in the finance, business operations, and HR space. This is an open forum for folks to gather and ask questions, share ideas, and stay current on emerging issues. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE Finance, Business Operations, and Human Resources Council

Wed 10/28 at 2 p.m. – Uncovering Overlooked Advocates

Learn how associations use advocacy data to uncover overlooked advocates, identify emerging leaders, understand where engagement drops off, and create intentional pathways that turn participation into deeper advocacy involvement. Explore the signals behind those decisions. Advocacy actions are only one part of a member’s story. When campaign activity can be understood alongside membership, events, communications, relationships, and other engagement data, associations gain a much clearer picture of who their advocates are, what motivates them, and where opportunities for deeper engagement may be hiding. More info/register.

Host: The Advocacy Association

Speakers:

Seth Turner, Director, Grassroots Advocacy & Stakeholder Engagement for the National Apartment Association
Ben Muscolino, Founder and CEO of AMS Geek

Wed 10/28 at 2 p.m. – Make It Personal: How to Make Every Attendee Feel Seen

The best events make attendees feel valued, and attendees who feel valued engage more, learn more, and make stronger connections. Industry experts share ways planners can personalize the attendee experience, including how to tailor the agenda to attendees’ needs and interests, add meaningful personalization without a large budget, and build accessibility and inclusion into event design. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speakers:

Lisa Schulteis, Founder, ElectraLime Marketing
Elise Schoening (moderator), Editor, Meeting News, and Senior Editor, Northstar Meetings Group

Thu 10/29 at 11 a.m. – AWTC Open Doors

Open Doors is a monthly online gathering for AWTC members—45 minutes designed for genuine connection, discussion, and problem solving. With rotating hosts from the AWTC community, volunteers, board, and other leaders in the field, it’s a space to meet new members, deepen existing relationships, and tap into the collective expertise of the community. Each session opens with an ice breaker, moves into a featured topic or AMA, and includes a “Situation Room” where members can bring a real challenge and gather insight from peers. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Thu 10/29 at 11 a.m. – Where the Association Vendor Market Stands on Search and AI Visibility

Nexus Marketing analyzed how visible exhibitors from the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition are when buyers leave the booth and turn to search engines and AI tools. The panel covers five categories: association technology platforms, event services, learning and certification technology, marketing and media, and advisory services. Find out why a vendor that shows up on one AI engine often doesn’t appear on others, why domain authority and SEO basics still drive AI mentions, and how smaller vendors win high-intent buyers. More info/register.

Host: Nexus Marketing

Speakers:

Kendall Lake, Director of Agency Operations, Nexus Marketing
Jenny Russ, Client Solutions Manager, Nexus Marketing

Thu 10/29 at 12 p.m. – From Ranked to Recommended: Winning Visibility in the Age of AI Answers

Online visibility used to mean ranking high in search results. Now your association needs to be understood, trusted, and recommended in AI-generated answers. Hear about answer engine optimization (AEO), examples of how associations appear in AI answers, and what influences whether your organization and content are treated as trusted sources. Learn how AEO builds on traditional SEO and get next steps for improving your visibility and content citations. More info/register.

Host: Association Xchange (AXC)

Speakers: Merrik Kressley, Senior Digital Marketing Strategist, and Alyssa Hulka, Chief Experience Officer, Accella

Thu 10/29 at 12 p.m. –Managing the Rising Costs of Healthcare for Nonprofits

Learn how to manage rising healthcare costs while still offering benefits that attract talent. Get an overview of healthcare market trends in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region, the difference between large and small group ratings, and how the bidding process works. Hear about cost-control options, including changing metal tiers and using Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements, to reduce expenses without lowering benefit quality. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: FAR (formerly the Finance & Administration Roundtable)

Speakers:

Kelly Martin, Executive Director, AMHIC
Chris Mullins, SVP, OneDigital
Joe Apa, Senior Partner, The Baldwin Group

Thu 10/29 at 1 p.m. – Keep the Tiers, Fix the Matrix: A Better Way to Structure Sponsorships

Sponsorship tiers themselves aren’t the problem. The problem is what the matrix is asked to do: bundle products and perks together under one price, and then START the sales conversation. Learn why a traditional sponsorship matrix can make buying harder, not easier; what works about tiers and bundles—and what I’d change; how to create more flexibility without creating an operational nightmare for your team; a practical hybrid approach that blends structure with customization; and two things you can start doing this month to move in this direction. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Associations West

Speaker: Carrie McIntyre, Navigate CES

Thu 10/29 at 1 p.m. – Meeting Modern Member Expectations: How AI and Technology Can Add Value

How members see their association’s technology is closely tied to how satisfied they are with their membership. Momentive Software’s 2026 Membership Study found that members who see their organization as an early technology adopter are far more likely to be very satisfied than those who see it as a laggard. Explore how to align technology with member expectations, personalize content, deliver timely support, and balance automation with privacy and human connection. More info/register.

Host: Momentive Software

Speakers:

Kapil Kher, Chief Information Officer, U.S. Green Building Council
Matt Rist, VP of Product Management, Momentive Software
Rich Vallaster, MBA, CEM, AAiP, QAS, Senior Director, Industry Strategy, Momentive Software

Thu 10/29 at 3 p.m. – Your First AI Automation: Start Small, Prove Value

Many association teams know AI can help but aren’t sure where to begin. Learn a practical framework for choosing your first AI automation that covers the two tests a task should pass before you automate it, workflows with the highest return for small teams, and tasks better left with people. Get a simple way to compare automation costs against staff time saved, then map your own first workflow so you leave with a use case your team can evaluate right away. More info/register.

Host: Farhad Khan, CEO, Member Lounge

Tue 11/3 at 11 a.m. – 3 Ways to Scale Events Without Losing Consistency

Running more events usually makes it harder to keep them consistent. Hear how two organizations grew their programs without giving up quality or brand standards. Wounded Warrior Project’s in-house travel and events team supports more than 7,000 events a year, and a 1.5-person team at The University of Texas at Austin supports more than 100 departments across the UT System. Learn how shared templates and governance keep events on brand, how self-service requests cut manual work, and how registration and engagement data show program value. More info/register.

Host: Cvent

Speakers:

Danielle Coker, Events Manager, Wounded Warrior Project
Seth Curlee, Cvent UT System Administrator, The University of Texas at Austin

Tue 11/3 at 12 p.m. – Prove the ROI of Your Association and Chamber Events

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Jessie States, Meeting Professionals International (MPI)

Tue 11/3 at 2 p.m. – Association Event Strategies Your Execs Will Thank You For

Host: Smart Meetings

Speaker: Lynda Bouchard Patterson, FASAE, CAE, Founder and CEO, Association CEO

Tue 11/3 at 3 p.m. – Building an AI Ready Culture: Why Culture Decides AI Success

Host: re:Members

Speaker: Sherry Whitaker Budziak, Founder and CEO, .orgSource

Tue 11/3 at 4 p.m. – Let’s Chat: Small Staff Associations

Host: ASAE Small Staff Associations Advisory Committee

Wed 11/4 at 12 p.m. – Best Practices for Association Mentoring Programs

Host: Pollinate Networks

Speaker: Christy Pettit, CEO, Pollinate Networks

Wed 11/4 at 12 p.m. – From Long-Haul to Long-Term: Why Some Destinations Deliver More Than a Congress

Host: Talley Management Group

Wed 11/4 at 12 p.m. – Associations at Day 2,500: Where We’ve Been, Where We Are, and Where We’re Going

Host: AIOT

Speaker: Jeff De Cagna, AIMP, DAIG, FRSA, FASAE, FNI.Dir, Executive Advisor, Foresight First LLC

Wed 11/4 at 1 p.m. – How AIIM Uses Peer Cohorts to Extend the Annual Meeting

Host: RallyBoard

Speakers:

Tori Miller Liu, President & CEO, AIIM
Jackson Boyar (host), CEO, RallyBoard

Wed 11/4 at 1 p.m. – Making Your AMS Implementation Stick: 6 Keys to Success

Hosts: Aplusify and Dennison & Associates

Speakers:

Marti J. Hejl, Director of Customer Experience, Aplusify LLC
Susannah Mechem, Chief Operations Officer, Dennison & Associates

Wed 11/4 at 2 p.m. – Redefining Luxury for Today’s Events

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speakers:

Neen James, leadership strategist, keynote speaker, and author of Exceptional Experiences
Michael J. Shapiro (moderator), Director of Content and Industry Insights, Northstar Meetings Group U.S.

Thu 11/5 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Leadership From the Inside Out: A Day of Learning for Association Staff

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Joanna M. Pineda (keynote), CEO & Chief Troublemaker, Matrix Group International, Inc.
Lori Bruhns, CEO/President, Lori Bruhns, LLC
Teresa L. Henderson, CAE, CPA, Association Practice Leader, Your Part-Time Controller
Brendan Leehe, Sr. Customer Growth & Retention Manager, Higher Logic
Larry Long Jr, CSP, Founder and CEO, LLJR Enterprises

Thu 11/5 at 12 p.m. – Got Gantt? Project Management in Associations

Host: Susan Obarski, Sr. Director, Project Management Office, ISPE

Thu 11/5 at 1 p.m. – Behind the Pages of When It Mattered Most

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Speakers:

Joanna Pineda, CEO and Chief Troublemaker, Matrix Group International, and author of When It Mattered Most
Rebecca Achurch, FASAE, PgMP, PMP, CSM, AAiP, CAE, Founder and CEO, Achurch Consulting

Thu 11/5 at 2 p.m. – Beyond Attendance: What Members Actually Want From Your Events

Host: Momentive Software

Speaker: Rich Vallaster, MBA, CEM, AAiP, QAS, Senior Director, Industry Strategy, Momentive Software

That’s a lot, huh? How about buying me a beer in appreciation of what you’ve learned from webinars I’ve shared in the past and what you’ll learn from these?

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

Creative Commons licensed photo by Avery Cocozziello via Unsplash

Amazon, AssociationBrainFood.com, and Association Academy links allow me to earn a royalty and/or complimentary registration from any resulting leads or sales. Thank you!

Association Brain Food: 10.16.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

barred owl on lichen-covered tree branch

Good Reads for the Association Community

Segmentation without automation. Sending one push notification to the entire membership is easy right up until a longtime member receives an invitation to the young professionals meetup. Clowder explains how your association’s mobile app can sort members into audiences based on their AMS records and what they do in the app. Learn which segments to build first and how to start small by cleaning only the records your first segment needs.

The renewal clock starts early. New members set their course toward renewal somewhere between three days and three weeks after joining, says Amanda Lea Kaiser (Kaiser Insights). The small choices they make about engaging during that window determine whether they renew, so a slow onboarding start can cost you the member. She explains what new members hope to find in those early days and how a short email series can give it to them without trying to solve every problem at once.

Before your AMS search. If a software search is on next year’s calendar, start with this guide from ASI/iMIS. It explains how a system preview lets you try the software with your own data and processes before you invest. You’ll also learn how to use peer references and independent review sites to hear from associations with needs like yours. Another section covers what to look for in a platform so your other tools connect to it and your data stays in one place.

Why they dropped the credential. Liz LeClair (Uprising Philanthropic) and Michelle Fuko (Queen’s University) each earned the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) because they heard it would bring them standing, but neither is keeping it. In a LinkedIn post, Fuko concludes she was buying a way for others to recognize knowledge and experience she already had. LeClair, who served on the CFRE International board and exam committee, still sees a place for credentialing. Her post covers the barriers to certification she observed and the affordable, stackable credentials she’d like to see instead.

Setting board priorities. Association boards have plenty of good ideas and a hard time choosing among them, says Sharon Kneebone (American Academy of Pain Medicine). When the board sees every initiative as mission-aligned, that won’t help anyone decide where limited resources go. She wants the board and CEO to agree on decision criteria once strategic priorities are approved, then share the reasoning with staff and committee leaders. Those criteria also protect the board-CEO relationship since the board sets the reasoning behind decisions and the CEO keeps the authority to recommend and act.

Non-dues revenue playbook. Your website, newsletter, and member directory can earn more than they do now. GrowthZone’s guide describes how associations make money with directory upgrades, sponsored podcast slots, tiered sponsorship packages, and more. The guide includes eight tactics, sample pricing, and a 90-day starter plan that won’t overload a small team.

Exhibit with a plan. After decades of running CES, Gary Shapiro (Consumer Technology Association) has seen exhibitors with modest budgets get great results and big spenders walk away with little. In this Fortune commentary, he credits the difference to strategy, a lesson he takes from Robyn Davis’ new book, Exhibit Smarter. Successful exhibitors set goals and train their staff long before the doors open. He also explains why face-to-face marketing still matters to buyers who want to meet the people behind a product.

Member data for member value. Your AMS may already hold much of the data you need to offer members a more personal experience. Gwen Garrison (Strategico Consultants) shows how to use AI to test whether that data is trustworthy and decide which fixes matter most. Once your data is in better shape, you can spot members like the annual meeting regular who may be waiting for a personal invitation to join a committee.

Association in the News

The Justice Department warned the American Bar Association of a potential antitrust probe over rules limiting the role of part-time law professors. The department said the limits on adjunct faculty hurt education and drive up tuition. | Dave Michaels, The Wall Street Journal (gift link)

If Brain Food has been useful to you or your team, or has helped your webinar marketing, please buy me a beer. One beer is only $5, and there’s a box you can check to make it monthly. Thanks!

You Never Grow Old at the Table

This week’s highlight: huge soft-shell crabs Jim brought home from a seafood market on the coast. I cook them simply, with butter and lemon, because that’s all they need. For our side, I roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon, red onion, garlic powder, and hot smoked paprika.

Softies might have been the highlight, but this creamy chicken Florentine was pretty darn good too. I doubled the recipe because I wanted lots of sauce for the gnocchi I added to the pan. I also added bacon, red bell pepper, and dried Italian herbs, and subbed onion for shallot and evaporated milk for cream, taking it all up a notch.

In this company, firecracker salmon is no slouch. We love its spicy and sweet punch. On the side, we had the usual roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots with garlic powder and sweet smoked paprika.

Fri 10/16 at 3 p.m.* – Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative Monthly Networking Meeting

This monthly networking meeting is organized by consultants for full-time consultants who work with non-profits and associations. You don’t have to be an ASAE member to attend. This month’s agenda topics include holiday messages for clients, plus sharing good news and taking questions from the group. More info/register.

Organizer: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Mon 10/19 at 8 a.m. – Beyond Governance: Building an AI-Ready Data Strategy (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Daniel Elacqua and Gwen Harrison of Strategico Consulting

Mon 10/19 at 1 p.m. – Off the Record: The Membership Challenges Keeping Us Up at Night

Bring the membership problem that follows you home at the end of the day to this informal Membership Mondays session. You’ll split into breakout rooms with other membership professionals to brainstorm ideas and solutions for each other’s challenges. Come ready to share your own challenge, offer a fresh perspective on someone else’s, and leave with a few ideas to try. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE

Tue 10/20 at 10:30 a.m. – Meditation Skills for Busy Lives

Take a pause from busyness and learn simple mindfulness practices to ease stress and reduce the feelings of burnout. These monthly sessions, designed to help you create space in your day, include: 5 minutes to arrive and settle in, 10 minutes of guided meditation practice, and 5 minutes for questions and reflection. Every month, we explore a new area of meditation and introduce a practical skill you can carry with you. Open to everyone, no prior meditation experience required. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Meditation leader: Moira Edwards, Owner & President, Ellipsis Partners

Tue 10/20 at 11 a.m. – The Executive Playbook for AI Ready Data Strategy

Learn how to build the data foundations required for responsible, scalable, and high-impact AI. Explore how to move from fragmented data environments to governed, trustworthy, decision-ready intelligence. Hear how to prioritize investments, avoid costly missteps, establish effective data leadership and accountability models, and maintain control across complex vendor and integration ecosystems. Learn how to connect data and AI investments to measurable business and mission outcomes, including efficiency, growth, and risk reduction. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Daniel Elacqua, Chief Executive Officer, and Christopher Maynard, Senior CIO Consultant, Strategico Consultants

Tue 10/20 at 12 p.m. – From Idea to Income, Part 2: How to Build It

Learn how to translate a topic into course outcomes before you build anything; plan a subject matter expert interview that gets you usable content without stalling the project; build a storyboard that carries a course from outline to published product; evaluate learning platform vendors against five questions that matter more than a feature list; and see how the link between your learning platform and member database affects whether the program survives year two. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Angela Robbins, Ph.D., VP Global Business Development & Learning Solutions, Mission Fuel AI

Tue 10/20 at 12 p.m. – October Crunch and Munch: Driving Broader Member Engagement with an Inclusive Volunteer Recruitment

Volunteer members are the most engaged members, with a higher retention rate and more perceived value out of the association. Yet many associations don’t create a volunteer recruitment process that actually engages all members, instead relying on members bringing their friends along. Discuss what challenges exist in the volunteer engagement process, ways your association has tried to address them, and what small steps people have taken to improve their process so other people might learn from those. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE Component Relations Volunteer Management Advisory Council

Moderators: Justin Burniske and Sean Shindl

Tue 10/20 at 1 p.m. – Rethinking How Your Nonprofit Structures Its Reserves

Learn how to segment reserves by purpose as well as time horizon, including operating, planned, stability, strategic, and restricted reserves; how to size stability and planned spending reserves; what belongs in a reserve policy your board can adopt and maintain; and how that policy works alongside your Investment Policy Statement. Leave with a practical framework to bring back to your finance committee. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Raffa Investment Advisers

Tue 10/20 at 2 p.m. – Beyond Features: A Modern Framework for LMS Selection

Get a fresh look at LMS selection, including AI readiness, data privacy and security, migration planning, and why your implementation partner matters. Learn how to evaluate AI capabilities, assess privacy and security practices, avoid common selection pitfalls, and recognize the qualities of a strong implementation partner. More info/register.

Host: D2L

Speakers:

Robyn Hammontree, VP Academic Partnerships, D2L
Dr. Luke Hobson, Assistant Director of Instructional Design, MIT xPRO
Dr. Floyd L. Wormley Jr., Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Texas Christian University
Dr. Melissa Clayton, Assistant Director of Learning Technologies & Online Education, Texas Christian University
Dr. Fran Huckaby, Associate Provost of Faculty Affairs and Executive Director of the Koehler Center

Tue 10/20 at 2 p.m. – How Event Teams Use AI to Rethink Their Event Programs

Get a practical framework for using AI to change your event workflows, including how to find gaps, map use cases, prepare your data, define KPIs, assess your AI maturity, and win executive support. Leave with a clearer path to AI adoption, a stronger foundation for AI-ready data and measurement, and next steps you can apply right away. More info/register.

Host: Smart Meetings

Speakers: Allyson Keenan, Senior Manager, Event Technology and Operations, and Stephanie Sweetland, Senior Director, Marketing Systems, Cvent

Tue 10/20 at 3 p.m. – Sponsorship That Sticks: How to Build Corporate Partnerships That Renew Themselves

Learn why sponsors walk away (the reason is rarely the price tag); the proof points corporate decision-makers need to see before they approve a second investment; how to move the conversation from a transactional ask to a value-aligned partnership; how to keep the relationship alive between events; and how to identify the ROI metrics your sponsors track and put them front and center. More info/register.

Host: Cadmium

Speaker: Lori Zoss Kraska, MBA, CFRE, Founder/CEO, Growth Owl

Wed 10/21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – CMEpalooza Fall

CMEpalooza is a free, biannual, online conference geared toward individuals involved in the development and implementation of continuing medical education for healthcare professionals. Broadcasts will stream live and be available for viewing shortly after their conclusion. More info/register.

Hosts:

Derek Warnick, continuing healthcare education professional, founder of CMEpalooza
Scott Kober, MBA, Managing Partner, Excalibur Medical Education

Wed 10/21 from 9 :10a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – AMS Demo Days

See presentations from a limited number of industry partners that offer AMS platforms. AMS experts will be showcasing platforms and sharing their knowledge with the association market. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Participants: MemberSuite, MC Professional, GlueUp, Fonteva, Autrinity, MEM360, ReadyMembership, YourMembership, re:Members AMS Platform, Element AMS, ideal AMS

Wed 10/21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative Virtual Open House

Meet different consultants, ask them questions, get to know them, and find out more about the unique services they offer to associations and nonprofits. We are all independent experts delivering strategic custom solutions. More info/register.

Host: Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative

Wed 10/21 at 11 a.m. – From Panic to Action: Putting Cybersecurity into Practice

Through real-world case studies, explore how organizations identify vulnerabilities, prepare for threats, and respond when an incident occurs. Learn what to expect from your Managed Service Provider (MSP), where responsibilities lie, and how your critical systems and data are being protected. Get clear, actionable steps you can take today to reduce cyber risk, protect critical assets, and prepare for an incident. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Speakers:

Iulia Griffin, CEO and Co-Founder, The Cactus Group
Ryan O’Donnell, Vortacity Cyber & TrapLine.io
Kevin Fassanella, Director of Security and Compliance, designDATA
Nicole Araujo, CAE (facilitator), Senior Client Engagement Director, Mighty Citizen
Trace Wilkins (facilitator), Never Search Alone

Wed 10/21 at 1 p.m. – Beyond the 4.2: How to Get More Insightful, Actionable Feedback From Your Event Attendees

Explore how associations can get richer, more actionable feedback by rethinking what they ask, when they ask it, and how attendees are invited to respond. Look at how better open-ended questions, SMS, voice-to-text, and AI analysis can help uncover the why behind the rating including themes, sentiment, friction points, and practical opportunities to improve the next event. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Chris Bonney, Founder and CEO at DoTell Surveys

Wed 10/21 at 1 p.m. – The State of Associations (Association Tech Expert Series)

Hear what the panel’s organizations are seeing with their memberships, where opportunities are developing, and what all of this means for associations moving forward. Topics include recruiting volunteers and developing a robust leadership pipeline, how associations can lean into community as a strategic advantage, and the ways associations can leverage AI to better serve their members and industries. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Fonteva

Speakers:

Amy Kane, CAE, MBA, SVP, ABC of Georgia
Brandon Robinson, M.A., CEO, AGC of Virginia
James Thomas, Executive Director, ASHI
Anne Tomkinson, SVP People & Business Excellence, NAA

Wed 10/21 at 1 p.m. – Learning Business Roundtable

Spend 45 minutes in discussion with peers from other learning businesses. Recent meetings covered LMS selection and migration, low completion rates for long webinar recordings, using AI to turn session recordings into recaps, pricing a new certificate against low-cost competitors, and keeping leadership program participants from dropping out. The roundtable meets the first and third Wednesdays of each month, and is open to all learning business professionals. Email to get a calendar invitation.

Host: Leading Learning

Wed 10/21 at 1 p.m. – Project Management for Association Professionals

Elevate your project management skills with this session tailored specifically for learning professionals and designed to address the unique challenges of association projects. Hear practical strategies for identifying data, engaging stakeholders, developing teams, setting expectations, tasks, and resources while managing timelines for association initiatives. Learn how to utilize your strategic plan to develop effective project and implementation plans. Review the five phases of the project process including planning, kick-off, design, development, and implementation utilizing goals such as increasing program attendance, registration revenue or fostering an engaged community. More info/register.

Host: Dawn Tedesco

Wed 10/21 at 1 p.m. – Avoiding Leadership Limbo: Principles for Effective Transition Planning

Leadership transitions can arrive suddenly or be delayed by the hope that change is still far off. Either way, many organizations find themselves unprepared when the moment comes. Learn about the types of succession planning and outlines how nonprofits can proactively prepare for each. Through real-life scenarios, explore the practical steps needed to ensure continuity of operations, preserve institutional knowledge, and intentionally carry forward organizational culture. More info/register.

Host: Nonprofit Nav

Wed 10/21 at 1 p.m. – Sharpening Your Negotiating Skills with Vendors & Hotels + Your Salary

Learn how to define your negotiation goals and stick to them; why negotiating doesn’t mean being aggressive, and what to do instead; strategies for negotiating your salary and understanding your value; and the key differences between negotiating with vendors and with employers, and what works best with each. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Prevue Meetings & Incentives

Speakers:

Cheryl Payne, Strategic Partner, INNOV8 Meetings + Events
Mary Clare Darland, CIS, CITP, Sr. Manager, Sourcing & Supplier Relations, Brightspot Incentives & Events

Wed 10/21 at 1:30 p.m. – Meet CNG: Special Event at EXG 2026 (Providence, RI)

If you’re attending The I.C.E. Exchange, stop by the back of Innovation Hall to meet the Certification Network Group board. Learn how to join this free networking group, get involved with its virtual, DC, or Chicago program committees, present as a subject matter expert at a future CNG event, or explore sponsorship opportunities. Location: Providence, RI. More info/register.

Host: Certification Network Group (CNG)

Wed 10/21 at 2 p.m. – RevUP Summit Pre-Game: Amplify Your LinkedIn Presence

Learn five simple moves to strengthen your LinkedIn profile, then identify the people you want to meet and make your outreach more purposeful before RevUP 2026. Leave with practical actions you can use right away, and bring your profile, connection goals, and questions to the onsite RevUP Influence Lab for a personalized next step. More info/register.

Host: Professionals for Association Revenue (PAR)

Speaker: Colleen McKenna, Principal + Founder, Intero Advisory

Wed 10/21 at 2 p.m. – Connect Your Data, Scale Your Non-Dues Revenue: AI LMS meets AMS

Associations have valuable member, learning, and engagement data, but disconnected systems can make it difficult to turn that data into better member experiences and new non-dues revenue opportunities. Explore how connecting your AMS and LMS can create a more connected member experience, personalize learning, and unlock new opportunities through education and certification. Hear how AI is transforming association learning through personalized content, smarter recommendations, and actionable insights. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speakers: Darrean Janes, Senior Strategic Partnerships & Growth Executive; Matt Peterson, CMP, LES, Relationship Director; and Shubham Sarvesh, LMS Expert | MapleLMS

Wed 10/21 at 2:30 p.m. – Event Contracts Exposed

Hear about the critical questions event professionals should be asking when important protections, responsibilities and remedies are absent from the contract. From supplier failure to perform and labour disruptions to renovations, ownership changes, undisclosed fees and other operational risks, we’ll look beyond the words on the page and ask: What should be in this contract, but isn’t? More info/register.

Host: Heather Reid, Planner Protect

Thu 10/22 from 9:15 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. – AMS Demo Days

Host: ASAE

Participants: Aplusify, iMIS by ASI, Cobalt AMS, re:Members AMS, Wicket, Naylor, Altai Systems, GrowthZone, Protech, Nimble AMS

Thu 10/22 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – Strategy, Not Scare Tactics: Executive Leadership for Association Growth (Vienna, VA)

Participate in a live debate, a peer panel, and a hands-on incident tabletop exercise. Get a first-hour incident response plan guide; a clearer view of what your managed IT provider covers during an incident, and where the gaps could sit; language for the conversation with your board about AI risk and AI opportunity; and a room of peers who are making the same calls you are, and the insights they’ve gained along the way. Location: Vienna, VA. CAE credits. More info/register.

Host: designDATA

Thu 10/22 at 11 a.m. – Business Artistry in Associations: Moving from Transaction to Transformation

If you look at the average association website, you’ll see a home page that features a wall of products, events, and news. As a result, members often view their associations as vendors—distributors of products to buy or register for. Learn about the principles of Business Artistry: actionable insights that can be applied to all parts of association operations. Discover how shifting from a product-first mindset to human-centered artistry can transform member recruitment, event experiences, publications, and even daily communications. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Joanna M. Pineda, CEO & Chief Troublemaker, Matrix Group International, Inc.
Nir Hindie, Founder, The Artian

Thu 10/22 at 12 p.m. – Embracing Visibility to Build Your Brand

Learn practical strategies for becoming more intentionally visible without feeling as though you must become someone you are not. Through guided reflection, practical examples, participant interaction, and individual planning, find out about visibility approaches that align with who you are while encouraging you to stretch beyond your current comfort zones. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: The Alliance for Women in Associations

Speaker: Jacqueline M. Baker, leadership strategist, keynote speaker, author, modern etiquette expert, and founder of Scarlet

Thu 10/22 at 12 p.m. – The Membership Flywheel™: Stop Guessing, Start Building Momentum

Explore the Membership Flywheel™, a framework for building real, lasting momentum in your organization. Learn how to map your organization’s Membership Flywheel™ and pinpoint where momentum is building or leaking; define a clear member promise that attracts the right people from the start; reduce friction at each stage, from first invitation through renewal; and build participation pathways that turn new members into long-term advocates. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Jim Thompson, CAE, IOM, founder and CEO, Tying It Together Consulting

Thu 10/22 at 12 p.m. – Cybersecurity Awareness Month Training

Host: 501CISO

Thu 10/22 at 1 p.m. – From “What We Do” to “Why Members Care”: Building a Stronger Association Value Proposition

Learn a practical brand strategy framework that associations can use to clarify who they serve, what they offer, why it matters, and how they deliver value differently. Hear how to write a value proposition and strategy statement that support stronger messaging, better internal alignment, and more meaningful member engagement. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Cheri Quinn, Director of Brand Strategy, and Emily Youngblood, Client Services Director, Mercury Creative Group

Thu 10/22 at 1 p.m. – From Tech Debt to Technology That Delivers

Learn how to recognize the hidden costs of disconnected systems, duplicate capabilities, manual workarounds, multiple member logins, and inconsistent data; decide whether to optimize, integrate, consolidate, replace, or retire each technology investment; evaluate tools for strategic alignment, adoption, member and staff experience, and readiness for AI; and turn what you find into a 90-day technology action plan to finish before 2027. More info/register.

Host: Higher Logic

Speakers:

Derek Landes, Director of Research & Technology, Missouri Rural Health Association
Brendan Leehe, Sr. Customer Growth & Retention Manager, Higher Logic

Thu 10/22 at 1 p.m. – From Intention to Action: Using “Inspire, Hire, Train, Retain” to Support Disability Inclusion in Volunteer Engagement

Get to know Inspire, Hire, Train, Retain (IHTR), a free, customizable toolkit for disability-inclusive workplace practices, and learn how to apply it to volunteer administration, from recruitment and role design through onboarding, supervision, and retention. Get practical strategies for designing and championing volunteer programs where people with disabilities can contribute, belong, and thrive. More info/register.

Hosts: Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration (CCVA) and Idealist

Speaker: Larissa Haluszka-Smith, CVA, Manager, Volunteer Resources, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto

Thu 10/22 at 2 p.m. – From Learning to Careers: What Members Really Want from Professional Development

The 2026 Association Trends Research found differences in financial stability, promotions, and access to career resources between members and nonmembers. Learn how to set association learning apart from generic, outdated, or inaccurate online content; how career technology can create an always-on career and learning engine; and the growing role of microcredentials and continuous skill development in member value. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Momentive Software

Speakers:

Helen Mosher, CAE, Founder and Publisher, Association Career Corner
Kristen Wall, VP, Learning and Training Services, Momentive Software
Chelsey Wilson, Sr. Director, Marketing Communications, Momentive Software

Thu 10/22 at 2 p.m. – Your Members Care, So Why Aren’t They Engaged? How Associations Turn Shared Purpose Into Participation

Many members believe in your association’s mission but never get around to participating. Learn how to identify the barriers that keep members from contributing, write clear and manageable invitations to get involved, and show members the difference their participation makes, so their shared sense of purpose becomes practical involvement. More info/register.

Host: Tradewing

Thu 10/22 at 2 p.m. – Balancing Risk, Resilience and Growth

Learn how operational, technology, cybersecurity, and AI risks are increasingly connected; why risk visibility and governance matter to leadership teams; how organizations strengthen resilience while supporting growth and innovation; and practical approaches for assessing risk and setting priorities. More info/register.

Host: Wipfli

Speakers: Carrie Connell (moderator), Partner; Matt Sabo, Director; Jeff Olejnik, Partner; and Tom Loring, Partner | Wipfli

Thu 10/22 at 3 p.m. – Agentic Advocacy: Building an AI-Powered Community

See how Infor’s community team uses AI and Higher Logic Vanilla to improve the member experience. Hear how thoughtful automation reduces manual work, helps members reach value sooner, and moves them from participating to advocating. Get practical ideas for routing unanswered questions to the right experts, creating onboarding experiences your team can update easily, and engaging members through structured ambassador missions. More info/register.

Host: Higher Logic

Speakers:

Mary Green, Director of Community Platforms, Infor, and Founder of CMA Weekly
Marius Ciortea, Chief Community Officer, Higher Logic

Thu 10/22 at 3:30 p.m. – Is Your Membership Marketing Keeping Up?

Explore why traditional “join us” membership marketing may not be enough anymore; what members are really looking for beyond information and access; why human connection and community may become an increasingly important part of an association’s value proposition; the connection between marketing, member experience, and retention; why associations need to communicate value before someone is ready to renew; what associations can learn from other membership and community-based businesses; and how AI and changing member expectations may change what people expect from their associations. More info/register.

Host: Kim Robinson, CEO of FrontlineCo

Speaker: Kelly Howard, membership marketing strategist, Membership Marketing Lab

Thu 10/22 at 5:30 p.m. CT – Beyond Membership: The Revenue Shift Associations Can’t Afford to Ignore (Chicago, IL)

Learn how to evaluate your reliance on dues and identify opportunities to diversify revenue; explore non-dues revenue levers including certification, digital learning, sponsored content, and strategic partnerships; and leave with practical steps to fit those opportunities into your existing structure without overloading your team. Location: Chicago, IL. More info/register.

Host: D2L

Speaker: Bill Sheehan, Global Head of Association Strategy, D2L

Mon 10/26 at 12 p.m. – Cybersecurity Awareness Month Training

Host: 501CISO

Tue 10/27 at 12 p.m. – From Idea to Income, Part 3: How to Sell It

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Angela Robbins, Ph.D., VP Global Business Development & Learning Solutions, Mission Fuel AI

Tue 10/27 at 12 p.m. – What Matters to Associations in 2026: Highland’s 3rd Annual YPMI National Report and Career Partnership for Young Professionals

Hosts: Forj and Highland

Speakers:

David Whited, Principal, Design Research & Strategy, Highland
Terri Herrmann, Chief Marketing Officer, Forj

Tue 10/27 at 1 p.m. – A Decade of Engagement Data: What Associations Need to Do Differently

Host: MCI

Speakers:

Erin Fuller, FASAE, CAE, Global Head, Association Solutions, MCI
Peter O’Neil, FASAE, CAE, CEO, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Nikki Walker, Strategic Advisor & Global Consultant
Viola Marx, Director, Insidery

Tue 10/27 at 1 p.m. – The Executive Compensation Gap: How Deferred Compensation Plans Help Associations Compete for and Keep Top Talent

Host: ASAE

Speakers:

Jason Dwyer, DPFA, QKA, Founder, Jackson Avenue Advisors
Josh Kopec, AIF, CPFA, Partner, Retirement Plan Practice Leader, Connor & Gallagher OneSource
Kevin Salk, CPFA, Director of Investments, Oppenheimer & Co.
Shelly Howard-Horwitz, AIF, CPFA, Managing Director, Atlanta & Washington DC, World Investment Advisors

Wed 10/28 at 11 a.m. – The Human Algorithm: How AI Makes Big Events Feel Personal

Host: Grip

Speakers:

Laila Hawe, Director of Marketing, Manifest, Hyve Group
Meera Somji, Co-Founder, Grow This Event
Hew Leith, SVP of Marketing, Grip

Wed 10/28 at 12 p.m. – Building Trust and Growing Membership in a Challenging Landscape:  A Look at the Anatomy of One Association’s Successful Membership Recruitment Campaign

Host: .orgCommunity

Speakers:

Shannon McDaniel, Executive Vice President, BRG Communications
Alexandra Markarian, Director of Sales, Street Level Studio
Nora MacDonald, Director of Member Engagement, NARFE

Wed 10/28 at 12 p.m. – The Invisible Funnel: Converting Anonymous Traffic Into Known, Engaged Prospects

Host: HighRoad Solutions

Wed 10/28 at 12 p.m. – Frightening Fraud: Critical Thinking & Prevention Habits in the Age of AI

Host: YPTC (Your Part-Time Controller)

Wed 10/28 at 2 p.m. – Uncovering Overlooked Advocates

Host: The Advocacy Association

Speakers:

Seth Turner, Director, Grassroots Advocacy & Stakeholder Engagement for the National Apartment Association
Ben Muscolino, Founder and CEO of AMS Geek

Wed 10/28 at 2 p.m. – Make It Personal: How to Make Every Attendee Feel Seen

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speakers:

Lisa Schulteis, Founder, ElectraLime Marketing
Elise Schoening (moderator), Editor, Meeting News, and Senior Editor, Northstar Meetings Group

Thu 10/29 at 11 a.m. – AWTC Open Doors

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Thu 10/29 at 12 p.m. – From Ranked to Recommended: Winning Visibility in the Age of AI Answers

Host: Association Xchange (AXC)

Speakers: Merrik Kressley, Senior Digital Marketing Strategist, and Alyssa Hulka, Chief Experience Officer, Accella

Thu 10/29 at 12 p.m. –Managing the Rising Costs of Healthcare for Nonprofits

Learn how to manage rising healthcare costs while still offering benefits that attract talent. Get an overview of healthcare market trends in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region, the difference between large and small group ratings, and how the bidding process works. Hear about cost-control options, including changing metal tiers and using Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs), to reduce expenses without lowering benefit quality. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: FAR (formerly the Finance & Administration Roundtable)

Speakers:

Kelly Martin, Executive Director, AMHIC
Chris Mullins, Senior Managing Principal, OneDigital Mid-Atlantic
Joe Apa, Senior Partner, The Baldwin Group

Thu 10/29 at 1 p.m. – Keep the Tiers, Fix the Matrix: A Better Way to Structure Sponsorships

Host: Carrie McIntyre, Navigate CES

Thu 10/29 at 1 p.m. – Meeting Modern Member Expectations: How AI and Technology Can Add Value

Host: Momentive Software

Speakers:

Kapil Kher, Chief Information Officer, U.S. Green Building Council
Matt Rist, VP of Product Management, Momentive Software
Rich Vallaster, MBA, CEM, AAiP, QAS, Senior Director, Industry Strategy, Momentive Software

Thu 10/29 at 3 p.m. – Your First AI Automation: Start Small, Prove Value

Host: Farhad Khan, CEO, Member Lounge

Made it this far? How about buying me a beer in appreciation of what you’ve learned and what you will learn?

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

Creative Commons licensed photo by Philip Brown via Unsplash

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Association Brain Food: 10.9.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

a lake in the fall with the reflection of trees with multi-colored leaves on its edge

Good Reads for the Association Community

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” —Wayne Dyer

Welcome to new subscribers who landed here thanks to Helen Mosher’s profile of me and Association Brain Food in her newsletter, Association Career Corner. I’m a freelance writer who used to work in associations and now writes blog posts and guides about association management for industry partners. I’ve also published this newsletter for more than a decade.

Curation as generosity. I’m honored to be Helen’s first guest in the Corner Café, a new feature of her newsletter. She tells the story of how Brain Food began, then closes with a perfect take on content curation: done well, it’s a person sharing something they found interesting because they thought you might too. Helen brings that same generosity to association careers. Subscribe for the job openings if you’re looking, and for her tips and recommended reads even if you aren’t.

Certificate vs. certification. In this Association Adviser interview, Adrienne Bryant (Customer Experience Professionals Association) clears up the confusion between a certificate and a certification, and why you need to know the difference. The right choice depends on whether you need to learn a skill or prove you already have it. She explains what each credential tells employers and clients about you, and she shares the questions to ask before you spend time and money on one.

Board buy-in for learning. Education programs often show up in board discussions as a budget line. This D2L guide helps you make the case that learning brings in revenue and gives members a reason to renew. Executives from several associations share how they won over their boards. You’ll learn how to back up your request with member data and early results, so the board can see what the investment will return.

Free newsletter course for associations. The Association Newsletter Success Certificate Course from Association Academy covers everything from strategy to delivery. You’ll work through goals and metrics, formatting, design and copy, AI-assisted production, and the technical work that keeps your newsletters out of spam folders. Chris Gloede (Ricochet) teaches six live online classes starting October 22, and you can earn up to six CAE credits. Use the referral code BRAINFOODFREE to register for free.

A sponsorship gut check. Bruce Rosenthal and Lori Zoss Kraska explain why so many associations default to tiered packages of logos and podium shout-outs, and why those benefits leave senior executives at partner companies wanting more. Benefits designed around each partner’s goals make renewals and bigger commitments more likely. Their short self-assessment at the end helps you judge whether your top package offers enough beyond recognition to justify the price.

Profit protects the mission. While interviewing association leaders for her Mission and Margin white paper series, Deanna Varga (Mayvin Global) kept hearing requests to leave out the words “profit” and “commercial.” She challenges that squeamishness here, arguing that financial strength protects an association’s purpose. Her post shares what she learned from the series’ case studies, including why leaders make better decisions when revenue, risk, and innovation are part of the same conversation.

Before you buy awards software. If your awards program still runs on spreadsheets, this OpenWater guide tells you what that manual work costs your association and what an upgrade should include. It lists what to ask about before you sign with a vendor, including integration, real-time support, user experience, scalability, and whether you can trust the testimonials the vendor shows you.

Rethinking the federated model. Don Scott Knox (Civica Associations, Conferences & Exhibitions) asks whether today’s members get more value from independent chapters and state societies or from a single national organization with central dues collection and shared technology. He explains why the reasons associations adopted the federated structure often no longer apply, and why integration still takes years when volunteers worry about losing their chapter’s independence.

The neglected middle of the learning path. Associations often leave the long stretch between discovering a profession and earning a credential to chance, and that’s when members go elsewhere for help. Elizabeth Moore (Holmes Corporation) shows how to build a connected learning portfolio that serves members and earns revenue at every stage of their careers. She also shares lessons from leaders at AFCPE and CFRE International about deciding which program to add next.

Snacks

After hearing testimony dominated by accounts of antisemitism, a federal advisory panel recommended suspending the American Psychological Association’s accrediting authority for failing to address discrimination. | Sally Satel, The Free Press

Job hunters, along with subscribing to Association Career Corner, keep an eye on my LinkedIn “likes.” I like many of the association job postings in my feed, and the more I like, the more the algorithm sends my way.

You Never Grow Old at the Table

I knew I wanted cod for dinner but wasn’t sure which way to go with it. Then, I remembered my recipe for fish with bold breadcrumbs. The topping is “bold” because it’s full of onion, sweet and hot pepper, garlic, and sweet paprika. For our side, I roasted broccoli florets and stems, carrot, cauliflower, and red onion with garlic powder and smoked paprika.

Temperatures here in North Carolina finally dropped this past weekend, so to celebrate, I made pasta with a red calamari sauce, my Christmas Eve recipe that works any time of year. We had cheesy garlic bread and leftover roasted vegetables on the side.

When ground lamb went on sale, I stocked the freezer and realized it had been a long time since I’d made shepherd’s pie. My version has mashed sweet potato on top because, although I’m three-quarters Irish, I do live in North Carolina. My recipe comes from The Irish Pub Cookbook by Margaret Johnson. Sorry, I couldn’t find the recipe online, which is a shame because this one’s a keeper.

Fri 10/9 at 1 p.m.* – Proposal Party: Brainstorming Your Next Conference Session

Calls for proposals are open for ASAE’s Membership, Marketing, Communications and Technology Conference, as well as for state society events including the Florida Society of Association Executives and the Pennsylvania Society of Association Executives. This session is a chance to work on your ideas with other consultants before you submit. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE Key Consultants Committee

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Mon 10/12 at 12 p.m. – AWTC Virtual Co-Working Session

Virtual co-working is an online gathering where participants spend dedicated time working alongside one another. In the first five minutes, brief introductions: your name, organization, and the project, task, idea, or decision you hope to make progress on or complete during the session. This is not a webinar or presentation; it’s protected time to work alongside your AWTC champions. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Tue 10/13 at 12 p.m. – From Idea to Income, Part 1: What to Create

Learn what every association must answer before creating a new non-dues revenue online learning program; whether your program needs a launch or a relaunch; how to do a fast needs assessment to determine what members will genuinely pay for; how to build a revenue model for your own program; and how to write three measurable success targets and assign a named owner to each lane of the work. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Angela Robbins, Ph.D., VP Global Business Development & Learning Solutions, Mission Fuel AI

Tue 10/13 at 12 p.m. – Tech Tuesday: AI + Your Tech Stack: Opportunities, Risks, and Considerations

What happens when AI moves from a standalone tool to one that can access your organization’s data and systems? What opportunities does that create? What risks should you consider? And how are your peers approaching these decisions? Bring your questions and perspective as we discuss some of the realities of bringing AI into your technology ecosystem, including AI integrations, governance, and security. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE

Facilitators:

Reggie Henry, CAE
Dave Coriale, CAE, President, DelCor Technology Solutions

Guest: Andrew Leggett, Director of Cybersecurity, DelCor

Tue 10/13 at 12 p.m. – On The Hunt

A monthly, community-driven virtual gathering designed to support AWTC members who are exploring new opportunities, navigating a job search, or considering their next move. Connect with peers, share insights, exchange leads and resources, and stay encouraged through the job-hunting process. Each session includes informal discussion, optional themed topics, and space for participants to reflect on their next steps to create momentum while prioritizing connection, flexibility, and community support. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Tue 10/13 at 1 p.m. – Retention Reimagined: Building an AI-Ready Member Retention Strategy

Retention is no longer a one-time renewal task – it is a year-round engagement ecosystem. Learn how to move from reactive renewals to predictive member engagement with AI-enabled insights and continuous value delivery. More info/register.

Host: Causeis

Tue 10/13 at 1 p.m. – The Battle Within: Breakthrough Starts in the Mind

Learn how mindset, energy, and internal narratives shape performance far more than strategy or skill alone. Using principles of Conscious Leadership and growth-oriented thinking, learn to recognize the hidden patterns that influence their choices, reactions, and outcomes. Get tools to shift out of reactive, limiting mindsets into intentional, empowered, and possibility-driven leadership—creating sustained success from the inside out. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speaker: Marvin Chambers, Executive Coach, Leadership Strategist, Speaker, and Founder of Onyx Leadership Collective

Wed 10/14 at 11 a.m. – Clarity Before the Demo: Getting More Out of ASAE’s AMS Demo Days

Demos are designed to impress. Without a clear framework for what you’re looking for, it’s easy to leave with a lot of information and not much direction. This session gives you the tools to evaluate what you see with confidence. More info/register.

Host: Ellipsis Partners

Speakers: Moira Edwards, CAE, President and CEO, and Rhoni Rakos, AAiP, Vice President, Ellipsis Partners

Wed 10/14 at 11 a.m. – Office Hours for LMS Buyers: Shortlisting with the 2026 LMS Awards Winners

The 2026 Talented Learning LMS Awards have just recognized top solutions across key categories worldwide. Learn how to use this independent market intelligence, along with use-case filters and research frameworks, to quickly identify qualified vendors and build a smarter shortlist. More info/register.

Host: Talented Learning

Speaker: John Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst at Talented Learning

Wed 10/14 at 11 a.m. – Conquer Impostor Syndrome to Advance Your Career

Explore the roots of impostor syndrome, including where it comes from, how it shows up and what you can do to move through it with more confidence and courage. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speaker: Kim Meninger, Keynote Speaker, Leadership Coach, Consultant Human-Centered Leadership, WBENC Women’s Business Enterprise

Wed 10/14 at 12 p.m. – How Associations Are Using AI to Improve Learner Engagement, Efficiency, and Outcomes

Explore how learning businesses are using AI to develop new products and strengthen the value of learning programs to support revenue growth and differentiation; personalize learning using learner data and real-time support to increase engagement, uncover knowledge and content gaps, and improve outcomes; and develop and update content more efficiently while streamlining program management and administrative workflows. More info/register.

Host: .orgCommunity

Speaker: Ashish Rangnekar, CEO and Co-Founder, BenchPrep

Wed 10/14 at 12:30 p.m. – How IDFA Proves the Value of Membership

Hear about how IDFA measures what’s working for members—and how they put a dollar amount on the ROI; the framework behind where IDFA invests, where it supports, and where it keeps watch; how it serves different member segments, without segmenting internal departments; how it keeps a wait-and-see industry up to speed on AI; and how it grows non-dues revenue by listening instead of pitching. More info/register.

Host: TaleWind Digital

Speakers:

Tom Wojno, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy & Operating Officer, IDFA
Dan Stevens, President, TaleWind Digital

Wed 10/14 at 1 p.m. – Beyond Technology: The Human Side of Association Transformation

Learn about the key drivers making change management essential for associations, from shifting member expectations to AI; strategies to build alignment and engagement across boards, staff, volunteers, and members; and approaches for leading and influencing organizational change. More info/register.

Host: D2L

Speakers: Bill Sheehan, global head of association strategy, and Erin Robson, change management consultant, D2L

Wed 10/14 at 1 p.m. – One Webinar, Three Jobs: Using AI to Turn Association Content Into Learning, Marketing, and Member Growth

Your association does not have a content problem. It has a reuse problem. See how one recorded webinar becomes a member learning asset, a marketing sequence, and a nurture track, using AI with human judgment in the seat that matters. Real before and after examples, honest costs, and the operating rhythm that keep the work alive past launch. More info/register.

Hosts: Lada Consulting and Iceberg Digital Marketing

Wed 10/14 at 2 p.m. – Community Benchmark Briefing: The Strategies Behind High Engagement

Get highlights from the 2026 Association Community Benchmark Report, along with real-world strategies for improving participation, strengthening member connections, helping members find relevant content, and making community management more effective. More info/register.

Host: Higher Logic

Speakers: Georgina Donahue, Director, Community Innovation & Strategy; Kelly Whelan, Senior Content Marketing Manager; Erin York, Sr. Strategic Advisor; and Bekah Weidner, Strategic Advisor, Higher Logic

Wed 10/14 at 2 p.m. – One Staff, One Strategy: How ASLA Made AI Everyone’s Job

Learn how ASLA turned its all-staff meetings into a recurring stage for AI adoption, and why that structure works better than a top-down mandate or a single innovation team. See ASLA team members walk through actual wins from their own departments, real tools, workflows, and outcomes, not hypotheticals. Get a working model to take home and adapt, grounded in what’s already paying off across a real association. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speakers:

Daniel Martin, Honorary ASLA, Managing Director, Development, The American Society of Landscape Architects
Greg Cohen, CPA, Chief Financial and Operations Officer, The American Society of Landscape Architects
Whitney Mitchell, Professional Development Senior Manager, The American Society of Landscape Architects
Rich Vallaster, CEM, QAS, AAiP (moderator), Senior Director of Industry Relations and Thought Leadership, Momentive Software

Wed 10/14 at 2 p.m. – Ask the Attorney: Challenges in Contracting

Possible topics to be addressed: how to cover sustainability in your agreements, negotiation tactics that work today, where to use AI best when writing contracts, and current trends in data privacy and security clauses. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speaker: Emily Hardin, associate general counsel for Maritz

Wed 10/14 at 4:30 p.m. CT – 2026 AWTC Fall Happy Hour (Chicago, IL)

Come network with the AWTC community of women and allies. All are welcome. This IRL opportunity to socialize and network with your industry peers is brought to you by the generous support of our sponsors. Location: Chicago, IL. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Thu 10/15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Beacon’s 2026 AMS AI Showcase

AI is showing up in nearly every AMS conversation. The harder part is understanding what each vendor can actually do today. See multiple AMS providers demonstrate their current AI capabilities in one place, along with a look at where they’re investing next—a much clearer way to compare platforms, assess what is practical now, and understand how different vendors are approaching AI. More info/register.

Host: Beacon Tech Research

Participants: iMIS, Journey Care, Member Smart AC, Membes, Ready Membership, re:Members, Evolve AMS, Toucan Tech, Euclid ClearVantage AMS, Autrinity, Communa, Glue Up

Thu 10/15 at 11 a.m. – How to Maximize LinkedIn for AI Search Visibility

An intentional LinkedIn strategy can significantly help brands increase their visibility on AI engines, capturing high-intent B2B buyers who use AI tools for vendor recommendations and procurement research. Get a recap on the latest LinkedIn news, recent algorithm changes, and what this means for B2B marketers. Learn about the kind of content you should publish, Pulse article best practices, optimizing for AI retrieval, using your founders’ profiles, building a strong brand entity, and hacking LinkedIn URL structure. More info/register.

Host: Nexus Marketing

Speaker: Jenny Russ, Client Solutions Manager, Nexus Marketing

Thu 10/15 at 12 p.m. – Creating Engaging Events

Learn about the most crucial time to engage participants, what both newcomers and long-timers are looking for, why the word “networking” is terrifying, and what to say and do instead. Get dozens of ideas you can implement quickly. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Amanda Lea Kaiser, engagement strategist and author of Elevating Engagement

Thu 10/15 at 1 p.m. – Keep the Tiers, Fix the Matrix: A Better Way to Structure Sponsorships

Host: Carrie McIntyre, Navigate CES

Thu 10/15 at 1 p.m. – Beyond the Credential: How Associations Are Building Learning Portfolios That Grow Careers and Programs

Many associations offer a strong mix of education, training, and credentials, but those programs don’t always connect clearly for learners. Explore how associations can think more strategically about their full professional development portfolio—connecting learning, skill development, and credentialing into career pathways that meet professionals at different stages of their journey. Review the INFORMS Certified Analytics Professional ecosystem, an example of multiple entry points and pathways for professionals at different career stages. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Prolydian

Speakers:

Carol Curley, MBA, PMI, Director of Education & Industry Programs, INFORMS
Tracy King, MA, CAE, CEO & Founder, InspirEd
Adrienne Sutton, IOM, COO, Soar Forward Solutions / Limitless
Alina Cooper, CAE (moderator), Director of Business Development and Marketing, Prolydian

Thu 10/15 at 1:30 p.m. – Beauty in the Kaleidoscope of Neurodivergence

Explore when, why, and how associations can make neurodivergence a strength—not a liability—for members and staff, with a special focus on association events, including activities that make some of us cringe when others thrive. Learn how event planners, including those with a tight budget and a small team, can bridge those differences for a stronger meeting. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Insight Guide

Speakers:

Dr. Michael Carr-Tatonetti, Founder & CEO Pricing for Associations
Brian Kirkland, CAE, Director of Event Program Development, National Association of Community Health Centers
Barbara Armentrout, CAE (moderator), Founder, BJA Solutions for Associations
Teri Carden (hostess), COO, Insight Guide

Thu 10/15 at 2 p.m. – Chapter Nightmares: The Scary Problems Keeping CRPs Up at Night

Learn about seven chapter monsters haunting CRPs everywhere. We’ll name the problem, flag the warning signs, and hand you practical solutions to send each one back where it came from. Get a framework for evaluating whether to revive, merge, or retire struggling chapters; strategies for succession planning and building leadership pipelines; ways to turn passive boards into engaged, decision-making ones; a model for turning chapters into strategic listening posts; and tools for simplifying bloated governance and reporting requirements. More info/register.

Host: re:Members

Speaker: Peggy Hoffman FASAE, CAE, President, Mariner Management and Marketing

Thu 10/15 at 2 p.m. – The Final 36 Months: Six Still-Crucial Questions for Fit-for-Purpose Association Boards

On January 1, 2027, the final 36 months of The Turbulent Twenties will begin. The association community must act immediately to prepare for the 2030s by asking harder questions today. Join this conversation around six still-crucial questions that every fit-for-purpose association board should be asking to frame their stewardship for the rest of this decade and going into the 2030s. More info/register.

Host: Jeff De Cagna, Executive Advisor, Foresight First LLC

Thu 10/15 at 3 p.m. – How Claude Can Save 100 Hours on Membership Renewals

See how Claude can work with renewal and member data, help determine the right next step, prepare personalized renewal emails, and continue following up without your team manually managing every touchpoint. Walk through a sample renewal workflow to learn where AI can take over repetitive work, where staff should stay involved, and how greater consistency can help you follow up with members more persistently without adding more work to your team’s plate. More info/register.

Host: Farhad Khan, CEO, Member Lounge

Thu 10/15 at 4 p.m. – The 2026 MGI Benchmarking Report Updates with Insights from “Membership Marketing from A-Z” (Alexandria, VA)

Learn about trends, strategies, and innovations shaping membership success such as: what associations who report membership growth are doing differently; how 89% of associations are facing a value proposition challenge; and recruitment trends, innovations, and marketing tactics. Get an exclusive look at the mid-year check-up survey and updated data which provides dashboard results on how current economics and politics are impacting association membership. Location: Alexandria, VA. More info/register.

Host: Reston Loudoun Idea Swap for Associations

Speakers: Jana Darling, president, and Michelle Peterson, Vice President of Client Strategy, Marketing General Inc. (MGI)

Fri 10/16 at 3 p.m. – Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative Monthly Networking Meeting

Organizer: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Tue 10/20 at 10:30 a.m. – Meditation Skills for Busy Lives

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Meditation leader: Moira Edwards, Owner & President, Ellipsis Partners

Tue 10/20 at 11 a.m. – The Executive Playbook for AI Ready Data Strategy

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Daniel Elacqua, Chief Executive Officer, and Christopher Maynard, Senior CIO Consultant, Strategico Consultants

Wed 10/21 from 9:10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – AMS Demo Days

Host: ASAE

Participants: MemberSuite, MC Professional, GlueUp, Fonteva, Autrinity, MEM360, ReadyMembership, YourMembership, re:Members AMS Platform, Element AMS, ideal AMS

Wed 10/21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – CMEpalooza Fall

Hosts:

Derek Warnick, continuing healthcare education professional, founder of CMEpalooza
Scott Kober, MBA, Managing Partner, Excalibur Medical Education

Wed 10/21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative Virtual Open House

Host: Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative

Wed 10/21 at 11 a.m. – From Panic to Action: Putting Cybersecurity into Practice

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Speakers:

Iulia Griffin, CEO and Co-Founder, The Cactus Group
Ryan O’Donnell, Vortacity Cyber & TrapLine.io
Kevin Fassanella, Director of Security and Compliance, designDATA
Nicole Araujo, CAE (moderator), Senior Client Engagement Director, Mighty Citizen

Wed 10/21 at 1 p.m. – Beyond the 4.2: How to Get More Insightful, Actionable Feedback From Your Event Attendees

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Chris Bonney, Founder and CEO at DoTell Surveys

Thu 10/22 from 9:15 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. – AMS Demo Days

Host: ASAE

Participants: Aplusify, iMIS by ASI, Cobalt AMS, re:Members AMS, Wicket, Naylor, Altai Systems, GrowthZone, Protech, Nimble AMS

Thu 10/22 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. – Strategy, Not Scare Tactics: Executive Leadership for Association Growth (Vienna, VA)

Host: designDATA

Thu 10/22 at 11 a.m. – Business Artistry in Associations: Moving from Transaction to Transformation

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Joanna M. Pineda, CEO & Chief Troublemaker, Matrix Group International, Inc.
Nir Hindie, Founder, The Artian

Thu 10/22 at 12 p.m. – Embracing Visibility to Build Your Brand

Host: The Alliance for Women in Associations

Speaker: Jacqueline M. Baker, leadership strategist, keynote speaker, author, modern etiquette expert, and founder of Scarlet

Thu 10/22 at 12 p.m. – The Membership Flywheel™: Stop Guessing, Start Building Momentum

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Jim Thompson, CAE, IOM, founder and CEO, Tying It Together Consulting

Thu 10/22 at 1 p.m. – From “What We Do” to “Why Members Care”: Building a Stronger Association Value Proposition

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Cheri Quinn, Director of Brand Strategy, and Emily Youngblood, Client Services Director, Mercury Creative Group

Made it this far? How about buying me a beer in appreciation of what you’ve learned and what you will learn?

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Association Brain Food: 10.2.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

sun-dappled path lined with large oak trees with Spanish moss

Good reads for the association community

“Nothing is more exhausting than the task that’s never started.” —Gretchen Rubin

Tech friction has a price. TopClass LMS explains how technology debt builds up across an association’s website and the systems behind it until learners and staff feel the pain. A clunky login or a video that won’t play on a phone can give even a motivated learner a reason to quit without telling you why. The post shows how to find those friction points and explains why many fixes don’t require a new platform.

Chapter purpose before structure. Mariner Management shares takeaways from an ASAE Annual Meeting panel that looked at what comes next once an association decides its chapter model needs to change. When volunteers spend their time on the business of running a chapter, they have little energy left for building community. Be sure to read the linked AOTA and NAFA case studies, which show how each association lifted administrative work off volunteers’ plates.

Worrisome membership trends. I look forward to Marketing General’s Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report every year, but this year’s findings are sobering, with membership growth slowing and renewal rates softening. On the brighter side, the report finds that growing associations communicate their value clearly and treat engagement and retention as seriously as recruitment. The report also tracks how associations are responding to generational change and AI.

Hard questions for your board. Jeff De Cagna (Foresight First) revisits a set of board questions he first raised in 2024. His updated versions push boards to accept the discomfort that comes with their service. His three-part series gives you material for candid conversations about what board members owe the people who will inherit their decisions.

Gen Z’s missing network. Cory Smith (The National News Desk) examines why so many Gen Z workers feel disconnected from people who could help their careers. They switch jobs more often than any other generation and miss out on the informal relationship-building older generations picked up through internships and in-person work. As a result, many Gen Zers don’t know where to start. Associations have the mentors and member networks to fill that gap, which gives you a strong pitch for recruiting younger professionals.

Resistance is wired in. Your association can choose the right platform and still watch a change effort stall because staff never get on board. D2L’s guide shows how to prevent that by treating change as a people project from the start. The guide includes advice for bringing colleagues along, spotting early adopters who can win over skeptics, and making new practices stick.

Help exhibitors succeed. Kathryn Deen (Professionals for Association Revenue) says associations can do more to help exhibitors get what they came for. Drawing on advice from event tech and trade show experts, she shows how to learn each exhibitor’s goals early and report results they can use, so a standard booth package becomes a partnership they’ll want to renew.

Sponsors want outcomes. David McMillin (Skift Meetings) talks with Circle’s vice president of events and experiences, Peter Bordes, who says the familiar Gold/Silver/Bronze sponsorship tiers have outlived their usefulness. Bordes recommends asking what each partner wants to achieve and building the package around that answer. He also challenges associations to be honest about whether their tiers serve sponsors or mainly save the sales team time.

Snacks

New England’s many regional cultures, with a focus on Massachusetts, of course. | Jeff on X

The five places in America you don’t want to be when society begins to collapse. The water’s fine down here in North Carolina! | John Walter

Turns out your can of pumpkin puree is squash. No biggie for me. | The Food Manufacturing Guy on X

If you need CAE credits, check out Ed Rigsbee’s 42 workshops, including nine one-hour ethics sessions. You earn a CAE credit for each workshop by passing its test.

You never grow old at the table

My recipe for salmon with coconut green curry sauce is pretty flexible. Use whatever fish and greens you like, red or green curry paste, sweet or hot peppers (or both), and any herbs you have on hand. I keep Southeast Asian-style pesto in the freezer for just this purpose. One batch lasts a long time, so I only have to gather the ingredients once.

On Sunday, I tried a new recipe, chicken with lentils and butternut squash, from the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook Mediterranean Instant Pot. What a flavorful dish and, thanks to the pressure cooker, easy to make. The recipe is behind a paywall, but I found an archived version. On the side, creamed collards deluxe, always so good.

Fri 10/2 at 1 p.m.* – Foresight Fridays: Reshaping Social Connections

Hear a conversation inspired by the ForesightWorks driver Reshaping Social Connections. Learn about emerging changes in how people form and sustain connections and what those changes could mean for membership, engagement, belonging, and community across associations. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE

Speakers:

Lowell Aplebaum, EdD, FASAE, CAE, CPF (moderator), CEO, Vista Cova
Celia Chomón Zamora, PhD, CAE, Executive Director, American Council of Academic Physical Therapy
Christina Lewellen, MBA, FASAE, CAE, Executive Director & CEO, National Society of Professional Engineers
DJ Johnson, IOM, FASAE, CAE, Senior Director, Association Governance Operations, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Mon 10/5 at 8 a.m.* – Volunteer Engagement (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Justin Burniske, Meta Dao

Tue 10/6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CT – The Great AMS Reckoning: The Market’s Changed. Are You Ready? (Chicago IL)

Learn what your organization really needs from its next system in terms that resonate with your team and your vendors; how to assess your team’s readiness and build a plan for closing gaps before they become mid-implementation problems; how to evaluate platforms on what matters for your future: architecture, extensibility, and AI-readiness; and the full range of what’s possible – including the best-of-need ecosystems your peers are already exploring. Location: Chicago IL. More info/register.

Hosts: fusionSpan and Achurch Consulting

Speakers:

Rebecca Achurch, Chief Executive Officer, Achurch Consulting
Jeffrey Golembiewski, Chief Revenue Officer, fusionSpan
Rebecca Duff, Director of Client Services, Achurch Consulting
Scott Woodfill, Account Executive, fusionSpan

Tue 10/6 at 10 a.m. – How AI Is Transforming Association Websites

AI offers the opportunity for associations to vastly improve the member experience on their websites. Learn how to leverage AI to empower members to more quickly find answers and access to relevant content, ensure your organization’s content is findable through AEO and GEO, create a content governance structure that supports AI findability, and revolutionize member experience with your own AI Assistant. More info/register.

Host: Results Direct | RD Mobile

Speakers: Dan Scheeler, CAE, Chief Operating Officer; Steve Russell, Solutions Consultant; and Cecilia Satovich, CRO, Results Direct | RD Mobile

Tue 10/6 at 12 p.m. – Many Seats at the Table: Overcoming the Scarcity Mindset

Explore how business culture can unintentionally reinforce a scarcity mindset, leading even the most collaborative leaders to compete rather than connect. Learn how to shift from competition to coalition—unlocking new pathways for influence, growth, and collective success. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Speakers:

Lindsay Currie, CAE, Executive Officer, Council on Undergraduate Research
Clarissa Russell, Chief Revenue Officer, Design your Next Step

Tue 10/6 at 12 p.m. – Do You Really Need a Facilitator? Making the Right Call for Your Strategic Plan

Learn why most strategic plans fail on execution, not vision, and what that means for how you should run your process; seven concrete benefits a skilled facilitator brings to the table; warning signs that your organization is heading toward a plan that stalls under internal politics or gets shelved after the retreat; how to weigh the real ROI of hiring outside help against the cost of running it yourself; and what to look for if you do decide to bring in a facilitator. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Chris A. Studebaker, CEO, REALTOR® Association of the Fox Valley, Inc.

Tue 10/6 at 1:10 p.m. – Being a Leader, Not Just Doing Leadership (Innovative Methods for Leadership Development series)

Learn about the inner shift from performing leadership to inhabiting it as an identity. Explore what the “being” side of leadership includes; why identity-level development matters for marginalized professionals who have learned to lead by performing someone else’s template; how programs can support people in building a leadership identity that is genuinely their own; and how to facilitate this inner work. More info/register.

Hosts: Tracy King, CEO, InspirEd, and Carolyn B. Thompson, President, Training Systems, Inc.

Tue 10/6 from 3 to 5 p.m. – Data Science Fair (Washington, DC)

Come share a data project with the tech community using the classic tri-fold board. The Data Science Fair brings together association and nonprofit professionals to share practical, creative, and occasionally delightfully overengineered examples of how they are putting data to work. You will see successful projects, actionable research, and maybe even some examples of things not to try. Location: Washington, DC. More info/register.

Host: ASAE Data Analytics Network

Tue 10/6 at 5 p.m. – Beyond Membership: The Revenue Shift Associations Can’t Afford to Ignore (Tallahassee, FL)

Learn how to move beyond dues dependence by diversifying revenue and better monetizing education. Explore practical strategies—from certifications and on-demand learning to sponsorships and digital content—that strengthen member value while driving sustainable non-dues growth. Location: Tallahassee, FL. More info/register.

Host: D2L

Speaker: Bill Sheehan, Global Head of Association Strategy, D2L

Tue 10/6 from 5 to 7 p.m. – Fall DC Networking Event (Silver Spring, MD)

Connect with association and nonprofit women and allies from across the District, Maryland, and Virginia. Whether you have been part of The Alliance from the beginning or are just discovering our community, join us for a welcoming networking reception to reconnect with familiar faces, make new friends and professional connections, and experience the energy of a rapidly growing community committed to supporting and advancing women in leadership. Location: Silver Spring, MD. More info/register.

Host: The Alliance for Women in Associations

Wed 10/7 at 11 a.m. – Beyond Your Member Count: The Metrics That Reveal Your Association’s True Level of Member Engagement.

Traditional membership reports measure dues and renewals but often miss the participation patterns that reveal the real health of your membership. Learn how to evaluate member engagement using data you likely already collect, identify where members are dropping off, and uncover practical opportunities to strengthen participation, retention, and long-term membership value. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Surendar Parasuraman, Co-Founder at Communa

Wed 10/7 at 11:15 a.m. – AI in Membership Part 3: The Future Member Experience

Explore how membership organizations can improve content discovery, support member acquisition and retention, and create more valuable digital experiences through stronger content strategy, personalization and modern content operations. Learn why enterprise content management remains critical in the age of AI, and how to make digital experiences more useful, relevant and discoverable. More info/register.

Hosts: Cantarus and Umbraco

Wed 10/7 at 12 p.m. – How to Make It Easy for Attendees and Speakers to Promote Your Event

Your members, sponsors, speakers, and partners already have relationships with the people you want to reach. When they share an event or opportunity with their networks, your message can travel further through people their peers trust. Learn how to make that sharing easy. Hear how social sharing toolkits help associations activate their attendees and bring results such as event sign-ups and new member acquisition. More info/register.

Hosts: Levitate Marketing and SoSha

Speakers:

Brianne Wheeler, Levitate Marketing
Keith Robinson, American Physical Therapy Association
Will Cyphers, National Association of REALTORS®

Wed 10/7 at 12 p.m. – Nunchi, Briefing, and Managing Up: The Art of Being Exceptionally Aware and Effective at Work

Nunchi, a Korean concept, combines awareness, intuition, and emotional intelligence into a powerful leadership skill. Learn how to pick up on what really matters, adapt your approach in the moment, and build stronger connections with the people who shape your success. Hear how to read your boss’s mood, when to press forward with an idea, and how to make sure both you and your organization shine. More info/register.

Host: AIOT

Speaker: Joanna Pineda, CEO & Chief Troublemaker of Matrix Group International, Inc.

Wed 10/7 at 12 p.m. – Interpreting Data Forensics: Triggers, Investigation, and Remedies

Explore the statistical and practical triggers that prompt deeper investigation of exams and how organizations distinguish between abnormal and normal variation. Hear both organizational and vendor perspectives that demonstrate how psychometric data, SME judgment, and sound governance work together to support fair, valid, and defensible certification examinations. Learn how to protect exam integrity and strengthen defensible, data-informed decision-making. More info/register.

Host: Certification Network Group

Speakers:

Charlie Bonfert (moderator), Psychometrician, PSI
Channing Benson, Program Manager for Examinations, American Association of Veterinary State Boards
Sarah Pelter, Director of Research and Measurement, Inteleos

Wed 10/7 at 12 p.m. – Stop Defending, Start Building: The Risk of Standing Still

GrowthZone’s 2026 industry survey found that 71% of chambers are pursuing new strategies to grow membership, but only 16% have moved past the planning stage. Learn how to calculate the hidden cost of inaction, so you can see what playing it safe is really costing your organization; apply the B.E.T. Framework to turn a stalled idea into a first action step your team can try this month; reframe failed experiments as data, not disasters, so your team stops avoiding smart risks out of fear; and build a simple filter for deciding which bets are worth making, so momentum replaces hesitation. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: keynote speaker Jason Milen

Wed 10/7 from 12 to 4 p.m. CT – Leadership Roundtable: Building Across Communities (Chicago, IL)

Spend time in real dialogue with colleagues who understand the work and bring perspectives you don’t hear every day. Focus on the questions that matter most right now: organizational AI strategy, mentorship that lasts, and leading through change. Location: Chicago, IL. More info/register.

Hosts: Association Latinos, Black Association Executives, and the AANHPI Association Community

Speakers:

Sharon Pare, Director of Partnerships, HighRoad Solutions
Eduardo Arabu, MSPPM, CAE, CEO, National Hispanic Corporate Council
Jemilah Senter, AAiP, Marketing and Communications Strategist

Wed 10/7 at 1 p.m. – The Four AI Risks Every Association Should Detect Before Trusting AI Outputs

Association professionals already use AI for board reports, member communications, and strategic analysis. However, most have no structured way to verify AI outputs before relying on them. Learn what the four top AI risks are when they emerge in your professional workflows, why these AI risks exist, and why learning how to verify AI-assisted outputs matters. Discover the three Human-AI Collaboration Models that apply to AI-assisted outputs. More info/register.

Host: Associations West

Speaker: Josephine Yam, JD, LLM, MA Phil (AI Ethics), CEO and Co-Founder of Skills4Good AI

Wed 10/7 at 1 p.m. – Event Horror Stories: Tales From the Trenches (and How to Survive Them)

Three women with too many event scars and a microphone feels like exactly the kind of group therapy this industry deserves. Hear stories from people who want to share, because misery loves company and frankly, some of these deserve witnesses. More info/register.

Hosts: Dahlia+ Agency and ShowREADY

Speakers:

Dahlia El Gazzar, Dahlia+ Agency
Amanda Eberle, ShowREADY
Barb Campbell, CTC Destination Management

Wed 10/7 at 3 p.m. – Limited Budgets, Big Impact: Tools for Small Association Marketing

Discover why frequency, channel diversity, and doing a few things well outperform complex campaigns. Learn how to leverage your AMS data to build personas and gather member insights using lightweight, low-cost methods. Understand the difference between member journey maps and practical playbooks. Explore how to shift your communications from “inside-out” feature lists to “outside-in” benefit messaging. Learn how to overcome the common “I’m not a writer” hurdle so your entire organization communicates with confidence and consistency. More info/register.

Hosts: Halmyre, Intuto, and Membes

Speaker: Christine Saunders, President & Founder, Halmyre

Thu 10/8 at 11 a.m. – Cybersecurity in the Age of AI: What You Need to Know (But May Be Afraid to Ask)

Get a practical foundation in cybersecurity without the technical overload. Learn about key terms and concepts, how AI is changing cyber risk, and what leaders need to understand, ask, and prioritize. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Speakers:

Iulia Griffin, CEO and Co-Founder of The Cactus Group
Alison Maher, President and CEO of Skybrid Solutions
Clare Espina, General Manager of designDATA
Benjamin Muscolino, founder and CEO of AssociationWire (AMS Geek and Data Sangria), and co-founder and Executive Chairman of Vortacity Cyber

Thu 10/8 at 12 p.m. – What Every Association Leader Must Know About AI

Learn how to use AI to reduce friction and improve member value without losing the trust, judgment, and human connection that make associations matter. Hear how to move past the hype and fear around AI and focus on the decisions that matter most right now: where AI can create real efficiencies, where human judgment must stay central, and how to prepare teams and members for what’s next. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Holly Duckworth

Thu 10/8 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. – Breaking Barreras: Empowering Tomorrow’s Early Professionals: HACE Virtual Student Summit 2026

Whether you’re preparing for an internship, searching for your first full-time role, or simply looking to grow your professional network, this summit is for you. We encourage students and emerging professionals across our network to register and share this opportunity with a friend. More info/register.

Host: Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement

Fri 10/9 from 12:30 to 3 p.m. – Breaking Barreras: Empowering Tomorrow’s Early Professionals: HACE Virtual Student Summit 2026

Host: Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement

Fri 10/9 at 1 p.m. – Proposal Party: Brainstorming Your Next Conference Session

Host: ASAE Key Consultants Committee

Mon 10/12 at 12 p.m. – AWTC Virtual Co-Working Session

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Tue 10/13 at 12 p.m. – On The Hunt

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Wed 10/14 at 11 a.m. – Clarity Before the Demo: Getting More Out of ASAE’s AMS Demo Days

Host: Ellipsis Partners

Speakers: Moira Edwards, CAE, President and CEO, and Rhoni Rakos, AAiP, Vice President, Ellipsis Partners

Wed 10/14 at 11 a.m. – Office Hours for LMS Buyers: Shortlisting with the 2026 LMS Awards Winners

Host: Talented Learning

Speaker: John Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst at Talented Learning

Wed 10/14 at 12 p.m. – How Associations Are Using AI to Improve Learner Engagement, Efficiency, and Outcomes

Host: .orgCommunity

Speaker: Ashish Rangnekar, CEO and Co-Founder, BenchPrep

Wed 10/14 at 4:30 p.m. CT – 2026 AWTC Fall Happy Hour (Chicago, IL)

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Thu 10/15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Beacon’s 2026 AMS AI Showcase

Host: Beacon Tech Research

Participants: iMIS, Journey Care, Member Smart AC, Membes, Ready Membership, re:Members, Evolve AMS, Toucan Tech, Euclid ClearVantage AMS, Autrinity, Communa, Glue Up

Thu 10/15 at 12 p.m. – Creating Engaging Events

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Amanda Lea Kaiser, engagement strategist and author of Elevating Engagement

Thu 10/15 at 1 p.m. – Beyond the Credential: How Associations Are Building Learning Portfolios That Grow Careers and Programs

Many associations offer a strong mix of education, training, and credentials, but those programs don’t always connect clearly for learners. Explore how associations can think more strategically about their full professional development portfolio—connecting learning, skill development, and credentialing into career pathways that meet professionals at different stages of their journey. See how the INFORMS Certified Analytics Professional ecosystem is an example of multiple entry points and pathways for professionals at different career stages. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Prolydian

Speakers:

Carol Curley, MBA, PMI, Director of Education & Industry Programs, INFORMS
Tracy King, MA, CAE, CEO & Founder, InspirEd
Adrienne Sutton, IOM, COO, Soar Forward Solutions / Limitless

Thu 10/15 at 1:30 p.m. – Beauty in the Kaleidoscope of Neurodivergence

Host: Insight Guide

Speakers:

Dr. Michael Carr-Tatonetti, Founder & CEO Pricing for Associations
Brian Kirkland, CAE, Director of Event Program Development, National Association of Community Health Centers
Barbara Armentrout, CAE (moderator), Founder, BJA Solutions for Associations
Teri Carden (hostess), COO, Insight Guide

Thu 10/15 at 2 p.m. – The Final 36 Months: Six Still-Crucial Questions for Fit-for-Purpose Association Boards

Host: Jeff De Cagna, Executive Advisor, Foresight First LLC

Thu 10/15 at 4 p.m. – The 2026 MGI Benchmarking Report Updates with Insights from “Membership Marketing from A-Z” (Alexandria, VA)

Host: Reston Loudoun Idea Swap for Associations

Speakers: Jana Darling, president, and Michelle Peterson, Vice President of Client Strategy, Marketing General Inc. (MGI)

Made it this far? How about buying me a beer in appreciation of what you’ve learned and what you will learn?

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

Creative Commons licensed photo by Samantha Fortney via Unsplash

Amazon, AssociationBrainFood.com, and Association Academy links allow me to earn a royalty and/or complimentary registration from any resulting leads or sales. Thank you!

Association Brain Food: 9.25.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

white-tailed deer stag leaping through the dark woods

Good reads for the association community

“Believe those who seek the truth. Doubt those who find it.” —André Gide

AI rules for award entries. Odds are your award applicants are drafting entries with AI, and your judges can tell. OpenWater explains how to decide what AI use to allow in award entries, where to draw the line on disclosure and disqualification, and how to brief judges before your next submission window opens.

The membership decision. In his latest association trends report, Chris Vaughan (Sequence Consulting) says membership has shifted from a career reflex to an optional purchase. The usual remedies, like better programs and marketing, aren’t working as well as they used to. AI is chipping away at the value of the information and credentials associations sell, and employers increasingly decide who joins. He suggests treating employers like customers and building membership benefits around their workforce goals.

Board admin headaches. Association boards don’t operate alone. Behind each one sits a network of committees and other groups, each with its own charge and action plan. Most associations manage that work through email chains and shared drives full of PDF attachments. OnBoard describes the consequences: laborious meeting prep, unprepared directors, scattered records, and institutional memory that walks out the door after leadership transitions. The guide also suggests what to look for when shopping for board management software.

Association newsletter course. The Association Newsletter Success Certificate Course from Association Academy covers strategy to delivery. You’ll work through goals and metrics, formatting, design and copy, AI-assisted production, and the technical work that keeps your newsletters out of spam folders. Chris Gloede (Ricochet) teaches six live online classes starting October 22, and you can earn up to six CAE credits. Save $50 on registration with the referral code BRAINFOOD.

Membership lessons from a social club. Danielle Duran Baron (School Nutrition Association) writes for ASAE about the welcome a first-timer received at a private DC club. She says associations already have the lasting community these clubs work hard to create, yet many leave newcomers to find it on their own. Picture your annual conference the way a first-year attendee and a new exhibitor see it, both walking in without knowing a soul.

Run the AI test on your benefits. Sherry Budziak (.orgSource) suggests checking each of your membership benefits against what a professional could find with an AI chat bot in a minute or two, for free. Much of what fills a typical benefits list won’t pass the test. She recommends moving budget and staff hours toward the programs members still value and can’t get anywhere else, such as credentials and peer connection.

Ten website RFP mistakes. Most website design projects go sideways at the RFP stage, before the work even begins. Steward’s guide lists ten mistakes associations make in their website design RFPs. Fix these mistakes and you’ll get sharper proposals and an easier vendor decision.

Helping members with AI. Sidecar expects AI to change the everyday work of doctors, lawyers, architects, and other professionals associations serve. Members will look to their associations for guidance on when to rely on AI tools and how to stay profitable when the service they sell becomes easy to get. Sidecar recommends playing to your strengths, like community and ethical standards.

Setting AI fears aside. Carl Franzen (VentureBeat) looks at the latest round of AI doomsaying and safety research. He says you can set aside your fear of AI wiping out humanity. The danger he sees is people using AI to harm or control one another.

SHRM in the news, again. The blows keep coming for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Kate Tornone at HR Dive reports that SHRM’s insurance carrier is refusing to pay the $10 million award in a racial discrimination and retaliation suit. Meanwhile, HR Dive’s Emilie Shumway covers big changes to SHRM’s annual conference.

For job hunters. If you’re looking for a new association position, keep an eye on my ‘likes’ on LinkedIn. I ‘like’ many of the association job postings in my feed, and the more I like, the more the algorithm sends my way.

You never grow old at the table

On Sunday, I butterflied, stuffed, and rolled a pork loin with basil pesto, provolone, sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, roasted red bell pepper, and parmesan. Now, THIS is the recipe I’ll make for Christmas Eve. I keep saying that about new pork loin recipes, but I think I’ve found my star.

And I can thank Claude for that. I knew I wanted pesto, some kind of cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes in the middle. I asked it for a recipe for a 4-1/4-pound loin using those ingredients, plus suggestions for anything else worth adding. Et voilà! For our side, I roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots with garlic powder and sweet smoked paprika.

After Friday happy hour at the brewery, I wanted something easy, so I brushed salmon fillets with Korean barbecue sauce and popped them in the oven. Perfect with leftover roasted vegetables and sweet potatoes.

Many of our jalapeños have turned red on the plants because we can’t use them fast enough. Usually when I make fish with creamy jalapeño sauce, the sauce is a pretty shade of green. This time, it was pink. I added sweet onion to the recipe. Pureeing the cilantro into the pink sauce wouldn’t have helped the color, so I sprinkled it over the cod instead.

Our side was a produce-drawer special: I steamed broccoli stems and carrots while sautéing red bell pepper and onion. Then I tossed the steamed veggies and chopped tomatoes into the pan, let the tomatoes melt a bit, and stirred in basil pesto and parmesan.

Mon 9/28 at 8 a.m.* – Strategic Alliances (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Paula Seidel, Powerful Partners

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Tue 9/29 from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. – LMS Demo Days

See presentations from a limited number of industry partners that offer Learning Management platforms. LMS experts will be showcasing platforms and sharing their knowledge with the association market. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Participants: LearnUpon, Path LMS by Momentive, D2L, Oasis LMS, GrowthZone, Elevate, BenchPrep, TopClass LMS

Tue 9/29 at 11 a.m. – Keys to Becoming a Certified Association Executive (CAE)

Preparing for the CAE credential is like getting a master’s degree in association management—the study is intense and it changes your professional life. Learn how to think for the CAE exam questions that test your ability to analyze the scenario, synthesize it with your accumulated knowledge, and evaluate which answer is correct. Find out about the foundation for the thinking and commitment you need to bring to the experience. Hear from CAEs in our community who will also share their perspectives on their CAE preparation and exam experience as well as the why of pursuing the credential. More info/register.

Host: Association Latinos

Speakers:

Sue Radwan, 30 years of preparing CAE candidates
David Murillo, CAE, IOM (moderator), President + CEO, Compass Management Solutions, Member of the CAE Commission
Anabel Martinez, MBA, CAE, PMP, AAiP (moderator), Director of Member Services of California Water Environment Association

Tue 9/29 at 11 a.m. – Why Are You Losing Prospective Members?

Uncover the hidden friction points in your path to membership that cause interested professionals to walk away and learn how to turn your member journey into a smooth, high-converting path to purchase. Learn how to diagnose your member pipeline, eliminate sign-up friction, and turn interested prospects into active, long-term members. More info/register.

Host: Heather Hughes, PMP, Wisteria Solutions

Tue 9/29 at 11 a.m. – AWTC Open Doors

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Tue 9/29 at 2 p.m. – Control, Not Panic: What Pacing the Frontier Means for Your Association

Dario Amodei called for the AI industry to slow down. Altman, Musk and Hassabis agreed. The pace of the frontier is not something your association can control. The architecture you build on is. Learn what actually happened, what it changes for associations, and the four things you control that decide how exposed your organization is. More info/register.

Host: Sidecar

Speaker: Amith Nagarajan and John Huisman of Blue Cypress

Tue 9/29 at 3 p.m. – Your AMS Knows Your Members; Does Your Event Tech?

Explores what it looks like when systems share information, strategies leading associations are implementing to close that gap, and what it means for the member experience when they do. More info/register.

Host: Cadmium

Speaker: Ben Muscolino, President & CEO, AMS Geek

Wed 9/30 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. – LMS Demo Days

Host: ASAE

Participants: MemberSuite, Maple LMS, Forj, EthosCE

Wed 9/30 at 11 a.m. – Future-Proofing your Association: Creating Ethical AI Guidelines

A recent study shows that while most executives are embracing AI, only 13% have implemented an AI policy. Without guidance, associations risk inconsistency, data exposure, and missteps. Learn how to write and sustain effective AI guidelines and leave with practical strategies for what to include and what to avoid, how to balance compliance with innovation, and how to use AI responsibly across content and distribution channels. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Sheri Singer, President at Singer Communications

Wed 9/30 at 11 a.m. – Work Smart: How AI Saves Your Event Team Time

Learn what AI can automate for your event team today and what stays with your team because judgment or ‘taste’ is required. Hear how the panel made those calls at their own events, what they automated first, what they tried and pulled back, and how they got their teams comfortable with the change. More info/register.

Host: Grip

Speakers:

Rikki Bhachu, Exhibitions Marketing, CloserStill Media
Samy Shafeeq, Group Director, Data & Business Systems, Mash Media

Wed 9/30 at 12 p.m. – Fewer Clicks, Same Results: Automating the Work That Slows Teams Down

Explore the difference between workflow automation and AI automation, and when each makes sense. Learn how to streamline internal handoffs between marketing, sales, and membership, leverage AI copilots for admin-heavy tasks, and measure efficiency gains in a way that connects time-saved to real business impact. More info/register.

Host: HighRoad Solution

Speakers: Morgan Mulgrew, Strategic Account Manager, and Maneesha Manges, CXO, HighRoad Solutions

Wed 9/30 at 12:30 p.m. – The Member Advantage: What Members Prove, What’s Slipping, and Where AI Changes Everything

Hear about the latest research from the 11th annual Association Trends Report, including: association members report more career success, leadership roles, and promotions than nonmembers, especially Gen Z and early-careerists; loyalty is softening among Millennials and mid-career members; and AI is reshaping what members expect. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Momentive Software

Speakers:

Pam Loeb, Principal, Edge Research
Tirrah Switzer, VP of Product Marketing, Momentive Software

Wed 9/30 at 1 p.m. – Sustainable Meetings: Zero In on Savings

Learn about effective sustainable event strategies designed to be more efficient with your time and money while treading lightly on the planet. Hear about the experience of hosting organizations with real-world examples of cost savings that are possible without sacrificing the attendee experience. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Meetings Today

Speaker: Nancy Zavada, founder and president of MeetGreen

Wed 9/30 at 2 p.m. – New Ideas for Working With Convention Centers

How can you get the most out of using convention centers for your events? Hear about the latest contracting tips, restrictions and opportunities around the vendors you partner with, and hacks to increase efficiency and save money. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speaker: Michael J. Shapiro (moderator), Director of Content Strategy, Northstar Meetings Group U.S.

Wed 9/30 at 2 p.m. – Three Levels of AI: Adopt, Automate & Achieve

Learn how associations are moving through three levels of AI adoption: from taking their first steps, to streamlining operations, to delivering greater member value than ever before. Explore relevant, real-life examples of associations that are figuring out the best ways to adopt AI to save time, reduce costs, and free up staff to do the work that only humans can do. Learn what each level looks like in practice, what it takes to move to the next one, and how to keep people – your staff, your leadership and your members – at the center of every decision. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speaker: Leona Dalavai Scott, President, JEP Marketing Communications

Wed 9/30 at 2 p.m. – September Meet-Up for the Finance, Business Operations, and HR Professionals Community

Please join the FBO & HR Council for our monthly meet-up of professionals in the finance, business operations, and HR space. This is an open forum for folks to gather and ask questions, share ideas, and stay current on emerging issues. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE Finance, Business Operations, and Human Resources Council

Thu 10/1 at 12 p.m. – Association Governance and Leadership Town Hall: Governing for What’s Next

Every CEO in this profession is solving the same governance problem alone in their own boardroom, on their own timeline, with no way to know what the association down the street has already learned. As part of our ongoing sector research agenda, we’re convening the first Town Hall of its kind—a virtual gathering where association CEOs sit down together as a profession to begin building solutions collectively rather than separately. Using Natter, our AI-enabled conversation platform, you will be able to discuss three critical issues with your fellow participants. Every participant’s perspective is captured live and woven into a picture of where the field stands. More info/register.

Hosts: Association Laboratory and the Association Laboratory Research Alliance

Thu 10/1 at 2 p.m. – Haunted by Hackers: Cybersecurity Threats & How Associations Fight Back

Learn how AI is changing the threat landscape; wat cybersecurity risk actually looks like day-to-day for an association exec; what “cyber resilience” really means for a small-to-mid-size association team; what the most common vulnerabilities are in organizations like yours and the practical steps to close them; how to talk to your leadership and board about cybersecurity risk without inducing panic or putting them to sleep; and what managed detection and response (MDR) looks like in practice, and whether it might be right for your organization. More info/register.

Hosts: 501Works

Speaker: James Marquis, CIO, 501Works

Fri 10/2 at 1 p.m. – Foresight Fridays: Reshaping Social Connections

Host: ASAE

Speakers:

Lowell Aplebaum, EdD, FASAE, CAE, CPF (moderator), CEO, Vista Cova
Celia Chomón Zamora, PhD, CAE, Executive Director, American Council of Academic Physical Therapy
Christina Lewellen, MBA, FASAE, CAE, Executive Director & CEO, National Society of Professional Engineers
DJ Johnson, IOM, FASAE, CAE, Senior Director, Association Governance Operations, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Tue 10/6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CT – The Great AMS Reckoning: The Market’s Changed. Are You Ready? (Chicago IL)

Hosts: fusionSpan and Achurch Consulting

Speakers:

Rebecca Achurch, Chief Executive Officer, Achurch Consulting
Jeffrey Golembiewski, Chief Revenue Officer, fusionSpan
Rebecca Duff, Director of Client Services, Achurch Consulting
Scott Woodfill, Account Executive, fusionSpan

Tue 10/6 at 10 a.m. – How AI Is Transforming Association Websites

Host: Results Direct | RD Mobile

Speakers: Dan Scheeler, CAE, Chief Operating Officer; Steve Russell, Solutions Consultant; and Cecilia Satovich, CRO, Results Direct | RD Mobile

Tue 10/6 at 12 p.m. – Many Seats at the Table: Overcoming the Scarcity Mindset

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Speakers:

Lindsay Currie, CAE, Executive Officer, Council on Undergraduate Research
Clarissa Russell, Chief Revenue Officer, Design your Next Step

Tue 10/6 from 3 to 5 p.m. – Data Analytics Network (DAN) Data Science Fair (Washington, DC)

Host: Data Analytics Network

Tue 10/6 from 5 to 7 p.m. – Fall DC Networking Event (Silver Spring, MD)

Host: The Alliance for Women in Associations

Wed 10/7 at 11 a.m. – Beyond Your Member Count: The Metrics That Reveal Your Association’s True Level of Member Engagement.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Surendar Parasuraman, Co-Founder at Communa

Wed 10/7 at 12 p.m. – Nunchi, Briefing, and Managing Up: The Art of Being Exceptionally Aware and Effective at Work

Host: AIOT

Speaker: Joanna Pineda, CEO & Chief Troublemaker of Matrix Group International, Inc.

Wed 10/7 at 12 p.m. – Interpreting Data Forensics: Triggers, Investigation, and Remedies

Host: Certification Network Group

Speakers:

Charlie Bonfert (moderator), Psychometrician, PSI
Channing Benson, Program Manager for Examinations, American Association of Veterinary State Boards
Sarah Pelter, Director of Research and Measurement, Inteleos

Wed 10/7 from 12 to 4 p.m. CT – Leadership Roundtable: Building Across Communities (Chicago, IL)

Hosts: Association Latinos, Black Association Executives, and the AANHPI Association Community

Speakers:

Sharon Pare, Director of Partnerships, HighRoad Solutions
Eduardo Arabu, MSPPM, CAE, CEO, National Hispanic Corporate Council
Jemilah Senter, AAiP, Marketing and Communications Strategist

Thu 10/8 at 11 a.m. – Cybersecurity in the Age of AI: What You Need to Know (But May Be Afraid to Ask)

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Speakers:

Iulia Griffin, CEO and Co-Founder of The Cactus Group
Alison Maher, President and CEO of Skybrid Solutions
Clare Espina, General Manager of designDATA
Benjamin Muscolino, founder and CEO of AssociationWire (AMS Geek and Data Sangria), and co-founder and Executive Chairman of Vortacity Cyber

Thu 10/8 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. – Breaking Barreras: Empowering Tomorrow’s Early Professionals: HACE Virtual Student Summit 2026

Host: Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement

Fri 10/9 from 12:30 to 3 p.m. – Breaking Barreras: Empowering Tomorrow’s Early Professionals: HACE Virtual Student Summit 2026

Host: Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement

Made it this far? How about buying me a beer?

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

Creative Commons licensed photo by Dmytro Koplyk via Unsplash

Amazon, AssociationBrainFood.com, and Association Academy links allow me to earn a royalty and/or complimentary registration from any resulting leads or sales. Thank you!

Association Brain Food: 9.18.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

view from marsh grasses of the sun setting over the coastal water and pier in South Carolina

Good reads for the association community

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” —Isaac Asimov

Renewal warning signs. Your mobile app knows which members are a retention risk long before renewal notices go out. Clowder makes the case for reaching out as soon as members start fading away. The post explains how to spot a drop in activity by comparing members with their own usual habits, then pair app data with the member record to segment people for outreach.

Fiction for strategic planners. Zoe Scaman (Musings Of A Wandering Mind) says speculative and science fiction novels teach strategists to question the frame they bring to their organization’s challenges and its future. She pairs each author, from Ursula K. Le Guin to N.K. Jemisin, with the kind of thinking their books can sharpen. My reading list lengthens!

Where credentialing is headed. TopClass LMS points to a few changes in certification and CE programs, including stackable microcredentials, digital badges, automated renewal reminders, and AI recommendation tools. The guide explains why credentialing programs deserve more attention at budget time now that dues income keeps shrinking across the industry. It breaks down the types of platforms on the market and what manual tracking costs a small staff in hours and turnover.

Encouraging belonging. Barry Schieferstein (American Society for Nondestructive Testing), writing for ASAE, says that attendance and registration counts can’t tell you whether members feel connected to your association. He recalls the relationships he built with fellow volunteers during a certification item-writing session and suggests creating participation pathways so people who mostly take in information start contributing.

Recurring themes from ASAE Annual. Vamshi at Snapsight combed through the content his company captured at nearly every Annual session to find the ideas that kept popping up. His roundup covers who should own AI and how it’s affecting the professions associations serve, plus new competitors, AMS strategy, intentional networking, and why behavior tells you more than surveys. Associations produce a lot of insight at their conferences, and much of it stays in the room unless an AI tool captures it.

Where the budget and hours go. GrowthZone asked association, chamber, and nonprofit leaders where their budget and staff hours go. Most respondents named sponsorship among their top revenue sources, even though it gets very little budget and is the area staff most often handle entirely by hand. The report explains why manual processes hang on and how to use data to argue for more budget and staff time for the work that brings in money.

Keepers of industry knowledge. Home from ASAE Annual, Janet Staderman (D2L) kept thinking about trust. Anyone can get a polished answer from an AI tool now. An association’s best content comes from experts who can tell when a correct-looking answer would steer members wrong at work. She says associations should become the place AI goes to learn about their industries, and that means making sure their expertise shows up accurately wherever members look for answers.

Calming AI jitters. Junior staff worry that senior colleagues will choose AI tools over them when delegating work, while executives are anxious that slow adoption means falling behind. Andy Fabian (Mighty Citizen) takes on the AI concerns his agency hears most often from mission-driven organizations and suggests practical steps for each one. For anyone frozen in place by AI fear, he offers some comfort: Very few associations have been transformed by AI, so there’s still time to learn.

Snacks

Boycott puts American Diabetes Association meeting under pressure. | Andrea Doyle, Skift Meetings

Time magazine is serving ads directly to AI crawlers, a strategy that could reshape how brands influence AI-generated answers. | Constantine von Hoffman, MarTech

How to read a big Victorian novel without losing the plot, the names, or your will to live. | Karen Rodriguez, Literary Fancy [Here’s my tip for long novels, especially Russian ones: Keep a list of characters with every nickname and patronymic each one goes by.]

If Brain Food has been useful to you, your team, or your webinar marketing, please buy me a beer. One beer is only $5, and there’s a box you can check to make it monthly. Thanks!

You never grow old at the table

Summer corn is gone, but frozen corn works just as well in this sauce for panfried salmon: poblano, red bell, jalapeño, and habanero peppers sautéed with onion, garlic, and corn, plus evaporated milk, chipotle en adobo, lime juice, and cilantro. On the side, steamed green beans tossed with sautéed onion, bacon, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and parmesan.

On Sunday, I roasted corned beef. Before putting it in a 325° oven, I rubbed a spice mix over the top: allspice, mustard, coriander, cloves, black pepper, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and Aleppo pepper flakes. On the side, green cabbage sautéed with bacon, onions, carrots, orange bell and red jalapeño peppers, and garlic, then cooked down with ham broth. Roasted sweet potatoes rounded out our meal.

Fri 9/18 at 12 p.m.* – AI Is the New Infrastructure: What the Hugging Face/OpenAI Incident Can Teach Associations About the Future

AI is not simply another application; it’s a new layer of technology infrastructure that must be intentionally engineered. Explore what happens when AI is given an objective, encounters an obstacle, and begins finding its own path to accomplish the goal. Hear what association leaders and IT teams need to start thinking about now. What happens when AI can act, rather than just advise? How do existing user permissions change when AI can operate at machine speed? What happens when multiple AI agents can communicate and delegate work to one another? How do we teach AI not only how to succeed, but when to stop and ask for help? And what does IT need to start engineering and governing before read-only AI becomes autonomous AI? More info/register.

Host: Brian Scott, President / CTO / CISO, ClearTone Consulting

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Fri 9/18 at 3 p.m. – Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative Monthly Networking Meeting

This monthly networking meeting is organized by consultants for full-time consultants who work with non-profits and associations. You don’t have to be an ASAE member to attend. This month’s agenda includes the October 2026 consultants virtual open house on the Qiqo platform, the April 2027 virtual conference for association staff featuring consultant speakers, good news, and questions from the group. More info/register.

Organizer: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Mon 9/21 at 8 a.m.* – The Human Factor in Associations (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Kevin Novak, 2040 Digital

Tue 9/22 at 10:30 a.m. – Meditation Skills for Busy Lives

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Meditation leader: Moira Edwards, Owner & President, Ellipsis Partners

Tue 9/22 at 11:30 a.m. – Beyond Dues: Practitioner Insights on Building Non-Dues Revenue

Hear from practitioners who have built and scaled non-dues programs across industries. Explore positioning non-dues revenue as a mainstream business model and strategies for diversifying revenue streams. Learn how to structure programs to navigate compliance risks like unrelated business income tax. Leave with frameworks you can apply immediately, a clearer view of the compliance guardrails, and connections with peers solving the same problems. More info/register.

Host: iMIS by ASI

Speakers:

Laura Williamson (moderator), Chief Business Officer, Real Estate Business Services
Cheryl Post, Director, Eisner Advisory Group
Staff from ABC National, Tree Care Industry Association, and Upstate Alliance of REALTORS®

Tue 9/22 at 12 p.m. – The Human Advantage: 5 Things AI Can Do for Your Association Right Now

Learn how to transform learning programs into high-impact, revenue-generating experiences—backed by case studies from organizations that have done it. Hear how to distinguish high-performing education programs from traditional CE-credit-only offerings; evaluate and modernize an existing learning program for greater member engagement and non-dues revenue potential; use AI to scale and accelerate education program results without significantly increasing costs or staff time. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Dan Streeter, Mission Fuel

Tue 9/22 at 1 p.m. – Ethical Facilitation: From Principle to Practice

Every stage of facilitation, from stakeholder alignment to closing reflection, carries ethical responsibilities. Explore real-world dilemmas and apply a self-assessment framework to evaluate your own practice across eight domains. Learn about strategies to remain neutral, build inclusive environments, balance competing perspectives, and safeguard trust. By connecting facilitation ethics to professional competencies, you will leave with a practical roadmap for upholding integrity and modeling ethical leadership in association and nonprofit contexts. 1 CAE ethics credit. More info/register.

Host: Event Garde

Speakers:

Aaron Wolowiec, Founder & President, Event Garde
Lowell Aplebaum, CEO, Vista Cova

Tue 9/22 at 1 p.m. – Building a Culture of Inclusion Through Budgets, Financial Reporting and Communication

Learn how to better connect project managers and staff with budget planning and budget building processes including adding an annual budget process assessment, engaging staff with rolling projections and looking forward, budgeting for revenue and support, special tactics for budgeting for salaries, and how decentralizing the budget building process and documenting budget assumptions is key to success. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Paul Preziotti, CPA, Partner, Johnson Lambert LLP
A. Michael Gellman, CPA, CGMA, Co-Founder at Sustainability Education 4 Nonprofits

Tue 9/22 at 1 p.m. – Managing Volunteers Remotely: Building Trust, Structure & Connection Across Distance

Managing volunteers as a remote volunteer management professional requires adapting your management style away from direct oversight, onboarding, and recognition methods to a more asynchronous model. Learn to establish clear infrastructure, nurture communication and connection, and empower and motivate volunteers. More info/register.

Host: Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration

Speaker: Brittni Coe, CVA, Volunteers Manager at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum

Tue 9/22 at 1:10 p.m. – One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Designing for Different Leader Populations

A leadership program built for everyone often ends up built for no one in particular. In this episode of Innovative Methods for Leadership Development, we’re looking at why emerging leaders, senior executives, and identity-specific cohorts need fundamentally different program design, and what you can do to design that way. More info/register.

Hosts:

Tracy King, InspirEd
Carolyn B Thompson, Training Systems, Inc.

Tue 9/22 at 2 p.m. – No Mission Begins at Liftoff: How Communities Turn Ambition into Action

Learn what it actually takes to turn a breakthrough idea into research in spaceflight—and the steps along the way; why breakthroughs depend on communities, not individuals; how diverse disciplines and perspectives improve problem-solving; what leaders can learn from astronaut training, research and high-performance teams; how associations can create environments where ambitious ideas emerge and grow; and why investing in people and knowledge today can shape what becomes possible tomorrow. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speakers:

Dr. Shawna Pandya, Canada’s First-Named Commercial Astronaut
Robert McCreight, International Convention Attraction Fund and Canadian Visionaries Network, Destination Canada’s International Convention

Tue 9/22 at 3 p.m. – Q3 ASAE Consultant Community Call

This free, members-only Zoom gathering is your hour to network, exchange ideas, and build relationships with peers who get what it’s like to run a consulting business. Don’t miss this chance to connect, learn, and recharge with your consulting community. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE

Wed 9/23 at 12 p.m. – AI Critical Thinking for the 2030s

Let’s consider whether we are so caught up in labeling what’s happening with AI today, that we are not engaging in critical thinking about AI’s real-world implications for the 2030s and beyond. Hear about the serious questions that AI raises for our organizations, the country, and humanity, and how to embrace our responsibility for holistic dialogue about the range of consequences of AI adoption. More info/register.

Host: Association Xchange

Speaker: Jeff De Cagna, executive advisor, Foresight First

Wed 9/23 at 12 p.m. – Levers for Growth: Practical Psychology for Mentors and Leaders

Explore how practical psychology can lead to better conversations, stronger mentoring outcomes, and growth that lasts. Drawing on research spanning more than 100 self-help books and 23 evidence-based therapies, hear about practical techniques that mentors, leaders, and professionals can use to improve communication, navigate challenges, strengthen relationships, and support meaningful personal and professional development. More info/register.

Host: Pollinate Networks

Speakers:

Dr. Spencer Greenberg PhD, founder of ClearerThinking.org, and co-author of The 12 Levers: The Complete Psychological Toolkit for Improving Your Life
Christy Pettit (moderator), CEO, Pollinate Networks Inc.

Wed 9/23 at 12 p.m. – 2026 State of Credentialing Webinar

Discover new 2026 data from nearly 200 credential issuers and 1,000 learners: where credential value stalls after issuance, what learners want next, and what the most successful programs do differently. Hear perspectives on helping learners turn credentials into careers and proving it worked. Get recommendations to strengthen learner outcomes, demonstrate program impact to leadership, and grow enrollment. More info/register.

Host: Accredible

Speakers:

Stacy Caldwell, President and CEO, CredLens
Alexandra O’Connor, Senior Manager, Skills Solutions: Service Delivery & Design, City & Guilds
Rochelle Ramirez, Vice President of Product, Accredible
Ryan Greives,Senior Director, Brand Marketing, Accredible

Wed 9/23 at 2 p.m. – How to Measure AI Visibility & Brand Influence: Key Metrics, Signals & Sources

Learn how organizations assess AI visibility, establish meaningful benchmarks, and measure brand influence. Using real-world examples, explore the content, sources, and channels shaping AI-generated results and how to evaluate your presence, identify opportunities, and report on what matters. More info/register.

Host: Content Marketing Institute

Speakers:

Brittany Brad, Notified
Marcel Goldstein, Allison Worldwide
Lisa Zanchi, Padilla

Wed 9/23 at 2 p.m. – Engaging Your Audience Before and After the Event

Engagement doesn’t end when the attendees head home—it’s usually just the start. Hear tips for building an intentional, year-round engagement strategy and discuss why this approach can make in-person meetings even more impactful. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speakers:

Victoria Matey, Event Psychology Advisor and Co-founder of Matey Events
Elise Schoening (moderator), Editor, Meeting News; Senior Editor, Northstar Meetings Group

Thu 9/24 at 12 p.m. – Prompting Like a Pro: A Hands-On Guide to Getting Better Results from AI

Writing effective AI prompts is a skill, and like any skill, it gets better with practice. In this interactive session, you’ll learn by doing, experimenting with prompts, comparing results, and discussing what works with others. Develop a practical framework for thinking about prompting that you can apply across different tools and tasks. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Speaker: Dr. Catherine A. “Cathy” Lada, D.Sc., CAE, AAiP, senior nonprofit brand and communications executive, Lada Consulting

Thu 9/24 at 12 p.m. – From Agenda to Action: How to Run Productive Board and Committee Meetings

Have you ever left a board or committee meeting realizing that it ran too long and produced too little? It doesn’t have to be that way. Learn how to develop and maintain momentum across meetings, foster meaningful discussion, and keep everyone’s eyes on the priorities and deliverables that matter. More info/register.

Host: Zzeem Consulting

Thu 9/24 at 12 p.m. – The Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right Now: What We Heard from Coaching Sessions at the ASAE Annual Meeting

Hear ASAE Career Coaches share key insights gathered from coaching sessions conducted during the ASAE Annual Meeting. Learn about the career questions, concerns, and aspirations most frequently expressed by association professionals, including topics such as career transitions, leadership readiness, executive presence, networking, burnout, and professional growth. Find out how to strengthen your personal brand, communicate your value effectively, build meaningful professional relationships, and translate conference insights into tangible next steps for career advancement. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Thu 9/24 at 1 p.m. – 5 Ways to Build Engagement

Building an effective website for an association requires a different set of strategic choices, a playbook that is unique to organizations like yours. Learn why your Member Benefits page matters more than you think, and what every association should include on it; what change you can make across your website that helps members feel more connected to your organization; what should happen immediately after someone joins, and why most associations miss the opportunity; and how AI is changing association websites in 2026, including where it helps and where it doesn’t. More info/register.

Host: Steward

Speaker: John Hooley, president, Steward

Thu 9/24 at 3 p.m. – Agentic Advocacy: Building an AI-Powered Community

Learn how to improve the member experience by routing unanswered questions to the right experts, creating onboarding experiences that community teams can easily update, and engaging members through structured ambassador missions. Explore how thoughtful automation can reduce manual work, help members find value faster, and create clearer paths from participation to advocacy. Get tangible ideas you can adapt to make your own community more responsive, scalable, and connected. More info/register.

Host: Higher Logic

Speakers:

Mary Green, Director of Community Platforms, Infor and Founder, CMA Weekly
Marius Ciortea, Chief Community Officer, Higher Logic

Thu 9/24 at 3:30 p.m. – Associations & Human Connection in an Increasingly Isolated World

Remote work, increasingly home-based lives, and a generation entering the workforce without ever experiencing a traditional office are changing how people build relationships and find connection. Hear about professional isolation, changing workplaces, younger professionals, and the evolving role of associations. Explore what AI means for membership. As information becomes easier to access and more transactional work becomes automated, could the things technology can’t easily replicate: relationships, trust, belonging, and community, become even more valuable? More info/register.

Host: Kim Robinson, CEO, FrontlineCo

Tue 9/29 from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. – LMS Demo Days

Host: ASAE

Participants: LearnUpon, Path LMS by Momentive, D2L, Oasis LMS, GrowthZone, Elevate, BenchPrep, TopClass LMS

Tue 9/29 at 11 a.m. – Keys to Becoming a Certified Association Executive (CAE)

Preparing for the CAE credential is like getting a Master’s Degree in Association Management—the study is intense and it changes your professional life. Learn how to think for the CAE exam questions that test your ability to analyze the scenario, synthesize it with your accumulated knowledge, and evaluate which answer is correct. Find out about the foundation for the thinking and commitment you need to bring to the experience. Hear from CAEs in our community who will also share their perspectives on their CAE preparation and exam experience as well as the why of pursuing the credential. More info/register.

Host: Association Latinos

Speakers:

Sue Radwan, 30 years of preparing CAE candidates
David Murillo, CAE, IOM (moderator), President + CEO, Compass Management Solutions, Member of the CAE Commission
Anabel Martinez, MBA, CAE, PMP, AAiP (moderator), Director of Member Services of California Water Environment Association

Tue 9/29 at 11 a.m. – AWTC Open Doors

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Wed 9/30 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. – LMS Demo Days

Host: ASAE

Participants: MemberSuite, Maple LMS, Forj, EthosCE

Wed 9/30 at 11 a.m. – Future-Proofing your Association: Creating Ethical AI Guidelines

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Sheri Singer, President at Singer Communications

Wed 9/30 at 12:30 p.m. – The Member Advantage: What Members Prove, What’s Slipping, and Where AI Changes Everything

Host: Momentive Software

Speakers:

Pam Loeb, Principal, Edge Research
Tirrah Switzer, VP of Product Marketing, Momentive Software

Thu 10/1 at 12 p.m. – Association Governance and Leadership Town Hall: Governing for What’s Next

Hosts: Association Laboratory and the Association Laboratory Research Alliance

Thu 10/1 at 2 p.m. – Haunted by Hackers: Cybersecurity Threats & How Associations Fight Back

Hosts: 501Works

Speaker: James Marquis, CIO, 501Works

Made it this far? How about buying me a beer?

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

Creative Commons licensed photo by Samantha Fortney via Unsplash

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The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good Reads for the Association Community

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You Never Grow Old at the Table

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The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good Reads for the Association Community

You Never Grow Old at the Table

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The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good Reads for the Association Community

You Never Grow Old at the Table

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The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good Reads for the Association Community

Association in the News

You Never Grow Old at the Table

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The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good Reads for the Association Community

Snacks

You Never Grow Old at the Table

Share this:

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good reads for the association community

Snacks

You never grow old at the table

Share this:

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good reads for the association community

You never grow old at the table

Share this:

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good reads for the association community

Snacks

You never grow old at the table

Share this: