The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community
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.]
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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.
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.
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)
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: Kevin Novak, 2040 Digital
Tue 9/22 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 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
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. – 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
Wed 9/30 from 9 a.m. to 12 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: 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 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
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
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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.
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