Associations Thrive

How does an association reinvent itself after a major organizational transformation and use that moment to deliver more value to more members? In an industry being reshaped by AI, cybersecurity, and constant technological change, how can an association create the communities, resources, and guidance members need to navigate the future?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Dan Wensley, CEO of the Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA). Dan discusses:

• How GTIA was born in 2025 after the certification business of CompTIA was sold, leaving the newly formed trade association with an endowment and a mandate to focus on membership and industry growth.
• How GTIA represents thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of individuals across the global IT services ecosystem, including managed service providers (MSPs), technology vendors, and organizations that support them.
• GTIA’s goal of delivering “more value for more members,” and how the association has nearly doubled its membership over roughly the past 18–24 months.
• How GTIA is focusing not just on creating resources, research, insights, and data, but also on increasing utilization by making sure members know those resources exist and understand how to use them.
• GTIA’s dramatic investment in local community, with 22 local chapters launched in about 10 weeks and another 24 in development. Chapters can set agendas based on the specific issues affecting members in their regions.
• How GTIA funds local chapter meetings, provides facilitators and community-management support, and asks for just 10 named members in a region to get a chapter started.
• Why Dan believes there has never been a more important time for IT professionals to come together as peers, especially as AI rapidly changes technology, cybersecurity, service delivery, business models, and customer expectations.
• GTIA’s AI initiatives, including a partnership with Texas A&M University around industry regulations, the new Managed Intelligence Alliance focused on AI adoption and management, and GTIA’s participation in the United Nations’ AI for Good initiative.
• How the GTIA Foundation is using the organization’s resources for member-guided giving. After giving away $1.9 million last year, the Board approved $5 million this year, with grants supporting nonprofits around the world and often helping organizations and communities through technology.
• How Dan brought a metrics-driven approach from the for-profit world to GTIA, measuring not simply whether the association produces programs and resources, but whether members actually use them and whether they have a tangible, positive impact.

References:

• GTIA Website

What do 200 conversations with association CEOs teach us about leadership, resilience, and the extraordinary impact of associations?

In this special 200th episode of Associations Thrive, the tables are turned! Leah Monica, Director of Marketing at Matrix Group International, and Tanya Kennedy Luminati, Director of MatrixMaxx, interview Joanna Pineda, CEO and Chief Troublemaker at Matrix Group International and host of Associations Thrive. Joanna, Leah, and Tanya discuss:

• How 200 episodes over four years have revealed recurring challenges facing association CEOs, including funding uncertainty, membership struggles, declining revenue, and the increasingly complex political and economic environment.
• How some of Joanna's favorite podcast guests have highlighted the importance of meaningful member engagement, helping members advance their careers, creating welcoming communities, and balancing technology with human connection.
• How an interview with Patty Montague, CEO of the School Nutrition Association, inspired Joanna to write When It Mattered Most, a book about the extraordinary work associations did during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The incredible stories featured in the book, including how the School Nutrition Association helped keep children fed, the National Golf Course Owners Association worked to keep golf courses open, and the American Association of Airport Executives supported an industry devastated by the collapse in air travel.
• Why When It Mattered Most is written not just for association professionals, but for the general public, policymakers, and anyone who doesn't fully understand the essential role associations play in society.
• How Matrix Group is embracing AI and spec-driven software development to build better websites and applications faster.
• What's next for Matrix Group, including making MatrixMaxx AMS faster and easier to use, helping associations tell compelling stories about their impact, and using AI to create more opportunities for meaningful personal connections.

References:

• Get Joanna’s book, When It Mattered Most
• Kindle & Paperback
• Hardback
• Barnes & Noble
• Buy elsewhere
• Visit Joanna’s website and learn about her writing, podcasts, and book
• MatrixMaxx AMS
• Episode 199 with Patti Montague, CEO of SNA
• Episode 198 with Devin Jopp, CEO of APIC & Tracey Moorhead, CEO of AAPACN

What happens when schools close, but millions of children still need breakfast and lunch? How can an association help its members keep feeding students—and respond when rising costs threaten their ability to continue?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Patti Montague, CEO of the School Nutrition Association (SNA). Patti’s first appearance on the podcast inspired Joanna’s book, When It Mattered Most. In this return conversation, Patti discusses:

• How SNA represents 50,000 members in a profession that serves approximately 30 million school lunches and nearly 15 million school breakfasts every school day.
• Why serving meals outside cafeterias, delivering food on buses, and providing several days of meals at once required regulatory waivers that SNA secured for schools.
• How members began serving curbside meals immediately after schools closed.
• SNA’s advocacy for free breakfast and lunch for every student, and why Patti believes school meals are an investment in children’s health and ability to learn.
• How the pandemic strengthened SNA’s partnership with USDA and helped secure additional funding as food costs and supply chain pressures increased.
• Why staffing shortages, rising food and equipment costs, and inadequate reimbursements have created another crisis for school meal programs.
• How SNA is pressing Congress and federal officials for additional funding and higher meal reimbursement rates—and why meal program shortfalls affect other school district priorities.
• How SNA uses media coverage, social media, and members’ stories to communicate the urgency of the crisis, with Patti reporting that 80 percent of members are concerned about financial sustainability over the next three years.

References:

• School Nutrition Association website

When the world was in crisis and people desperately needed trusted guidance, who stepped up to help professions, industries, healthcare systems, schools, and communities navigate the uncertainty? And what can associations learn from that experience about how to serve members, build partnerships, and lead during the next crisis?

This is a special episode of Associations Thrive! Joanna’s new book, When It Mattered Most, launches today, October 8. The book tells the stories of 24 associations that did extraordinary things to protect professions, industries, schools, hospitals, and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Host Joanna Pineda interviews Devin Jopp, CEO of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), and Tracey Moorhead, President and CEO of the American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing (AAPACN). Both are featured prominently in When It Mattered Most, and share the stories of how their organizations helped keep the world running during the pandemic.

Tracey and Devin also share how their organizations have changed post-pandemic, including the addition of organizational members and a stronger emphasis on certifications. Finally, they discuss their recently completed strategic plans

References:

• Get Joanna’s book, When It Mattered Most:
• Kindle & Paperback
• Hardback
• Barnes & Noble
• Buy elsewhere
• Visit Joanna’s website and learn about her writing, podcasts, and book
• APIC Website
• AAPACN Website

What does it take to turn passionate community advocates into effective board members? And how can associations and nonprofits better prepare volunteer leaders to govern instead of manage?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Bridget Lee, Founder and Executive Director of the Academy for Local Leadership (ALL Chicago). Bridget discusses:

• How Chicago is transitioning from a mayor-appointed school board to a fully elected 21-member board.
• ALL Chicago’s three pillars: Prepared Leaders, Empowered Communities, and Effective Governance.
• How ALL Chicago trains aspiring school board members to understand the responsibilities and complexities of governance.
• The important distinction between governance and management. Board members should focus on ensuring that systems solve problems rather than stepping in to solve individual problems themselves.
• How ALL Chicago makes its fellowship accessible by offering the program for free and paying participants a stipend.
• ALL Chicago’s Governance Compass Framework, which focuses on setting direction, protecting community values, holding the system accountable for student learning, being transparent, and governing collectively.
• Bridget’s larger vision that effective governance can lead to effective government—and that electing leaders is only the beginning. Success comes when leaders make things better for the communities they serve.

References:

• ALL Chicago Website
• The Governance Compass Framework
• ALL Chicago on LinkedIn

How do learners know that the continuing education they receive is accurate and high quality? As AI and new technologies transform learning, how can associations ensure their education remains valuable and trusted?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Randy Bowman, CEO of International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). Randy discusses:

• How the organization’s roots go back more than 50 years to the creation of the Continuing Education Unit (CEU).
• How accreditation creates standards so learners and employers can trust the quality of continuing education.
• How the organization grew from about 385 accredited providers 10 years ago to approximately 650 today, while increasing retention to 93%.
• The growth of microlearning, including two- to three-minute lessons that learners can access when they need information immediately.
• How virtual and augmented reality are creating safer, more realistic training opportunities in dangerous professions.
• The shift toward competency-based education, where employers care increasingly about demonstrated skills rather than time spent in training.
• A new distinction for accredited providers designed to demonstrate responsible AI use and appropriate AI governance.
• Why Randy says their ultimate stakeholder is the learner, and describes the organization as a “noble guardian of the learner’s interest.”

References:

• IACET Website
• Continuing Education Unit (CEU)

What if the thing holding your team back from innovation isn’t too many constraints, but too few? And how can associations create clear boundaries that give staff the confidence and freedom to experiment, learn, and move faster?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Sheri Jacobs, CEO of Avenue M Group, keynote speaker, and best-selling author. Sheri discusses:

• How AI is making information and education easier and faster to access, but associations have an important advantage: trust and reliability.
• The premise behind Sheri’s newest book, The Unexpected Power of Boundaries: “Growth happens at the speed of clarity,” and clarity comes from well-defined boundaries.
• Why telling teams to “think outside the box” can actually inhibit creativity. Unlimited choices can overwhelm people and cause them to default to familiar ideas.
• How leaders can define the why and the what—including the constraints—while giving their teams freedom to determine the how.
• Why leaders should reverse the speaking order in meetings. When senior leaders speak first, others tend to fall in line; inviting junior and frontline staff to speak first can surface ideas from people closest to members and customers.
• The important distinction between risk tolerance and risk capacity. Risk tolerance is about comfort; risk capacity is about how much an organization can actually afford to experiment, fail, learn, and recover.
• Why simply telling employees to “take risks” isn’t enough. Innovation happens when organizations combine psychological safety with clear boundaries around where experimentation is safe.
• How the “Best New Mistake Award” can encourage experimentation by celebrating employees who tried something, failed, learned from it, and used the learning to move the organization forward.
• Why associations should regularly examine whether their boundaries are outdated—and create a process for experimentation that defines hypotheses, assumptions, learning, and how results will be shared.
• How associations and conferences can turn inspiration into action by creating constraints such as a 30-day challenge that asks participants to take one smart risk and report back on what happened.

References:

• Avenue M Group Website
• The Unexpected Power of Boundaries Book
• Pivot Point Book
• The Art of Membership Book

What happens when membership growth gets harder, even though the members you already have continue to renew? How can associations better communicate their value, attract new members, and create the engagement that fuels growth?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Jana Darling, President of Marketing General (MGI). Jana discusses:

• The findings from MGI’s 2026 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, now in its 18th year and based on responses from nearly 500 associations.
• How membership growth is getting harder. Only 38% of associations reported membership growth this year, down from 45% the previous year and close to a historic low for the study.
• Why associations “cannot renew their way to growth.” Retention remains relatively steady at about 82%, but without a steady pipeline of new members, organizations will eventually decline.
• How strong retention suggests that associations are delivering value once people join. The challenge is often communicating that value effectively to prospective members.
• Why engagement is “the engine of everything else,” and why associations should begin engaging prospects before they join. With members increasingly strapped for time, associations also need to make participation easy and meaningful.
• Why associations need to continually reevaluate their member value proposition. With information increasingly available through AI, open access, and other free sources, associations must understand what members value today. Organizations that conduct regular member research are more likely to report membership growth.
• How 39% of associations say an inability to articulate their value prevents them from offering a more compelling member value proposition. Jana says that if members are the business of an association, the value proposition should be central to everything the organization does.
• How associations can use the Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report to compare themselves with their peers, identify practices correlated with growth, set realistic expectations with their boards, and find opportunities to innovate and improve.

References:

• MGI Website
• MGI’s 2026 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report

What happens when professionals stop viewing their culture as something they need to minimize at work, and start recognizing it as a leadership superpower? And how can associations create the spaces, programs, and opportunities that help underrepresented leaders build confidence, visibility, and pathways to leadership?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Carlos Cardenas, CAE, President of Association Latinos. Carlos discusses:

• How Association Latinos exists to increase the representation of Latino leaders throughout the association community, from mid-level management and the C-suite to nonprofit boards.
• Why the founders decided Association Latinos needed to become its own 501(c)(3), rather than remain an affinity group. The organization wanted to control its destiny, understand and serve its community directly, and develop programs specifically for Latino association professionals.
• How Association Latinos seeks to shine a spotlight on Latino professionals who are already doing great work while also “unlocking their confidence” so they recognize their own power and potential.
• How the CAE Se Puede program and Avanza Scholarship create pathways for Latino association professionals to earn the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential, while a partnership with Sidecar creates opportunities to earn the Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification.
• Why a small organization needs to “think like an entrepreneur.” Association Latinos is building creative partnerships with organizations such as ASAE, Sidecar, and the LPGA Amateur Golf Association to provide greater value even without large, consistent revenue streams.
• How the inaugural For La Causa golf event introduces members to golf, gives volunteers an opportunity to relax and connect, creates value for partners and sponsors, and could eventually create a new fundraising stream.
• How Conexiones, Association Latinos’ education summit, uses a cohort model instead of a traditional choose-your-own-session conference format. Participants experience the program together in smaller groups, creating deeper relationships and longer-lasting connections.
• Why culture is part of the “special sauce, or salsa” of Conexiones. Association Latinos encourages professionals to bring their heritage, languages, ancestry, stories, and authentic selves into their leadership instead of feeling that advancement requires assimilation.
• How Association Latinos separated its Honores awards from Conexiones so award recipients, volunteers, allies, and community leaders could be celebrated more intentionally, and so the awards event could become a fundraising opportunity of its own.
• Why Hispanic Heritage Month should be more than a once-a-year spotlight. Carlos wants Latino thought leadership and stories elevated year-round, while also honoring the often “invisible layer” of parents, grandparents, immigrants, workers, and others whose sacrifices created opportunities for the generations that followed.

References:

• Association Latinos Website
• CAE Se Puede & Avanza Scholarship
• Conexiones 2026
• Latinx Treasures - Movies, books and articles to enjoy year round by Latinx creators

What does it take for a 45-year-old association to continually reinvent itself in a field being transformed by digitization and AI? And how can an association bring together professionals from different specialties, roles, and organizations to help shape the future of an entire field?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Cheryl Kreider Carey, CAE, CEO of the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM). Cheryl discusses:

• How imaging informatics sits at the intersection of medical imaging, digital health, and technology management.
• How SIIM membership grew by more than 20% in 2025 as the association expands its reach across imaging specialties.
• How SIIM’s nearly 3,000 members represent five different personas, including clinicians across imaging specialties, scientists, developers, vendors, and imaging IT experts.
• How the organization’s ethos, “You Belong at SIIM,” reflects its commitment to bringing these different communities together.
• Why Cheryl describes SIIM as a “45-year-old startup.” The organization has reinvented itself as medical imaging evolved from film to digital and has had three different names over its 45-year history.
• How Cheryl works to create what she calls an “invisible culture,” inspired by successful sports coaches who build team chemistry that ultimately produces visible results. At SIIM, she describes the culture as “high emotional intelligence, low ego.”
• How SIIM partnered with the Digital Pathology Association to create a Bridge Pass: one streamlined payment that allows participants to attend both SIIM’s annual conference and the Pathology Visions Conference.
• How SIIM has been ahead of the curve on artificial intelligence, holding its first AI conference in 2017 and continuing to convene professionals around AI ever since.

References:

• SIIM Website
• Bridge Pass Program