Associations Thrive

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Melanie Gottlieb, Executive Director at the American Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers (AACRAO) . 

Melanie discusses:

• How AACRAO was established in 1910, which makes AACRAO the oldest higher education association in the US. 
• The journey from being an admissions officer and active AACRAO member to becoming the Deputy Director and then Executive Director. 
• How the latest strategic planning process at AACRAO was the most inclusive of members and staff. 
• The reorganization of the staff to support the new strategic plan. 
• AACRAO’s 90-day process improvement process. 
• AACRAO’s Learning Mobility initiative, which is tied to getting a learner into and through the higher education system successfully, especially as higher education becomes less traditional. 
• How a higher education transcript is central to the higher ed experience, and it hasn’t changed in 50 years!
• How AACRAO’s caucus groups help members find their community. 

References:

• AACRAO website
• Strategic Enrollment Management
• Learning Mobility

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/paul-yudin/quiet-flight

License code: KJRRI6GHC7WKCLDT

How do you help cancer patients navigate their legal rights? How do you spread the word about your services so all Americans with cancer can get the support and education they deserve?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Joanna Fawzy Doran, CEO at Triage Cancer. Joanna discusses:

• The legal and practical issues associated with having cancer, including access to health insurance coverage, knowing how to get access to proper care, employment issues, accessing disability benefits, finances and managing medical bills.
• How Triage Cancer partners with other cancer organizations to educate cancer patients, their families and their health care teams.
• How Triage Cancer offers events all over the country, not just the major metro areas, but the far flung reaches of the country, including Guam!
• Their advocacy efforts to protect and increase patients’ rights.
• How Triage Cancer staff attorneys respond to thousands of emails and calls each year!
• Triage Cancer’s checklists, guides, tip sheets, videos, blog, webinars and podcast.
• How Joanna and her sister literally wrote the book about Cancer Rights!

References:

• Triage Cancer website
• Cancer Rights Law Book

How do you help members navigate their professional landscape whe AI is disrupting it in a big way? What contributes to the launch of a new, virtual conference post-pandemic?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Kelli Baxter, Executive Director at the American Translators Association (ATA) . Kelli discusses:

• The difference between a translator and an interpreter.
• How AI is disrupting and disrupting the profession.
• ATA’s new virtual conference called “Translating and Interpreting the Future” that was a huge success.
• ATA’s new year-round sponsorship program.
• How the association is navigating being in Florida for their annual conference this year.
• ATA’s prestigious certification program; only 20% of people who sit for the test pass.
• How a recent member survey revealed that 62% of ATA members are close to retirement.
• ATA’s new social media initiatives and ATA ambassadors.

References:

• ATA Website
• The ATA Podcast
• ATA’s Virtual Events

How do you use data to identify membership trends? Are you listening to what your members are saying about their needs and desires? 

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews John Tramontana, CEO at Michigan Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA). 

John discusses:

• How MVMA promotes and advances veterinary medicine throughout Michigan.
• The diverse environments in which his members work.
• What it was like to be a veterinarian during the pandemic.
• How vets shifted their business practices during the pandemic, including telehealth visits with established clients. Yes, vets performed pet exams over Zoom and set up curbside visits!
• How MVMA is trying to really listen to their members.
• How MVMA is using data to understand member trends and shifts in demographics.
• How veterinary medicine has shifted from being male-dominated to women-dominated.
• MVMA’s Power of 10 Leadership Academy.
• How and why MVMA added an organization-based member type in 2022.

References:

• MVMA Website

What inspires someone to start a nonprofit dedicated to a specific medical condition? How do you help patients advocate for their care and navigate the insurance system? How do you care for yourself when caring for others?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Lisa Salberg, Founder and CEO of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association (HCMA).

Lisa discusses:

• What Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is.
• Lisa’s own journey of having Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and how she no longer has the condition because of a heart transplant.
• Why Lisa created the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association.
• HCMA’s most important benefit: each member gets a free intake call, a book, a journal, and guidance on how to navigate the healthcare system and get the best care.
• HCM Centers of Excellence.
• HCMA’s goal of reaching the 85% percent of HCM patients who are not diagnosed.
• Lisa’s advice for founders of organizations.

References:

• HCMA Website
• ABC News interview of Lisa Salberg holding her own heart after her transplant

How do you support your members, who support everyone else’s mental wellbeing, during a pandemic? What is the new 988 hotline and why is it important? What is mental health first aid and who needs to be trained?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Chuck Ingoglia, President and CEO of The National Council for Mental Wellbeing or the National Council. Chuck introduces the National Center, shares his journey to becoming the Chief Executive, and the things that the National Council is doing to thrive. Chuck discusses:

• Who the members of the National Council are and the services they provide.
• How the National Council worked with the US Congress and state legislatures early in the pandemic to allow telehealth visits with providers to be reimbursable.
• Why so many association and nonprofit chief execs come from government affairs.
• The National Council’s Mental Health First Aid course and how it’s fueled the organization’s growth and success.  The National Council has now trained over 3 million people in mental health first aid.
• The National Council’s goal of training 22 million people in mental health first aid.
• The National Council’s advocacy efforts that led to Congress approving $8 billion dollars for states to expand certified community behavioral health clinics (CCBHCs).
• The service that allows anyone in the US to dial 988 and be connected with a mental health professional. This is akin to dialing 911, but for mental health support.
• How they had Rob Lowe and Daniel Pink as speakers at their annual conference last May.
• How they tried new things at this year’s annual conference, including meetups for different groups, and a puppy park where attendees could come and play with, and adopt, puppies!
• How their membership is strong and growing!

References:

• National Council for Mental Wellbeing website
• Mental Health First Aid
• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

How do you support your airport executive members during a pandemic when travel drops by 94%? What does it mean to embrace non-dues revenue in a big way? How do you create and foster an entrepreneurial spirit among your staff?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Todd Hauptli, CEO of the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE). Todd introduces AAAE, talks about his journey to becoming CEO, and then discusses what AAAE is doing to thrive. Todd discusses:

• How he made the move from government affairs to becoming the chief executive.
• How he wrote a book that charted a plan for growing the association’s revenue to $100M by 2028 and presented it to the search committee as part of the interview process for the CEO role.
• How just 2% of AAAE’s revenue comes from dues! The rest of of AAAE’s revenues come from partnerships with best in class for profit companies to provide mission-critical products and services to airports.
• How he believes that great people, aligned around a shared vision, committed to excellence, can achieve amazing results, as has been the result at AAAE.
• How AAAE takes a lot of its revenue and delivers it to the Foundation, which gives it back to the profession through scholarships and professional development grants.
• How AAAE took the lead during the pandemic and convinced the federal government to help save the airline industry and the airports.
• How domestic travel is back, even surpassing 2019 numbers in some cases, but international travel still has a ways to go to reach pre-pandemic levels.
• How AAAE is on track to reach $133M in top line revenue in 2023! Which means Todd reached and exceeded his $100M goal well before 2028!

References:

• AAAE website
• AAAE’s Airport Solutions

How do you define governance for an association? How does governance power or constrain an organization? What are some things chief execs can do to improve their relationships with Board members?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Lowell Aplebaum, CEO of Vista Cova. Lowell introduces Vista Cova, talks about his journey to becoming founder and CEO of Vista Cover, and then discusses why governance is so critical to the success of an organization. Lowell discusses:

• How managing Board relationships well is essential to the success of any chief executive.
• How chief execs bring in outside facilitators when their voice needs to be part of the discussion and when they want to be sure the discussion is balanced and objective.
• How outside facilitators can help organizations navigate hard discussions and tough decisions.
• How  governance are the bodies of the organization that determine direction and help allocate the right resources in the right way to get to that direction.
• His top tips for improving relations with Board and committee members every week.
• How committees should be like phoenixes. When an organization creates a new strategic plan, all committees should be sunsetted, and then reborn to support the new strategic plan.
• How organizations should have a schedule for reviewing their governance so that when they do it, it’s objective, and does not rely on who’s in the seats at the time.
• The difference between having a nominating committee and a leadership development committee.
• Vista Cova’s Charrette, which brings together a small gathering of industry thought leaders who decide on the most important issues of the day and who walk away with better questions and a better understanding of those issues.

References:

• Vista Cova website
• Vista Cova’s Charrette
• The Will to Govern Well by Glenn Tecker
• Recruit the Right Board by Mark Engle

How do you tie your strategic plan to everything that your organization undertakes? How do you manage the push and pull between mission and margin?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Carly Boos, Executive Director of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Society or CLL Society. Carly introduces CLL Society, talks about her journey to becoming the Executive Director, and discusses the things CLL Society is doing to thrive. Carly discusses:

• What CLL is, that it’s a blood cancer that is both a leukemia and a lymphoma.
• The push and pull between mission and margin, and how well-run organizations are able to do more.
• How she was brought in to develop the organization’s first strategic plan, and she started with a SWOT analysis and lots of conversations with stakeholders.
• How everything that CLL Society undertakes is measured against the strategic plan to ensure algnment with the plan.
• Their new community hematologist outreach program.
• How patients who are being treated by an oncologist or hematologist who is not focused on CLL often have worse treatment outcomes, so CLL Society has a program to connect patients with experts at no charge.
• CLL Society’s in person and virtual support groups.
• CLL Society’s research grant program, which encourages research and innovation into new treatments for CLL.

References:

• CLL Society website

What can research and statistics tell us about how to prevent another Ferguson? How does having a high school diploma change lives and communities? How do we improve community and law enforcement relationships and interactions?

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Dr. Annise Mabry, Founder & Executive Director of The Dr. Annise Mabry Foundation. Annise introduces the Foundation, talks about her journey from being a homeschool mom to founding the Foundation, and then talks about what the Foundation is doing to improve communities, especially in rural America.

Annise discusses:

• How she started her foundation because the reading curriculum she wanted to buy for her homeschooled son was only available to nonprofits.
• The students who reached out because they had developed a model that could predict the next Ferguson.
• How Annise and the students discovered that communities that have higher levels of non-high school graduates results in a higher risk of becoming another Ferguson.
• How Annise’s homeschool cooperative has partnered with police and sheriff departments to increase the high school graduation rate in counties across Georgia.
• How high school graduates have so many more doors open to them than non-high school graduates.
• How Annise created the SW Georgia Community Policing Resource Center, which is a partnership between Walmart and police and sheriff departments to create cops’ closets; people who have an interaction with law enforcement can receive clothing, furniture, food, and other necessities free of charge.
• How police officers deliver donated gifts to kids in poor communities with blue lights and sirens!
• How Annise measures the effectiveness and impact of the Foundation’s efforts.

References:

• The Dr. Annise Mabry Foundation website
• Tiers Free Alternative Diploma Program
• SW George Community Policing Resource Center