Planet Leadership

For more than two decades, John Toner, V has helped bring the produce industry together as vice president, convention and industry collaboration at the United Fresh Produce Association. He gets his daily thrills from helping craft the perfect opening night reception, finding a great product for an independent grower-shipper with a problem and securing a big sponsorship. He is obsessed with creating the perfect environment for his members to make new friends, gather good advice and see the best new products the industry has to offer. In fact, at the end of each year's convention, instead of feeling tired and worn out like any reasonable association professional, he feels energized and ready to tackle the next year's convention. He is known for his love of scotch, his snazzy bowties and the huge smile always on his face.

Tatiana Morand is the Content and SEO Manager at Wild Apricot. She prepared the 2020 Virtual Events Research Report so that organizations could transition painlessly to a virtual event while continuing to increase membership and revenue. When she's not preparing content to help small membership organizations with big dreams, you can find her reading a fantasy novel with her two cats by her side or exploring Toronto's cafe scene.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• Tatiana shares her role and upcoming projects at Wild Apricot by Personify.
• What is "The Virtual Events Report"? Why was it created?
• Key report findings and predictions for virtual events
• Successes and Challenges of creating "The Virtual Events Report".
• SEO tips and The Wild Apricot Blog.

Additional Resources:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tatiana-morand-796b09104
• The Virtual Events Report: https://trial.wildapricot.com/virtual-event-research-report
• Wild Apricot Grove: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WildApricotGrove
• Host, Alexandra Morgan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alymrgn/

As Director of Sales Enablement at Personify, Shannon Hempel leads the strategy and execution of all sales training, coaching and development. Prior to her corporate career, Shannon was an educator in the Texas Public School System. She is a co-founder of Women in Sales Enablement (WiSE), which serves women in the U.S. and abroad to network and develop professionally and personally. She and her husband live in the Austin, TX area with their dog and two cats.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• Shannon shares her background and her role at Personify.
• The importance of sales enablement within organizations today.
• Why enablement is crucial, even for associations, nonprofits and companies that don't have a traditional "sales team."
• How and why she founded an organization for Women in Sales Enablement
• Why it's important to have a networking group where you can be vulnerable and open about your challenges and successes.
• The role that Shannon's teaching background plays in how connects with account managers and the people that she coaches today.

Additional Resources:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonhempel/
• Women in Sales Enablement: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wise-women-in-sales-enablment/

As an exhibit marketing strategist, Marlys Arnold combines image expertise and real-world marketing experience with a passion for trade shows. Not only has she been an exhibitor, but also the organizer of several expos and events. This unique perspective of the industry allows her to share new insights with both beginning and experienced exhibitors.

She's provided exhibitor training for events in a variety of industries, ranging from local consumer expos to some of the largest trade shows in the U.S. Her articles have appeared in trade show industry magazines and business publications, and she's been featured on both traditional and online broadcasts. She hosts the Trade Show Insights blog/podcast and is the author of Build a Better Trade Show Image. She's also the founder of the Exhibit Marketers Café, an online education community. Her latest book, Exhibit Design That Works, debuted in July 2017.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• Marlys shares the most common mistakes and challenges in executing virtual events.
• How educating exhibitors before, during and after the show has evolved in the virtual world.
• Why the pandemic has increased the need for show organizers to offer exhibitor education and training for success.
• Why Marlys feels the importance of attending a virtual event yourself is critical to hosting your own events.
• How virtual experiences can still offer serendipitous and networking opportunities via architecting these experiences.
• What lessons Marlys learned from hosting her two-day Virtual Events Trailblazers Summit.
• What you can do to reduce your stress of a virtual event.
• How the 10 Commandments of Virtual Booth Staffing is essential for every organizer to share with their exhibitors and sponsors.
• How virtual events are leveling the playing field for exhibitors of all sizes.
• How exhibitors can maximize their virtual booth and learn from today's television infomercials.
• What Marlys thinks the future of events will be.

Additional Resources:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlysarnold
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ImageSpecialist
• Trade Show Insights blog/podcast: https://www.tradeshowinsights.com/
• Virtual Lunch in the Exhibit Marketers Café: https://www.exhibitmarketerscafe.com/lunch

Ryan Brown joined NTP in March 2013 and serves as the VP of Sales. In this capacity, he oversees the strategic direction and execution of sales campaigns and the development of new sources of lead generation for his portfolio of industry-leading trade shows. He leads a team of professionals focused on meeting and exceeding all sales goals as well as maintaining the integrity of each event and providing high quality customer service to its exhibitors and sponsors. Prior to joining NTP, Ryan spent 7 years working on the association side of the business with the Consumer Electronics Association and most recently the American Composites Manufacturers Association. At ACMA, Ryan served as the Sr. Manager of Exhibit Sales where he oversaw sales efforts that landed ACMA's COMPOSITES show in Tradeshow Executive's Fastest 50.

Ryan has a proven track record of innovation and success in sales strategy, market research/lead generation, and campaign management. He has worked extensively to grow, evolve, and ultimately drive revenue for every event he's had the opportunity to impact.

Ryan has a B.A. in English from The University of Mary Washington. Ryan is an active member of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) and received his CEM Certification in 2012.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• How NTP Events, founded more than forty years ago, grew to become a full-service trade show management company
• Ryan shares examples of some of the events NTP has worked on for their 20+ clients across a variety of industries, topics and event sizes
• How NTP is working with their clients to convert all of their in-person events to virtual events, and how strategy has changed over the course of the pandemic
• How the team at NTP is building strategy around generating income from virtual events and leaning into the positives of virtual events
• How virtual events have created new challenges but also new opportunities, and how thinking differently is the key to maximizing virtual engagement
• How Ryan and NTP are working to educate their clients on how to be most successful in the virtual world
• Why the loss of live events has been challenging and emotionally difficult for NTP Events and their clients, and why there have been many tough conversations
• Why Ryan is advising clients that they should have a contingency plan for hybrid/online events even into 2021
• Why Ryan believes the available digital event platforms are an expensive stop-gap measure that may only ever see a single use as things hopefully return to normal by next year
• Why it is important to make decisions based not just on the immediacy of the situation but on your long-term needs as well

Additional Resources:

• Website: http://ntpevents.com/
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-brown-cem-504a836/

Sarah Olivieri is a nonprofit business strategist, #1 International Best Selling Author, and former Executive Director. She has been featured on over 30 podcasts and is the creator of the Impact Method™ – a framework that helps nonprofits simplify their operations, build aligned teams, and make a bigger impact without getting overwhelmed or burning out.

Sarah received her BA from the University of Chicago with a focus on globalization and its effect on marginalized cultures and holds a master's degree in Humanistic and Multicultural Education from SUNY New Paltz.

As the founder and heart behind PivotGround, Sarah helps nonprofits make a big impact with relative ease.

• How a lot of nonprofit organizations are coming to Sarah for assistance with strategic planning to better adapt to the realities of the pandemic
• Why many of the pieces of fundraising advice don't typically apply to smaller organizations just starting out, and why building a circle of major donors is key
• How engaging your employees to encourage small Facebook fundraisers on their birthdays can be a powerful way to get many small donations at once
• Why the for-profit industry has set an excellent example of how to create membership programs that are creative and offer value
• Why you should begin streamlining and systematizing your processes, including delegating or using smart automation
• Why limiting yourself to certain demographics and social groups only holds you back, and why authenticity is the key to speaking to all age groups
• Why creating new opportunities for members to engage with and get involved with your organization is the secret to attracting millennials
• Why it is important to get away from the events fundraising model, and why donation shouldn't be a transactional event but should be about participation
• Why agility and robustness are the most important factors for organizations navigating the increasingly frequent world-changing challenges
• Why nonprofits should not be averse to taking risks, and why a willingness to take risks is the cornerstone of innovation

• Website: www.pivotground.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-olivieri/

• Website: www.wildapricot.com
• Episode Host, Alexandra Morgan's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexandramorganca/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/wildapricot
• Twitter: @WildApricot

Mark Bogdansky is the Vice President of Meetings and Events for the Auto Care Association. Bogdansky oversees all trade shows for the Auto Care Association, its segments, committees, and managed associations, including the AAPEX and HDAW shows. His responsibilities include strategic planning, trade show management, partner and vendor relationships, contract negotiation, and on-site logistics.

Prior to joining the Auto Care Association in November 2016, Bogdansky worked on the conventions for the National Retail Federation and Heart Rhythm Society. Prior to that, Mark was a high school teacher and college basketball coach. He is an active member of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, and currently serves on its Advocacy Committee. He has also served on multiple industry advisory boards and committees and spoken at several industry events.

Raised in Boston, Bogdansky graduated from Yeshiva University in New York, with a bachelor of arts in mathematics and a minor in business. He lives with his wife and son in Maryland.

• Mark discusses the work of the Auto Care Association, representing every business in the supply chain that keep cars on the road
• How the Auto Care Association has assisted member organizations with navigating the challenges posed by the pandemic
• How Mark and the team at the International Association of Exhibitions and Events successfully pulled off their 2020 Exhibitions Day virtual event
• What future advocacy efforts IAEE will be pursuing going forward relating to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on the industry
• Why part of the IAEE's role is to educate lawmakers and policymakers on the industry's concerns and needs
• What key lessons Mark and the team at IAEE learned when taking their annual event to a virtual space
• Why safety is at the heart of what Auto Care Association and IAEE are doing, and why they are working to support their members through keeping everyone safe as well
• What big wins and upsides Mark has noticed from the switch to virtual events, and why hybrid virtual/in-person events are going to be powerful going forward
• How the Auto Care Association's AAPEX 2020 trade show is evolving into an entirely new experience, both in response to COVID and due to new innovations and opportunities
• Why the secret to creating an experience for your attendees is to focus on creating engaging, interactive concepts

• Website: www.autocare.org
• Website: www.aapexshow.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markbogdansky/

Born and raised in Canada, Victoria Watson is a health policy specialist driven to close equity gaps in sexual and reproductive health and rights. Before joining the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning, Victoria worked in Washington, D.C. at the Center for Health and Gender Equity as an SRHR research analyst exploring the impact of foreign policy and legislation on reproductive justice, health, and human rights fulfillment. In Canada, she has worked as a policy coordinator at Cancer Care Ontario facilitating patient engagement and cancer screening program design, wherein she honed a passion for generating patient-centered policies and programming. Her personal experience as a cancer survivor motivated a life-long commitment to non-communicable disease (NCD) advocacy and community engagement, and for this reason, Victoria also sits on the Governing Council of NCD Child, a global advocacy coalition championing youth health rights in global NCD control.

As a teenager, Victoria was an ambassador for Canada's Children's Wish Foundation, being a public speaker and sharing her story as a survivor to emphasize the need for integrated social support for cancer patients. Following her undergraduate in public policy and MSc. in Global Health, she applied her research and work experiences to better understand the social determinants to health that put youth at greater risk of preventable chronic diseases, and what health systems can do to make care more accessible, affordable, and meaningful for diverse populations. This led her to work at high-level global health organizations such as the Clinton Foundation, to working within hospitals in southern India.

• How Victoria's organization operates in more than 80 countries, advancing sexual and reproductive health rights, and justice for young people and adolescents globally
• How the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning was founded in 2013 as a movement of young people pressing to be included in the discussion around global health policy-making and discourse
• What organizational, cultural and financial challenges the IYAFP faced as a young, global organization
• How the IYAFP maneuvered and scaled up from being a grassroots organization to a formalized INGO
• What advice Victoria has for nonprofits just starting out and for nonprofits that have reached a plateau and are having trouble progressing
• What common problems organizations face when reaching a growth plateau, and why refocusing your organization on its mission can often help correct these issues
• Why utilizing communication best practices can help strengthen your team and reorient your team around the organization's vision
• What practical, actionable advice Victoria has for nonprofit organizations attempting to navigate the global pandemic crisis
• Why taking the time to do a strategic refresh can help you identify ways to adapt to crisis and your changing environment
• Why data, communication with stakeholders, and a focus on the community you serve and its needs can help you navigate challenging times

• Website: https://iyafp.org/
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-watson-aba9a752/

• Website: www.wildapricot.com
• Episode Host, Alexandra Morgan's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexandramorganca/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/wildapricot
• Twitter: @WildApricot

Michael O'Brien became the publisher of LAM in December 2014. A native of Niagara Falls, New York, he joined ASLA in 2009 as its chief financial officer and continues in that role as well. Michael is a graduate of the State University of New York College at Geneseo with a B.S. in Accounting. He also obtained the Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) certification and the Certified Global Management Accountant (CGMA) certification from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Before joining ASLA, Michael worked for CFO To Go and Price Waterhouse (currently PricewaterhouseCoopers) in various management, auditing, and accounting roles.

• How the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has served its trade association members across the country since 1899
• How the ASLA is providing assistance to members through the global pandemic, including free membership to students
• How the ASLA has been offering webinars to assist members, and how the pandemic outbreak has impacted the ASLA's magazine publication process
• How ASLA has made the transition to remote work, and how they recently went through a major renovation process on their building
• How the pandemic forced the ASLA to cancel all of their spring activities and summits, and how they are adapting to the disruption
• How the ASLA's annual trade show brings thousands of members together in destination locations and takes attendees out into the host city
• What other offerings the annual trade show shares with attendees, and how Saturdays at the show are particularly unique
• How the ASLA brings in student volunteers and offers them credit for each hour the student volunteers work
• How each year the ASLA offers a "legacy project" for high school student groups, and how they solicit show vendors to donate equipment to the project
• What new offerings the ASLA is offering, including a social media campaign to create ten minute TED talks

• Website: www.asla.org
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-o-brien-35583046/

Amy Neumann is a keynote speaker who enjoys traveling internationally – and in the United States – to inspire and influence World Changers to leverage technology to do more of their mission work faster and easier, while also being more inclusive. #changetheworld

Amy is also a social good and technology fanatic who has been creating positive change for over two decades. With a focus on blockchain and AI, she is a social impact entrepreneur who founded a startup nonprofit called Free Tech for Nonprofits (and its subsidiary, Technology Inclusion) to help nonprofits do more of their important work faster while being inclusive as well as proactive about diversity and equity.

She is also CEO and principal of the social enterprise consultancy, Good Plus Tech, with a focus on leveraging emerging technologies and smart communication strategies to solve global social impact challenges. Amy speaks often, at places like Dell's Social Innovation Conference, ASU's Sustainability Conference, NTEN events, Blockland Solutions, nonprofit events, and universities. She is widely published, including as a contributor to Forbes, an author of PR News' Crisis Management Guidebook, a contributor for Thrive Global, and a columnist for the Huffington Post.

Because she can't get enough of innovative world-changers, Amy also publishes on her passion project site, CharityIdeas.org. Amy's 2018 Simon & Schuster book, Simple Acts to Change the World: 500 Ways to Make a Difference, is a tribute to the many great ideas she's discovered on the topics of social good, social justice, equity, technology for good, and volunteering through her work and philanthropy.

• How Amy first got involved in the nonprofit sector, and how she recognized the value modern technology offers to nonprofits
• How technology can help expand a nonprofit organization's reach far beyond their local area, and how nonprofits can potentially get an advertising grant from Google Adwords
• Why Amy suggests you write down the ten most frequently asked questions you get from your members and then create content that answers those questions
• How to identify the right technology that can solve your challenges, and how review websites like capterra.com can help you decide which software tools are right for you
• What other free and low-cost tools Amy recommends for nonprofits to use, and why these tools can be valuable resources for consistent design and content creation
• How LinkedIn can be an excellent connection and networking tool, and how Amy recommends you keep up with your content schedule
• Why TED talks can be invaluable resources for educating yourself on new technologies and ideas for nonprofits, and how Think with Google can help with your marketing efforts
• Amy shares the kinds of impact organizations she has worked with have received through embracing the technology available to them
• How there are tools that can even help you reach a new audience through Duolingo and YouTube translations to improve your discovery across languages

• Capterra software reviews: www.capterra.com
• Airtable project management: https://airtable.com/
• Canva art design: www.canva.com
• Hootsuite social media scheduling: https://hootsuite.com/
• Buffer social media tools: https://buffer.com/
• Grammarly writing tool: www.grammarly.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com
• Think with Google marketing resources: www.thinkwithgoogle.com
• Coursera learning platform: www.coursera.org
• Udemy learning platform: www.udemy.com

• Simple Acts to Change the World by Amy Neumann: https://500simpleacts.com/
• Reach out to Amy Neumann: https://amyneumann.com/contact-amy-neumann/
• Website: https://freetechfornonprofits.org/
• Website: https://amyneumann.com/
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/amyneumann/