Stronger By Association

Our guests, leaders of the Professional Certification Council, help us unpack the benefits of association certifications to individuals, employers, jobs, industries, economies, and society at large. Discussions surround counterproductive legislative efforts that demonstrate that there are misconceptions about the value of certification and how these credentials are essential to growth and progress. Denise Roosendaal, CAE, Executive Director for the Institute for Credentialing Excellence and Jeff Evans, Director Public Policy, ASAE, help bring to light why legislators and others must understand the full picture and what can be done to help solve the problem.

We explore the benefits of association employment, including powerful statistics that illustrate the size and scope of the industry. Our wide variety of guests share their expertise and stories regarding the real and intangible benefits of working for associations, such as opportunity and longevity, wages, skills training, DEI, and community, among others. We speak with Susan Robertson, CAE, President and CEO of ASAE, Tonya W. Muse, FASAE, CAE, Partner, U.S Corporate & Government Affairs and Industrial Practices, ODGERS BERNDTSON, Jim Zaniello, FASAE, President, Vetted Solutions, Nate Wambold, CMP, Director, Meetings & Conferences, American Anthropological Association, and Jennifer Baker, MSW, CAE, Senior Director, Business Solutions, ASAE Business Services.

Host Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, and her guests discuss the importance and value of Congressional meetings to the association community, members of Congress, and the public at large. Guests include Ksenija Polla, CMP, Regional Director ICCA North America and Andrew S. Goldschmidt, Executive Director, National Grants Management Association. The episode is co-hosted by members of the ASAE’s Public Policy team, Associate Director of Public Policy Jeff Evans and Manager, Policy Policy & APAC Nate Fisher, who share their knowledge on issues and best practices, as well as bring to life the recent meetings that were part of American Associations Day.

Two industry experts join our discussion on the need for flexibility as we begin our return to the workplace. Will we return to work as it was pre-pandemic? Not at all, according to Manar Morales, President & CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance, and Charles Moore, Principal of Thrive Street Advisors. Hear from our panel on adjusting to new norms and adapting to people’s different situations/abilities to be part of the modern workforce in 2021. 

One of the most powerful episodes to date, host Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, ASAE’s SVP of Public Policy welcomes four Black female association CEOs who discuss their rise to leadership, the complexities and burdens of their journeys, and how the industry can be supportive. Mary Kate and co-hosts Sheri Sesay-Tuffour, PhD, CAE, CEO of the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board and Robb Lee, Chief Marketing and Product Strategy Officer at ASAE talk with Dresden Farrand, MPA, MPP, CAE, CEO, American Water Resources Association, Stefanie Reeves, FASAE, CAE, Executive Director, Maryland Psychological Association, Christene Phillips, MSA, Executive Director, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, and Lakisha A. Woods, CAE, President & CEO, National Institute of Building Sciences.

Host Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, ASAE’s SVP of Public Policy welcomes co-host Amy Hissrich, ASAE’s Vice President, Global & Web Strategy for three fascinating conversations with association leaders from around the world – China, Belgium, and Kenya.

Discussions include COVID-19 response, meetings updates, and other global concerns.

Guests include Steven Basart, Vice President, Kellen and Chair, ASAE International Associations Advisory Council; Alexander Mohr, PhD, Executive Director, European Flavour Association and Board Member, European Society of Association Executives; and Jeffers Miruka, CEO, African Association of Agricultural Economists and President, African Society of Association Executives.

Host Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, ASAE’s SVP of Public Policy welcomes co-host Nate Fisher of ASAE’s Public Policy team for a series of conversations about advocacy amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the beginning of a new Administration. Guests include Scott Wiley, FASAE, CAE, President & CEO, Ohio Society of CPAs, Franklin Davis, Senior Director, Federal Affairs, for the American Beverage Association, and Kevin Serafino Vice President, Federal Government Relations & Public Policy and Internal Counsel, Household & Commercial Products Association. Discussions include association community 2021 priorities, issues, and making 2021 as successful as possible for associations and society at large.

Host Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, ASAE’s SVP of Public Policy welcomes co-host Robb Lee, ASAE’s Chief Marketing and Product Strategy Officer for a series of personal and poignant interviews about DEI and the current landscape resulting from the news-making injustices of 2020 and systemic racism of years past. Guests include two co-founders of Texts to Table, a platform for conversations about race and leadership, Irving Washington, FASAE, CAE, Executive Director at Online News Association and Donte Shannon, FASAE, CAE, CEO at Association of Equipment Management Professionals who join together to reflect on today’s political climate, focusing on race within leadership. The podcast also welcomes ASAE’s Cortney Whitlow, Manager, Meeting Registration & Industry Partner Engagement, who brings to life ASAE’s Black Moments in Film program which impacted the association’s staff in immeasurable ways. And, Janet Smith, president of the Ivy Planning Group – a consulting and training company that specializes in diversity, strategy and change management – joins Mary Kate and Robb to provide invaluable perspective on how to sustain DEI initiatives with meaning and purpose.

Host Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, and guest co-host Arlene Pietranton, FASAE, CAE, and CEO of ASHA interview three experts on the importance of civility and the risks of a lack of listening with an intent to learn. They welcome Pete Peterson, Dean of the Public Policy School at Pepperdine, Jean Card co-host of Bipodisan, and Timothy Shaffer of the National Institute for Civil Discourse. Show Notes: Utah Governors Ad, ASHA’s civility toolkit, and a variety of resources from NICD https://goldenrule2020.org/, https://engagingdifferences.org/, https://nxtgenusa.org/, https://nicd.arizona.edu/engaging-differences-key-concepts-and-best-practices/

Host Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, speaks with four female leaders within the association community to discuss how their transportation and infrastructure industry work is helping fuel recovery. Featured are Lakisha Woods, CAE, President and CEO of the National Institute of Building Sciences; Nicole Vasilaros, Senior Vice President of Government and Legal Affairs for the National Marine Manufacturers Association; Kristin Smith, Senior Vice President of Communications for the Association of American Railroads, and Laura Perrotta, CAE, President and CEO of the American Highway Users Alliance.