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.

Part 2 of this episode features three of the six 2020 ASAE Power of A Summit Award winners about their exceptional efforts to strengthen society. Host Mary Kate Cunningham speaks with Alex Hofmann, Vice President, Engineering Services, of the American Public Power Association, about their efforts to get unelectrified Navajo Nation homes on the grid; Rhian Allvin, CEO of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, on their efforts to support sustained, quality childhood education; and Marie-Caroline Strok Director of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Alliance Gender Parity Initiative on their efforts to accelerate workplace diversity.

In this two-part episode, we speak with three of the six 2020 ASAE Power of A Summit Award winners about their exceptional efforts to strengthen society. Part 1 features Susan Neely, President and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers, on their role in the passage of the SECURE Act; Brian Wallace, President and CEO of the Coin Laundry Association, on the LaundryCares Foundation’s work to provide children and families with unlikely learning spaces; and Artesha Moore, CAE, Vice President, Engagement and Membership and Erik Hankin, Assistant Director Career & Student Programs, of the American Geophysical Union, on the achievements of its Centennial Grants Program’s efforts to educate and inspire communities and policymakers about Earth and Space sciences.

In this episode, we hear from top CEOs about how their associations have adapted and continue to improve the nation’s health and wellness during COVID-19 - from pharmacists to hospitals to yoga teachers. We speak to Steve Anderson, President and CEO of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Rick Pollack, President and CEO of the American Hospital Association, and Shannon Roche, President and CEO of Yoga Alliance about their members' work to keep people well during the pandemic and every day. Plus, we share another Great Moment in Association History.

ASAE Vice President of Public Policy Mary Kate Cunningham welcomes special guests to inspire the association community in advance of American Associations Week 2020.  Hear from Susan Robertson, CAE President & CEO, ASAE, Scott D. Wiley, FASAE, CAE, President and CEO of The Ohio Society of CPAs, Michelle I. Mason, CQIA, FASAE, CAE, President & CEO, Association Forum, Susan Bitter Smith, FASAE, CAE, Executive Director of Southwest Cable Communications Association, and Jim Clarke, CAE, retired, former SVP, Public Policy at ASAE. Visit www.thepowerofa.org for more information.  

This episode, we hear from ASAE President & CEO Susan Robertson, CAE, Pat Blake, FASAE, CAE, CEO of the Heart Rhythm Society and Steve Caldeira, President and CEO of the Household & Commercial Products Association, Angel M. Royal, PhD, Chief of Staff, American Association of Community Colleges, and Margarita L. Valdez, Assistant Director of Congressional Relations, American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) about their associations’ work related to COVID-19. We learn about the association community’s efforts to keep America healthy and safe, as well as re-open and recover. Plus, we share another Great Moment in Association History.

In this episode of Stronger By Association, we speak to four association leaders, among the many, who are on the forefront of helping America and the world fight and respond to COVID-19. Host Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, Vice President of Public Policy, opens the episode with ASAE President & CEO Susan Robertson, CAE, and welcomes heads of the paper, distilled spirits, power, and blood bank industries and sectors. Tom Kuhn, President, Edison Electric Institute, Chris Swonger, President & CEO of DISCUS, Debra BenAvram, CEO of AABB, and Heidi Brock, President and CEO of AF&PA join the discussion to describe ways in which their members are responding to the needs to the public during the pandemic and beyond.

ASAE’s public policy team gathers to discuss what they are doing to help associations achieve their missions during this time of crisis, including providing updates on pending funding and legislation. We also speak with Nate Smith, VP of Government Relations, American Traffic Safety Services Association to discuss how they are advocating for public safety and security. ASAE’s Chief Development Officer Garet Turner discusses the organization’s Drivers of Change research.

We speak to association leaders and a member of Congress who share how associations solve societal problems. Host Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, talks to Angela Holland of the GA Association of Convenience Stores, whose members fight human trafficking. Congressman Jim Kolbe (AZ) recounts how associations make life better in his state. American Counseling Association's Natasha Rankin, CAE, weighs in on her members' efforts. Chief Development Officer Garet Turner, CMP, CAE, co-hosts the episode.

Learn something new about one of our most unsung industries: associations, which represent virtually every industry and sector.  Find out how some of the world’s most pressing problems are being solved by associations through the power of partnership and how America works best when we work together.