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10:15 - 11:15 am 

Beyond the Fly-In: How Three California Associations Built Advocacy Programs That Last

Advocacy is one of the clearest ways associations deliver value to their members, yet many organizations hesitate to invest in it, unsure where to start, how to build member engagement, or how to sustain momentum once a campaign ends. This session focuses on how different associations built durable, effective advocacy programs. Through these case studies, you will see the common threads that connect successful advocacy programs across very different missions, budgets, and member bases.

Melanie Cottrill, MBA, CAE, Executive Director, Head Start California

Stephanie Goldman, CAE, Faculty Association of California Community Colleges 

Krystinne Mica, Executive Director, Structural Engineers Association of California

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Beyond Buy-In: Building a Board Partnership That Works

Strong board relationships don’t happen automatically—and they can shift dramatically as chairs rotate, new members join, priorities change, and fresh ideas enter the conversation. In this thoughtful panel, association executives and AMC leaders will share candid perspectives on building trust and rapport, creating meaningful board engagement, gaining buy-in, and helping volunteer leaders move from great ideas to strategic action. They’ll also explore the harder side of the relationship: what happens when ideas stall, initiatives fail to gain traction, or a change in board leadership creates a cultural shift. Through real experiences, successes, and lessons learned, discover practical approaches for creating an open, productive CEO–board partnership that gives board members a meaningful leadership experience while keeping the organization moving forward.

Moderator: Alison Teitelbaum, MS, MPH, CAE, Founder, AST Strategies 
Catherine A. Smith, Founder & CEO, Smith Moore & Associates, Inc
Lupe Alonzo-Diaz, Vice President, Continuing Medical Education and President and CEO, CMA Foundation, Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC)

10:15 - 11:15 am 

Behind the Meeting: What Your Partners Wish You Knew

Every successful meeting is made up of a lot of moving pieces—and every piece depends on the others to do its job well. But what does each partner actually need from the meeting planner to make that happen?
In this candid, practical conversation, five professionals from across the meetings ecosystem—a CVB representative, hotel sales professional, convention services manager, general service contractor, and audiovisual professional—will pull back the curtain on their side of the “meeting pie.”
They’ll share what information, communication, timelines, decisions, and collaboration they need from planners to keep things moving, avoid surprises, solve problems early, and ultimately deliver a seamless attendee experience.
This is not a sales pitch. It’s an honest conversation about partnership: what works, what doesn’t, what planners sometimes overlook, and how each piece of the puzzle can better support the others. Come ready to hear the perspectives of your event partners, ask the questions you’ve always wanted to ask, and leave with practical insights you can put to work on your next meeting.

Moderator/Meeting Planner: Elizabeth Cardwell, CAE, CMP, Smith Moore and Associates
CVB: Carolyn Muller Brown, DES, LA Tourism
Hotel Sales Manager: Maria Romero, Hyatt Regency Sacramento
Hotel Convention Services Manager: Mataiasi “Tasi” Ahokava, Hilton Arden West, Sacramento
General Service Contractor: Pam Pietrok, Heritage
Audio Visual Service Provider: Michael Vargas, Pinnacle Live 

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Work Smarter, Plan Better: Event Efficiencies That Actually Work

Every meeting and event professional is being asked to do more with less — tighter budgets, leaner teams, and timelines that never seem to get longer. This session bridges old school and new school approaches to get into the real, practical efficiencies that make a measurable difference: streamlining vendor management, tightening timelines without sacrificing quality, leveraging technology and AI to automate repetitive tasks, and knowing exactly where to invest your limited time and budget for the biggest impact.
Whether you're a spreadsheet-and-sticky-notes planner or an early AI adopter, you'll walk away with tactics you can implement immediately — tried-and-true fundamentals alongside the newest tools reshaping how we work, so you can build an approach that fits how you actually plan.

10:15 - 11:15 am 

Crafting Exceptional Member Experiences

Your renewal report tells you what happened. It does not tell you why, and by the time it lands, the member is already gone. Heart of the Customer has interviewed more than 2,000 customers and 400 senior executives and surveyed nearly 10,000 more. The pattern is consistent. Satisfaction scores hold steady while renewal intent falls because satisfaction does not measure what determines whether someone stays. Jim Tincher will show you what does. You will see how the fourth-largest YMCA in the world found three completely different members hiding inside one membership base, and how a national association of hospital CEOs discovered that its members were renewing for opposite emotional reasons. Then you will build your own version, using a two-week protocol you can run with ten members, no software and no budget.

Jim Tincher, CCXP CEO, Heart of the Customer

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Peer Power: Rapid-Fire Association Brain Dates

What’s top of mind in your association right now? This fast-paced, peer-powered lab puts the topics you care about most on the table—literally. Rotate through a series of rapid-fire conversations focused on timely association challenges, share what’s working, ask questions, swap ideas, and tap into the collective experience in the room. Discover new ideas for tackling common association challenges by learning what’s working for your peers. Share and compare approaches to topics such as member engagement, operations, leadership, and organizational priorities. Come ready to contribute, connect, and leave with fresh thinking and practical ideas you can put to work. 

Moderator: Anabel Martinez, MBA, CAE, PMP, AAiP, Director of Member Services, CWEA