Association Brain Food: 12.2.22

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community…

New member engagement. It’s here! The 2022 New Member Engagement Study from Amanda Kaiser at Kaiser Insights and Dynamic Benchmarking includes survey data on how associations of different sizes handle new member engagement. It also shares onboarding tactics and success factors. Check out the launch party information below (December 6)—it’s bound to be an informative and enjoyable event.

Word-of-mouth marketing. Do you remember early last year seeing a slew of LinkedIn updates about an online DEI course at the University of South Florida (USF)? I certainly do and with every good intention I registered but ended up never getting to it. But 62,000 people completed the course and earned a certificate. WBT Systems explains how USF pulled off this word-of-mouth marketing miracle—and developing the course in less than two months was a miracle too.

Virtual event planning template. Why create your own when EventMobi has already done it for you? Their Virtual Show Flow Template is an Excel worksheet that includes tabs for the event overview, project timeline, event show flow (and example tab), production information, green room checklist plus worksheets for speakers and sponsors.

Tough leadership decisions. Jeff de Cagna, FASAE of Foresight First continues his series on the toughest decisions association boards (and staff) must discuss and make. In this post, he addresses three tricky issues: negative consequences of technology, climate change, and ideological divisiveness.

Metatrends. Peter Diamandis is in the midst of writing about 20 metatrends that will shape the decade ahead. He’s already discussed embedded intelligence, AI’s human level intelligence and its collaboration with humans, software interface like Iron Man’s JARVIS, and humanoid robots and avatars. The latest is on autonomous and flying cars. Phew, life is definitely not boring.

Metaverse denizens. While we’re talking about “meta,” here’s an audience analysis of the metaverse community from Michael Brito at Britopian. It’s not as American as I thought it’d be.

AMS value for membership engagement. Nimble AMS describes how an AMS helps membership teams better understand members, anticipate their needs, and deliver an optimal online experience and personalized communications and content. If your AMS doesn’t help you recruit, engage and retain members, you better start looking for a new one.

Brain drain pains. The brain drain is a serious problem for many employers and industries. WBT Systems explores why the brain drain is occurring and how associations can help companies (and themselves) prevent and manage it.

Groupthink. Becky Kane at Twist says, “Contrary to popular belief, research shows that real-time collaboration tends to stifle creativity and diverse perspectives.” I’ve read a few reports about the disadvantages of in-person brainstorming sessions, so this is not a surprise. She explains how async communication combats groupthink—what a bonus.

Quick hits

After reading this article, I went down the research rabbit hole to learn more about Ann Axtell Morris, an archaeologist in the Southwest who died too young and didn’t leave much of a trace. (Richard Grant, Smithsonian)

I’ve been wondering how the trains keep running in Ukraine. What a story. (Sarah A. Topol, New York Times)

What to do if there are not enough hours in the day to slay your to-do list. No, bourbon is not the answer. (Nir Eyal)

What Bitcoin and Crypto are for—it’s worth reading this different and enlightening perspective. (Murtaza Hussain, Three Minute Book Club)

A daily technique to reflect, focus and be present in your interactions. (Deirdre Breakenridge)

Good eats

Skip down to the list of free educational events if you prefer takeout.

While my husband was away recently, I indulged in gorgonzola pasta because he is not a fan of blue cheese. This time, I used one package of shiitake and two packages of cremini mushrooms, chard and their stems, plus a bit of chicken broth.

This chicken apple sausage, sweet potato and Brussels sprouts sheet-pan supper has everything you need, except red onion, which I added. Don’t bother with the parchment; your pan will get dirty no matter what. Next time, I’ll add some warm spices.

Here’s what I made for Thanksgiving. Perhaps you’ll get an idea for future festive dinners.

• Nantucket chipotle cranberry sauce made with shallot, garlic, chipotle peppers in adobo, orange juice, maple syrup, molasses, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, salt and cranberries.
• Make-ahead mashed potatoes: Usually, recipes advise you to keep mashed potatoes warm in a double boiler, but that hogs up a burner for too long. Instead, I put mine in a slow cooker on warm. Before serving, I stirred in warm milk and melted butter to fluff them up.
• A few days before Thanksgiving when I was thinking about turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and gravy, a vision of mushrooms appeared before me. I sautéed a mix of shiitake and cremini mushrooms with garlic and thyme—brilliant idea.
• Last year, this butternut squash-poblano pepper gratin was a hit, so I made it again. Had just enough left over for a snack the next day.
• I’ve been put in charge of making the gravy the last few years, so I brought along Spicewalla poultry seasoning to help things along. It did the trick, but it no longer appears on the Spicewalla website, boo.

With the leftover cranberry sauce, I made chicken thighs with cranberry thyme pan sauce. On the side, green bean sauté with red onion, mushrooms, garlic and chicken broth, and roasted buttercup squash with maple syrup, bacon, cinnamon and ground chile powder—I used a New Mexico blend, but cayenne works too.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, so I still have two fish dishes to share: blackened speckled sea trout and baked lemon parmesan wahoo—both excellent fish. The wahoo was topped with parmesan, panko bread crumbs, parsley, basil, lemon zest, garlic powder, melted butter and olive oil. On the side, roasted broccoli with red onion and garlic powder.

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If you have a free webinar or event coming up, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon the week before it’s scheduled. I’ll be happy to feature it as long as it’s not too product-centric.

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Fri 12/2 at 10 a.m.* – Association Community (Coffee with Innovators)

Darren Cambridge, an innovation strategist most recently with the American Council on Education, will lead us in dialogue on the vital topic of building and sustaining community. More info/register.

Host: Association Design Circle

*All events are online at Eastern Daylight Time unless otherwise noted.

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Fri 12/2 at 11 a.m. – World Café: Ways to Grow International Membership

Hear about ways to grow international membership using leading examples among small and large associations, and discussing the roles of value propositions, chapters/affiliates, and dues pricing. World Café will kick off with a panel of speakers followed by small group discussions, drawing from the experiences of our diverse community of peers. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE International Associations Professionals Community

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Fri 12/2 at 4 p.m. – Critical Thinking: Mastering the Power of Crucial Questions

Join speaker, Alexis Redmond, an introvert and attorney, who has learned to channel her ability to question, process, and reflect on issues to uncover new opportunities for teams and organizations. Explore effective questioning, how to start being wrong without defensiveness, strategies to avoid falling into groupthink, and tips to ask thoughtful, even difficult, follow-up questions. More info/register.

Host: Fridays@4

Speaker: Alexis Redmond, JD, MA, CAE, Senior Director, National Student Speech Language Hearing Association

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Mon 12/5 at 8 a.m. – Curiosity! (Nonprofit Conversations with Cecilia Sepp, CAE)

Nonprofit Conversations features guests from around the world discussing topics of interest to the nonprofit community. Episodes publish at 8 a.m. on Mondays and can be found on all major podcast platforms. 

Guest: Cynthia Lockrey, Lockrey Communications

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, CNAP, principal and founder, Rogue Tulips LLC

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Mon 12/5 at 1 p.m. – Improving Engagement in the Middle of the Pandemic

learn how the American Association of Endodontists managed to increase employee engagement—while dealing with the challenges of the pandemic—by uncovering the underlying culture patterns in their workplace culture that were driving employee behaviors. All workplace cultures have these culture patterns, and once you see them, you can immediately start to shift roadblocks and attitudes that might be holding you back from getting the energy and results that you want in your organization. More info/register.

Host: Propel

Speakers:

• Trina Andresen Coe, Deputy Executive Director, American Association of Endodontists
• Jamie Notter, co-founder, Propel

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Mon 12/5 at 1 p.m. – Practical AI Tools to Adopt in 2023

Practical AI solutions exist today (some in your vendor ecosystem), and are solving problems in crucial areas like retention, marketing, and analytics. Learn about AI’s impact on business analytics and how it can be used to predict churn and retention, the capabilities of “Generative AI” and how marketing content can be auto-generated, examples of AI-assisted marketing tools available today, and positioning yourself, and your team, to adapt and take full advantage of AI. More info/register.

Host: Contentware

Speakers:

• Mitch Eisen, CTO, Contentware
• Erica Salm Rench, COO, Rasa.io
• Thomas Altman, CEO, Tasio

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Mon 12/5 at 1 p.m. – Growing your 365 Community

There are many ways to build a year-round community to connect members to members and buyers to sellers. Making human connection needs the heart of your digital efforts and pulling insights from your data. Explore what ‘365 connection’ means to your unique community, opportunities for growth when you engage consistently and meaningfully, and ideas you can prototype with your own organization. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

• Brad Weaber, Principal, Brad Weaber Consulting Group, LLC and Strategic Advisor to Community Leaders Institute
• Bill Mcglade, President of Community Leaders Institute & epIQ Creative Group

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Mon 12/5 at 1 p.m. – Wrap Up That Video

Join us back with Donny Neufuss, as we close out our 5-part series on video and all that goes with it. We’ve talked about streaming, transformation of video with AI, and video’s potential. We are going to wrap that all up leaving you ready for 2023 and excited to enhance your events with video that is right for you. 0.5 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: MPI

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Tue 12/6 at 11 a.m. – Are You Safeguarding Your Organization? Guide To Fraud Prevention

Learn how to reduce the likelihood of internal fraud, implement best practices for fraud prevention, and probe weaknesses that leave you vulnerable to bad actors. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Julie Broadway, President & CEO, American Horse Council & American Horse Council Foundation 

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Tue 12/6 at 12 p.m. – Data Analytics Network: Year in Review

Join association professionals to engage in peer-led discussions on topics related to data and analytics. More info/register.

Host: Data Analytics Network & Association Analytics

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Tue 12/6 at 12 p.m. – Gen Z + Events: Insights to Know

Hear tips for understanding Gen Z and how they differ from other generations, where organizations can fail in attracting and engaging Gen Z audiences, and innovation ideas to make your next event Gen Z friendly. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: MPI

Speakers: Brooke Gracey, Director, Demand Generation, and Carisa Bartelt, Team Lead, Product Marketing, Cvent

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Tue 12/6 at 1 p.m. – New Member Engagement Study Launch Party

Hear the most critical learnings from the New Member Engagement Study and essential strategies they couldn’t fit into the report. Learn how to make small shifts to improve your new member engagement activities, leverage the tools you already have to engage new members, and organize your plan, so it never gets stale. More info/register.

Hosts: Kaiser Insights, Dynamic Benchmarking, Matchbox Virtual Media and PropFuel

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Tue 12/6 at 1 p.m. – Data Hoarders: Association Edition

Navigating the line between data as an asset and liability is increasingly difficult as our associations face cyber-security, privacy and logistical challenges related to managing the volumes of data we collect. Learn what data governance is, why data governance is important, how you can get data governance started in your organization, the importance of quality checking your data, and how to establish a process for continued success. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: 501Works

Speakers:

• Villy Savino, VP of Technology Transformation at CoreNet Global
• James Marquis, CIO at 501Works

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Tue 12/6 at 1 p.m. – How to Drive Pipeline with an On-Demand Webinar Strategy

Learn how to re-purpose webinars after the live date is over, create on-demand webinar content for each stage of the buying cycle, build Netflix-style on-demand content hubs, and use on-demand webinars to fuel ABM programs. More info/register.

Host: American Marketing Association

Speaker: Mark Bornstein, VP, Content Marketing, ON24

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Tue 12/6 at 2 p.m. – Exploring The Six Toughest Decisions Association Boards Must Make

Join an informal discussion of Jeff’s recent two-part series of articles on “The Six Toughest Decisions Association Boards Must Make” (links on registration site). 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Jeff De Cagna, executive advisor, Foresight First

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Tue 12/6 at 2 p.m. – Membership Trends You Can’t Miss in 2023

Learn about important areas of improvement to grow your association, strategies you should strengthen next year, challenges many associations face, how automation of operations can walk you through membership success, and tips and tactics for the best retention rate. More info/register.

Host: Grype

Speaker: Farhad Khan, Digital Strategist & CEO of Grype

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Tue 12/6 at 3 p.m. – Why Associations Should Stop Planning Events and Start Designing Experiences

Now that we are returning to in-person events, it is imperative that our associations don’t fall back on history and habit. Learn what it takes to design experiences rather than simply planning events, and how the landscape has changed from meeting design to stakeholder engagement. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

• Katie Riggs, CAE, CMP, CMM, HMCC, CED, Chief Event Strategist at Riggs & Co
• Emilie Perkins, CMP, CAE, CMM, PMP, CED, Director of Client & Conference Services, Raybourn Group International, Inc.

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Wed 12/7 at 11 a.m. – Cybersecurity Fundamentals for Association Executives

This webinar does away with the tech-talk and explains the must-know facts about cybersecurity risks, what executives need to understand, what questions to ask, and how to ensure your IT team is headed in the right direction at an adequate pace. More info/register.

Host: Sidecar

Speaker: Brian Scott

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Wed 12/7 at 11 a.m. – Small Budget, Big Impact: Affordable Ways to Level-Up Marketing

Learn how to develop and implement a marketing plan and budget that delivers “big-impact” results from smaller budgets, and apply strategies and tactics to build and execute successful marketing campaigns with limited budgets. Get a list of techniques and tools that have been vetted to help you in your quest to deliver maximum impact with minimal investment through marketing. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Jemilah Senter, VP, Marketing and Communications, and Jamie Birkner, Director, Content and Marketing, MCI USA

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Wed 12/7 at 11 a.m. – 2023 Event Trends Summit

2023 is just around the corner. As we  look ahead, it’s natural to be concerned about the challenges we might face. With so many forces currently at play, identifying those potential challenges  is only half the battle. We also must find ways to prepare for those changes. Get the insights and tools you need to create outstanding programs in 2023 and hear candid conversations that include practical tips and advice grounded in real-world experience. 3 CMP credits. More info/register.

Host: Skift

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Wed 12/7 at 12 p.m. – Tis the Season for Member Retention

Knowing why members join, why they stay, why they leave and what they value most are vital to a great retention strategy and the only way to get this type of granular information is through analytics. Learn how to use data to determine the unique value you bring to your members, translate your retention into ROI by analyzing lifetime value, identify at-risk members through correlations, predictive modeling and engagement scores, take actions to clarify your value, find your leaky buckets and create retention strategies for your at-risk member segments. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Association Analytics

Speakers: Bill Conforti, SVP of Strategy & Solutions, and Greg Pollack, VP of Sales, Association Analytics

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Wed 12/7 at 12 p.m. – Create Your 2023 Personal Strategic Plan

Strategic planning isn’t just for organizations. Create your personal strategic plan to align your goals and actions with what matters most in your life. In this interactive session, review your 2022 (reflecting on your 2022 triumphs and other lessons-learned) and set yourself up for success, with intentionality, in 2023. More info/register.

Host: Association Insights in Old Town

Speaker: Carol Vernon, executive coach and founder, Communication Matters: Executive Coaching & Team Development

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Wed 12/7 at 1 p.m. – Upleveling Your Credential Program

Is your credentialing program leaving opportunities on the table? Learn about different credential models and how best to use them (certifications, certificates, stacked credentials, micro-credentials). Offering different options can ensure you’re serving all segments of your industry—and reaching possibilities you may be overlooking. More info/register.

Host: Cloud Generation

Speakers:

• Greg Melia, CAE, CEO at Customer Experience Professionals Association
• Heather McNair, Chief Customer Officer at Cloud Generation

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Wed 12/7 at 1 p.m. – Seemingly Limitless, Unapologetic, Member Resources: Expand Your Content’s Reach and Elevate Your Brand

Your organization has curated knowledge, gathered over many years, in the form of text, PDFs, white papers, videos, products. Put this content to work—retaining the members you’ve got and attracting prospects not yet in the fold. Many organizations do a poor job showcasing all of the good “stuff” in their arsenal—join us to discuss our best tips and advice for ‘getting it all out there’ in a dynamic and engaging ways which will keep ’em coming back again and again. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Adam Hostetter, CEO, FUSE Search

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Thu 12/8 at 12 p.m. – All the Tech You Missed This Year (But need to know about for 2023)

We’re bringing back the VERY popular Beth Z. (aka Your Nerdy Best Friend) for another highly entertaining, information-rich webinar to help us all stay ahead of the technology curve. Hear actionable technology tips for streamlining your work, making your life easier, and helping you and your members. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Beth Ziesenis, Author. Speaker. Nerd. Your Nerdy Best Friend

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Thu 12/8 at 12 p.m. – Behind the Curtain of ASAE’s Gold Circle Awards: What You Need to Know Before You Apply

Find out what you need to know before you apply for the ASAE Gold Circle Awards, including an overview of the application, updates to the categories and criteria, tips for a successful submission, and insider knowledge about what the judges are looking. Learn how you can volunteer to be a judge for the awards program. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

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Thu 12/8 at 12 p.m. – Maximizing Lead Generation Through Integrated Marketing

For several years, the key to success has been “all digital, all the time.” Now, the best minds in marketing are focused on strategies that ensure SEO, paid search, traditional media, and targeted community-based partnerships reinforce and support each other for maximum impact. Learn how to maximize organic lead generation through the latest search engine optimization principles and tactics, strategically leverage paid digital lead generation so you have a steady stream when you need them, work existing leads to ensure no one falls through the cracks, and apply the latest best traditional media practices to ensure they supports the three other pillars of your strategy. More info/register.

Host: American Marketing Association

Speakers: Aaron Mahl, PhD, Senior Vice President Graduate & Online, Erin Minsart, MBA, Director of Digital Strategy, and Scott Jeffe, Vice President of Graduate and Online Research, RNL

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Thu 12/8 at 12 p.m. – The Community Check-In

A weekly community chat on Slack for black professionals working in the events industry. More info/register.

Host: Black In Events Network

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Thu 12/8 at 12:30 p.m. – The Top Association Tech Trends for 2023

We view “trends” as an opportunity to acknowledge where we’ve been, while being hopeful about the future. Learn about the technology that association and nonprofit leaders are looking forward to next year including personalized giving experiences, member-empowering technology, and reaching the new VIPs of events. More info/register.

Host: Personify

Speakers: Erin Sullivan, VP of Marketing, and Ashly Stewart, Marketing Manager, Personify

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Thu 12/8 at 12:30 p.m. – Drips, Bots, and Blogs: A Non-Traditional Approach to Learning Reinforcement

Learn how to apply the concept of conversational drip delivery to your current curriculum, analyze the different use-cases between three different learning reinforcement drip delivery platforms to build into your content designs, write conversational content that addresses learning outcomes, avoiding content bloat and cognitive overload, and apply drip feeds in your organization to enhance outcomes. More info/register.

Hosts: inWhatLanguage and Association Universe

Speaker: Shannon Tipton, Chief Learning Officer, Learning Rebels LLC

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Thu 12/8 at 1 p.m. – The 2023 Learning Business Landscape

Hear about key developments that will impact learning businesses in 2023 and beyond, what survey data says about how organizations are investing in learning, and insights into specific areas of focus like personalization, blended learning, AI, cohort-based learning, data, and more. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Leading Learning

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Thu 12/8 at 1 p.m. – Overcoming Challenges with International Conferences

Meeting professionals who specialize in international conferences understand the challenges that come along with taking their meeting overseas. From site selection to onsite logistics, conference planners take into consideration many factors to ensure their international attendees, speakers and exhibitors have a seamless journey. Learn what’s changing in the international conference market; the pros/cons of virtual, in-person, and hybrid; and ways to mitigate chaos. 1 CAE/CMP/CEM credit. More info/register.

Host: EVA

Speakers:

• Lisa Dyson, CMP, DES, Conference Director for the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics
• Vinnu Deshetty, founder, EVA

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Thu 12/8 at 2 p.m. – Gen Z + Events: Insights to Know

Hear tips for understanding Gen Z and how they differ from other generations, where organizations can fail in attracting and engaging Gen Z audiences, and innovation ideas to make your next event Gen Z friendly. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: MeetingsNet

Speakers: Emily Dick, Director, Demand Generation, and Carisa Bartlet, Team Lead, Product Marketing, Cvent 

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Thu 12/8 at 3 p.m. – SEO Has Changed. Learn About Google’s Algorithms and How to Optimize Your Website and Social Media

Learn about changes from Google that you should know about, how to do on-page and off-page SEO, how to amplify your blog’s relevance and ranking, and how social media impacts SEO. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Diane Saeger, CEO, and Jon Rivers, COO, Marketeery

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Fri 12/9 at 12 p.m. – AWTC Mindful Networking

Held the second Friday of each month, these intimate, virtual conversations are a chance to form meaningful connections with other women and allies in the association technology community. Each Mindful Networking will feature one of our amazing AWTC award winners, followed by breakout rooms with changing topics (selected by our featured guest). More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Guest: Himali Shah, Manager of Consulting at FusionSpan

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Fri 12/9 at 4 p.m. – Engaging and Motivating Volunteers

Share your success (and failures) in working with volunteers. We all have stories to tell! More info/register.

Host: Fridays@4

Moderator: Heather Story, consultant, Volunteer Strategies

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Mon 12/12 at 12 p.m. – Membership Monday: Student/Young Professional Recruitment and Engagement

We will focus on a successful campaign for the recruitment and engagement of this membership segment. Do you have a success story you would like to share? We would love to hear from you. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Facilitator: Amy Hemphill, ASAE

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Mon 12/12 at 4 p.m. – AWTC Happy Hour at ASAE TEC 2022

Join Association Women Technology Champions as we celebrate women in technology and a successful 2022. More info/register.

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Tue 12/13 at 12 p.m. – Chapter Culture Reboot: Strategically Guiding Chapters through Change (Crunch n Munch)

Each month the Component Relations and Volunteer Management Council joins members of the community to discuss a topic of interest. More info/register.

Host: ASAE Component Relations and Volunteer Management Council

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Thu 12/15 at 1 p.m. – Nonprofit Leadership Roundtable

Join your nonprofit and association colleagues for a reflection and planning session. Take a look back at 2022 and envision your 2023. More info/register.

Host: Carol Hamilton, founder, Grace Social Sector Consulting

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Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If your organization offers free professional development for the association community, please send me the link via email or Twitter by Wednesday afternoon the week before it’s scheduled.

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Creative Commons licensed photo by Ozark Drones via Unsplash