#5: In Conversation with KiKi L’Italien, on Sharpening Your Digital Strategy and Building Member Trust
Release Date: 07/12/2022
#16: In Conversation with Mark Sterne, about Finding the Balance between Print and Digital
Association Station
Mark Sterne, who is based in Chicago, is the founder and president of the Print & Marketing Solutions Group. He works with associations and other organizations to improve their marketing ROI and constituent engagement with effective print, fulfillment, digital publications and web-to-print solutions. His focus is to help associations with printing, marketing and fulfillment for their books, magazines, meetings, membership recruitment, renewal and retention programs. In this episode, we talk about: How to find the right balance between print and digital. The importance of...
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#15: In Conversation with Beth Rosenberg about Taking a Newsroom Approach to Covering Content
Association Station
Today’s guest is Beth Rosenberg. Beth is the director of communications at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), which is based in downtown DC. She primarily oversees the digital editorial content and social media channels. Beth has worked at NBAA for 11 years and was previously a newspaper reporter, working at newspapers throughout the Northeast and with the Associated Press and trade publications. Beth walks us through how she takes a newsroom approach to planning and developing content for her association and also how she has this newsroom approach on-site at their...
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#14: In Conversation with Chris Durso, about Modernizing a Flagship Print Magazine to Lead the Content Plan
Association Station
Today’s guest is Chris Durso. Chris lives in Arlington, Virginia, right outside Washington, DC. He is the editor-in-chief of Construction Executive magazine, which is published by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). He has more than 30 years of experience as an editor, writer, publications leader and content strategist across a variety of industries. In January/February 2023, Chris and his team at ABC debuted a redesigned and reimagined Construction Executive magazine, along with the new look of its accompanying newsletter. The magazine is published nine times a year...
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#13: In Conversation with Crystal Shelley, about the Importance of Using Conscious Language in Our Writing and Editing
Association Station
Today’s guest is Crystal Shelley, of Salt Lake City. Crystal is the owner of Rabbit with a Red Pen. She edits fiction and is an authenticity reader. Drawing on her background as a social worker, she unites her love of language and passion for social justice by pushing for writing and representation that’s more dignified, intentional, and just. Crystal is the creator of the — these toolkits are fantastic resources and I’ll put a link to them in the show notes. Crystal also serves on the board of ACES: the Society for Editing and is an instructor for the Editorial...
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#12: In Conversation with Christina Lewellen, about Reimagining Your Magazine into the Association’s No. 1 Marketing Tool
Association Station
Today’s guest is Christina Lewellen, MBA, CAE, who has been the executive director of the Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools (ATLIS) since 2019. Christina, who lives in Virginia, is a seasoned association executive who brings a data-driven framework to business planning and strategy. She received an MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Certified Association Executive designation from the American Society of Association Executives. ATLIS’ magazine, Access Points, won awards from AM&P Network and ASAE after Christina and her team reimagined the...
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#11: In Conversation with Jemilah Senter, about Opportunities and Risks of AI Tools Like ChatGPT
Association Station
Today’s guest is Jemilah Senter, of MCI USA. Throughout her career, Jemilah, who lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has focused singularly on marketing and communications, including marketing strategy, brand developing, marketing technology assessment and implementation, and more. For the past two years, Jemilah was vice president of marketing and communications at MCI USA, where she oversaw the creative team for the associations division. Recently, she moved into a new role to lead marketing for MCI USA. Jemilah and I are both interested in generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools...
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#10: In Conversation with Nabil El-Ghoroury, PhD, CAE, about Stress, Burnout and Other Mental Health Issues
Association Station
Nabil El-Ghoroury, PhD, CAE, is a psychologist and principal at Executive Therapy & Consulting. He has 13 years experience as a nonprofit executive, including four years as CEO of a $6 million association. Nabil is a licensed psychologist who can see patients in over 30 states via telehealth and is available for individual counseling. As a global speaker, Nabil speaks to businesses and associations on mental health topics such as stress and wellness, burnout, impostor experience, and creating a culture of employee well-being. In this episode, we talk about: How the pandemic lockdown...
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#9: In Conversation with Joy Burwell, on How a Small Staff Successfully Rebranded and Refocused
Association Station
Joy Burwell is the director of communications and membership at the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA). She manages the communications and marketing for the organization and oversees the membership department. Before joining AOPA three years ago, Joy was assistant vice president of communications at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. She also spent six years at Amplify Public Affairs and has worked at the American Academy of Nursing. She is a graduate of James Madison University and received her master’s degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University. Joy...
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#8: In Conversation with Carrie Hartin, on developing industry partnerships and mapping out content engagement experiences
Association Station
Carrie Hartin is president of sales solutions and services at MCI USA. Carrie lives in Baltimore, Maryland. At MCI USA, she leads a team that generates revenue for more than 40 associations across the U.S. They provide a wide range of customized sales solutions—in media, sponsorships, training programs, and more. Topics covered: Dealing with current revenue challenges. The changes over the years in what marketers are looking for—from ad sales to multi-channel approaches. The speed of content and the ability to update and change content very quickly. The...
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#7: In Conversation with Samantha Whitehorne, of ASAE, on Switching from a Print Magazine to Digital-First
Association Station
Today’s guest is Samantha Whitehorne, senior director, and editor-in-chief, of Associations Now at ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership. Sam leads content development and management of ASAE’s Associations Now media channel. Throughout her 17 years at ASAE, Sam has managed both print and digital channels and developed content that positions Associations Now as the definitive source of news and thought leadership for association professionals. Since Associations Now initially launched in 2005, it has won more than 60 awards from FOLIO, Association Media & Publishing, Association...
info_outlineToday’s guest is KiKi L’Italien, the owner of the consulting firm Amplified Growth; she trains association staff and speaks on a number of topics, particularly trust, community and membership. She helps organizations develop stronger ties between their mission and their members, honing her approach to communications and strategy for many organizations—nonprofits and corporate alike—including Optica, American Red Cross national headquarters, QVC and the American Institute of Architects.
KiKi is also a senior consultant with Tecker International and speaks regularly about management strategy, including digital strategy, and cultivating communities of trust.
She is also the creator and host of Association Chat, an online community, blog and podcast.
Kiki was featured in 2021 by Cvent as one of the 20 Event Professionals You Should be Following and in August 2021 as 30 Nonprofit IT Influencers to Follow in 2021 by BizTech magazine.
KiKi has served on the membership and component relations section councils for ASAE and was recognized in 2019 at IMEX as a Hall of Fame recipient for Organizational Leadership by the Association for Women in Events. Other awards include BizBash Top 1000 People in the U.S. Event Industry (2019) and SURGE Innovation Pioneer (2018).
She is the current president of the Woman’s Club of Wenonah, New Jersey.
Topics covered:
- How she got started in associations.
- How the #AssnChat tweet chat and hashtag was created and how it has grown into a larger community.
- What associations need to be focusing on with their digital strategy. Hint: Figure out how important your legacy programs are and whether you should keep them around.
- Should you keep those programs you created during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic?
- Why cross-training staff and keeping up with staff training is critical right now, especially during the Great Resignation.
- Why you need to capture and write down the processes for various roles.
- The importance of trust in associations—with members, with staff leaders and co-workers, with your content.
- Distrust has become exacerbated in times of uncertainty, such as the #MeToo movement, Black Lives Matter and the COVID-19 pandemic.
- How to endeavor trust in member relations and content.
- How much trust do you have in yourself? Do you keep your promises to yourself?
- How the pandemic increased local and regional member participation.
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