Summit Presenters

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Lori Conaway, Literary & Linguistic Leader
Association Acumen

Lori Conaway, CAE started her career in association management in 2006 and has developed a diverse skill reflective of all core functions of the industry. She earned her Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential in 2014 and was the recipient of the peer-nominated Evolving Eagle Award in 2018.

She has been employed by Association Acumen since 2008 and has served in various positions for several clients. Lori is passionate about continuous learning and personal and professional growth. She is currently the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants (WAPA) and the Ophthalmic Anesthesia Society (OAS).

Lori has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with an emphasis on Media Technology and Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Outside of work, Lori focuses most of her time on her family. She can often be found walking her dogs, attending her children’s sporting events and spending time with her husband. She enjoys reading, running and organizing. Lori strives to balance being a successful professional and devoted mother.

“The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed.” – Richard Brinsley Sheridan



 

Michael DiFrisco, CAE
Chief Marketing Officer, American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry

Michael DiFrisco, CAE, has worked on association marketing and branding teams for most of his professional years. He has led the brand charge for diverse organizations including the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, where he currently serves as CMO. He has also served the Experimental Aircraft Association, and Ducks Unlimited, and consulted with other associations. DiFrisco is the author of dozens of articles on branding and marketing topics and often speaks to diverse audiences on brand strategy. He is also the author of Shadowcasting: Growing Your Business by Growing Your Reputation, and RADICAL Branding.



 

Reggie Driscoll, CMP
Senior Meeting Professional,
State Bar of Wisconsin

Reggie Driscoll, CMP has been with the State Bar of Wisconsin for over 15 years and is their Senior Meeting Professional. He has over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry and has been an independent contractor for local, regional, and national events.

Reggie is a long time member of MPI-WI, has been on the board of MPI-WI for 4 years and is currently President-Elect.



 

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Michelle Eggert, CMP, CDS
Director of Global Accounts, ConferenceDirect

Michelle Eggert, CMP, CDS joined ConferenceDirect as an independent contractor in September 2001.

Prior to joining ConferenceDirect, I spent more than 25 years gaining experience as a supplier and planner in diverse roles such as corporate catering and sales at an independent hotel in the Milwaukee area and event management in the non-profit, corporate, association and religious markets.

Thriving on helping organizations achieve their sales goals and enhance their marketing message, I deliver value to my clients through personalized customer service and meticulous contract review. Having negotiated over 1,500 hotel and convention center contracts during my tenure, my attention to detail has made me a highly regarded professional by both clients and peers.

From site search to contract negotiations, to managing hotel room audits, cancellation policies, concession obligations, reservation set up, and direct bill application submission and approval, I provide these services at no additional cost to the client.

I also provide fee-based on-site conference management services, including food and beverage selection and budgeting, audio visual management, speaker management, meeting room sets, transportation, off-site activities, spousal events, and décor.

Actively involved in the Wisconsin Society of Association Executives (WSAE), I recently completed my service on the board of directors. I am also a long-time member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Wisconsin Chapter, having previously served as Vice President-Membership.



 

Bill Elliott, CAE
President & CEO, Wisconsin Hotel & Lodging Association

Bill Elliott returned to the Wisconsin Hotel & Lodging Association (WHLA) as President & CEO in June of 2020. From 2007 through 2011 Bill worked in various roles with WHLA, mostly focusing on membership development, advertising programs and operations.

During Bill’s short tenure he has championed the effort to put $95 million in grant funding into the pockets of hotel and lodging property owners who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond the pandemic, he and his team have worked tirelessly to advocate on behalf of the industry. In addition to advocacy, the team has worked diligently to streamline operations through the use of technology, with an aim to develop better lodging leaders and more profitable lodging businesses throughout the state.



 

Matthew Hauser, CAE
President & CEO, Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association

Matthew (Matt) Hauser is President & CEO of the Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association (WPMCA). He has over two decades of experience in public policy, lobbying and executive leadership.  Since 2003, he has worked on state and federal public policy and regulatory issues for more than 500 independent petroleum marketers in Wisconsin. In 2008, he became the group's President & CEO.

In his current role, he is responsible for leading efforts to ensure fair taxation and regulation, strengthen coalitions with other organizations that serve small businesses in Wisconsin, and serve the interests of all petroleum marketers at local, state and federal levels of government. He is known for reaching across the aisle and developing relationships with both parties to ensure that his members’ interests are always top of mind. He manages teams of legal and marketing experts, and oversees staff. He also serves as primary spokesperson for the media and industry events. 

Prior to joining WPMCA, Matt served as policy advisor for agricultural and environmental issues for Governor Scott McCallum. He also served as a policy assistant for Governor Tommy Thompson. 

Matt maintains active involvement in many professional and service organizations, including the Association of Wisconsin Lobbyists (President 2018), Conference of Retail Associations, Tourism Federation of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Civil Justice Council. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also received a certificate in environmental studies from the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. He is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) and received a certification from the Institute of Organization Management (IOM). Matt is married and has two children.



 

Denise Husenica, MBA, CAE
Membership Manager, National Fluid Power Association
Chair-elect, Wisconsin Society of Association Executives

Denise earned her MBA while working full-time. She has been in the association world for 20 years and has a strong background in association management, including member recruitment, engagement, retention, and program management.

Along with her association knowledge, Denise also has experience in marketing and communications, social media marketing, community strategy, content curation, blogging, publishing and editing, and sponsorship sales.

When not mowing lawn or tending to her garden on their twenty-nine acre farmette, Denise spends time with her husband John, sitting around a campfire with a brandy old-fashioned in hand. OR chasing around her nine half-grown chicks. Yes, she is a self-proclaimed “Chicken Lady.”

 



 

Pelin Kesebir
Assistant Scientist, College of Letters & Science l Center for Healthy Minds

Pelin Kesebir has received her degree in Social Psychology and Personality from the University of Urbana-Champaign, and currently works as a scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds at UW-Madison. She studies happiness and virtues, and the different ways in which we can cultivate our well-being skills.



 

Jason W. Kotecki, CSP
Escape Adulthood

Jason Kotecki is a professional reminder-er and permission granter who moonlights as an artist, author and professional
speaker. Jason and his wife Kim have made it their mission in life to help people and organizations break free from Adultitis to build better lives, businesses, and teams.

Jason’s colorful art has been collected and licensed all over the world, and his insights have been featured in publications like Inc. and Woman’s Day. He is the author of six books, including Penguins Can’t Fly + 39 Other Rules That Don’t Exist, which has been translated into languages he can’t even read. His newest book, A Chance of Awesome: How Changing the Way You See Changes Everything was released in the fall of 2019.

As a speaker, Jason works with organizations to beat burnout and become more innovative by breaking rules that don’t exist. He is recognized by the National Speakers Association as a Certified Speaking Professional® (CSP). Only the top 10% of speakers in the world have this designation, which is the profession’s highest earned international measure of platform competence. CSPs are held to the highest ethical standards, and bring a proven track record of expertise and excellence.

An avid eater of sugar-laden cereal, Jason enjoys Star Wars, soft t-shirts, and brand new tubes of paint. He and Kim homeschool their three weird kids and live by the big lake in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where they eat way too many cheese curds.

escapeadulthood.com



 

Brittany Marsala Olson
Director of Meetings, AMPED Association Management

Brittany has a unique dual-passion for perfecting meeting and event logistics while identifying areas to increase revenue through sponsorship and fundraising, having exceeded $6MM in revenue for a single meeting. She finds building relationships very rewarding as demonstrated in her proven ability to continuously grow meeting attendance, create meaningful engagement opportunities and boost sponsorship and exhibit sales in both online and in-person environments. Energized by driving strategic conversations on how to build upon on the success of past events to meet future needs, Brittany oversees AMPED’s meetings department and has produced some of the company’s largest and most successful events.



 

Jacqualine Price Osafo, MBA, CAE
Executive Director, Society of American Archivists (SAA)

Jacqualine Price Osafo, MBA, CAE, is the executive director of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and its Foundation. In her role, she champions and expands the association’s work — and leadership — in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

She works to embrace new perspectives and programs within the profession to ensure that SAA is relevant to all stakeholders it serves. Jackie is responsible for governance for SAA’s Council, Foundation Board, and volunteer leaders. She leads efforts to cultivate existing and create new alliances, partnerships, and collaborations, particularly with vital related organizations.

Jackie is also skilled in strategic planning, group facilitation, and membership. Jackie has delivered education training to more than 15 countries. Jackie has presented industry-related topics for the American Society for Association Executives (ASAE), Association Forum, digitialNow, African Society of Association Executives, and others.

Jackie currently serves as chair for the Association Forum’s BIPOC Committee and serves on ASAE’s CAE Commission Committee. She has served as vice-chair and chair of committees, Special Interest Groups.

She is an ASAE’s Diversity Executive Leadership (DELP) Scholar. In 2021, she was named one of digitialNow’s Leaders of Distinction and, in 2017, was the recipient of Association Forum’s Professional Achievement Award.

Jackie is a Certified Association Executive (CAE). She earned her MBA from the University of IL at  Urbana-Champaign and her BA from DePaul University. Jackie enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She enjoys audio books and TED Talks. She gives back by serving and supporting others.



 

Keola Shimooka
Convention Sales Manager, Destination Madison

Keola Shimooka has over 25 years of hospitality, meetings, and event experience. Most of his career has been working inside hotel banquet and sales departments for Marriott Hotels and Resorts. He currently works at Destination Madison as a Convention Sales Manager where he promotes Madison, WI as the ideal destination for meetings and conventions, which ultimately helps to produce a positive economic impact for his community.  Shimooka has been strong supporter of WSAE for over 10 years and was recently elected to the WSAE Board of Directors as the Industry Partner Director. When Keola is not busy, he enjoys a good Netflix binge but can also be found spending quality time with his wife and 4 children.  



 

Susan Thomson
Co-Founder & Partner, ActionCOACH Business & Executive Coaching of Wisconsin

In 2007 Susan founded and co-owns ActionCOACH of WI, a globally awarding winning business & executive coaching firm that has also been recognized for the last 11 years by In Business magazine as the winner of Best Management Training Company!  ActionCOACH works with business owners, executives, HIPOs and teams in 81 countries worldwide.

As a speaker, Susan has spoken with over 12,000 people globally on topics ranging from increasing profits, to leading your team, to how to sell your business.  She’s shared the stage with leadership greats and successful entrepreneurs like Joe Theisman and Brad Sugars, and is ready to share battle-tested insights and practical “how to” advice with you!



 

Nisha G. Thakker, Esq.
Tenenbaum Law Group

Nisha Thakker is an experienced in-house nonprofit attorney and senior-level business partner. Formerly the associate general counsel of a large REALTOR® association in Northern Virginia, she has a broad understanding of nonprofit legal matters as well as business operations, governance, and development. Through her recent work at a Washington, DC-based association management company, Nisha advised her association clients on operational efficiencies and risk-management considerations. She also served as an advisor to several of the company’s additional clients and provided in-house association legal counsel company-wide. As a co-founder of Tenenbaum Law Group, Nisha counsels her clients on the broad array of legal issues affecting trade and professional associations, charities, and other nonprofits, including event codes of conduct, codes of ethics, and sound governance practices. Nisha currently serves on the Legal Advisory Council of the American Society of Association Executives.



 

Michelle Vetterkind, CAE
President & CEO - Wisconsin Broadcasters Association

President & CEO - Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation

Michelle Vetterkind has served as President and CEO of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association since February 2007 and was also named President and CEO of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation in February 2013. She has been with the WBA since 1995. The WBA is a trade association representing nearly 500 members, including more than 95 percent of the radio and television stations licensed in Wisconsin, as well as various associate and retired broadcaster members.

As President & CEO of the WBA, Vetterkind lobbies on behalf of Wisconsin’s commercial and non-commercial radio and television stations at the state and federal levels, and oversees all activities of the Association.

Vetterkind served as President of NASBA (National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations) in 2014, the same year she was named one of Radio Ink’s Most Influential Women in Radio. In 2017 she received the Association Leadership Award from the Wisconsin Society of Association Executives.

She currently serves as President of the TEMPO Madison Board of Directors, Immediate Past President of the TEMPO Madison Foundation Board of Directors, Immediate Past Chair of the WSAE (Wisconsin Society of Association Executives) Board of Directors, and as a member of the Madison Club Board of Directors and the Competitive Wisconsin Inc. Board of Directors. She is a member of Wisconsin’s Amber Alert oversite committee, as well as Wisconsin’s EAS (Emergency Alert System) committee. She is a Past President of NASBA (the National Alliance of State Broadcaster Associations) and currently serves as Co-Chair of the NASBA Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program. Michelle is a member of the Madison Central Lions Club where she served as the club’s first female President from 2000-2001.

Vetterkind enjoys running as a hobby, and was able to cross “running a marathon” off her list of lifetime goals, as she completed the Chicago Marathon in 1999. She also enjoys travel and wine.

Michelle received her designation as a Certified Association Executive (CAE) in 2000, and holds a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Government/Public Policy, in addition to an Associate Degree in Applied Arts.

She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband Kirk. She has two adult children and one grandchild.