Every ASAE Annual Meeting & Expo is a challenge to summarize—there are a lot of people, a lot of sessions, and a lot of different threads for attendees to follow. Which is as it should be, given the breadth of work associations do. But though I’m just one person who can’t cover everything by splitting himself in two (or ten, or 20…), there were a few notable themes that emerged during the three days of sessions. Please share your own observations and favorite sessions in the comments.

Emotional well-being is on the agenda. Every Annual Meeting usually has a session or two on mental wellness—and those spa chairs in the expo hall aren’t there for nothing—but this year I was struck by how overtly that was part of the conversation this year. It was at the center of poet Amanda Gorman’s Opening Session conversation, as well as former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who spoke candidly about therapy and developing a healthy mental perspective in the face of persistent and often hateful public criticism.

The subject also found its way into presentations during the smaller learning sessions. One of the final ones, “Vanquishing Impostor Phenomenon,” featured five association leaders talking candidly about their struggles to feel like they measure up to their roles, especially as persons of color. One of the better recommendations around that came from Alex Morales, CAE, an account executive at Bostrom: Create a “smile file” to track the positive feedback and supportive messages you’ve received, to look at on days when you’re not feeling your best. 

Associations face a lot of challenges today, from attacks on DEI and nonprofits’ tax status, to workforce challenges, to the rise of AI.

More is being asked of boards. Successful boards don’t make headlines, so something is off when you see news stories about governance dysfunction at the National Association of Realtors, OpenAI, the Romance Writers of America, and more. That issue was the inspiration for “Ripped From the Headlines: 501c Governance Under Attack,” where McKinley Advisors CEO Jay Younger, FASAE, led a discussion about ways that boards need to step up their role—and be actively dissuaded from dodging responsibility. Abraham Eshkenazi, CAE, CEO of the Association for Supply Chain Management, pressed leaders to expand the governance pipeline to increase participation among younger professionals, and avoid the instinct to kick any challenging topic to a committee.

In another session, “Engage Your Board to Create New Products,” Vicki Loise, CEO of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, discussed how she recruited her board to generate ideas for a sustainable and meaningful new product that serves members. Part of the effort was meant to encourage a healthy organization not to rest on its laurels, but in the process it also helped create a board culture that was open to big-picture strategic conversations and candid about confronting failures.

Radical transparency is increasingly essential. Associations face a lot of challenges today, from attacks on DEI to Capitol Hill conversations about changing nonprofits’ taxation (the subject of a pop-up session, and where ASAE will be soon offering more commentary and guidance), workforce challenges, and the rise of artificial intelligence and questions about what it means for a host of industries. Associations are under more pressure to justify their existence to both their members and the public, so openness will be increasingly meaningful. 

At “From the Brink: Restoring Member Trust and Justice in Associations,” two representatives from the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses discussed an overhaul of an organization that had gained a reputation for being clubbish and prone to dodge accusations of misbehavior. AWHONN made a point of being more proactive about criticism, addressing questions as they came up, and being more direct about its standing. At one event, the panelists explained, the CEO shared a spreadsheet of the entire organizational budget. Like every association budget, the type was tiny. But discussing the particulars of the budget wasn’t the point—what mattered was that the association was open, finally, to talk about what it was doing and why. 

[iStock/Jacob Wackerhausen]