Nathalie Atkins is currently Director of Events with Tessitura Network, a non-profit software organization for arts & culture organizations. After receiving a CFC de Commerce from EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, Nathalie moved to San Diego to pursue a B.S. in Hospitality Management and later joined the Hilton Washington team, working on large conventions and Presidential events. Nathalie brings 20+ years of experience delivering national, international, virtual, in-person, and hybrid events for commercial entities, nonprofits, and trade associations, with a strong focus on event technology and accessibility.

Tia Benjamins is a strategic leader driving success through client and project management, global supplier partnerships and sales operations initiatives. In her current role at Opus Agency, she manages key technology and manufacturing accounts while also overseeing two teams – venue sourcing and sales operations. With an extensive background in event management, marketing, hotel and convention sales, no matter what the role, Tia has the passion, experience, versatility, and drive to approach each new venture with a clear perspective and an open mind.

Matthew D'Uva is the CEO of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the premier organization of scientists and healthcare professionals committed to preventing and curing liver disease. A graduate of Tufts University with a BA in international relations, Matthew also earned an MBA from Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. He has been named a Fellow of the American Association of Association Executives (ASAE) and has earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation. Matthew is an active member of the association community including service on the ASAE Board of Directors and ASAE Foundation Board of Directors.

Alison Davidson is Head of Global Events at Pure Storage. As a global events leader she is an excellent strategic and operational leader. In her previous role as Vice President, Global Events and Customer Marketing at OpenText, she created best-in-class in person and digital events to grow and engage customer and partner communities across geographies. When not planning events - Alison is organizing her family of 5 children, 3 pets, and 1 husband. She can be found "ubering" the family and watching a lot of volleyball.

Melissa Dewey CMP is an Events Director in the Healthcare Portfolio at Smithbucklin, with more than a decade of experience producing events from various industries including technology, manufacturing, and medical events. Melissa has had the pleasure of planning meetings, programs, and events in almost 10 different countries and implementing strategic programs using data-based decision-making. Melissa is involved in KPMG’s Executive Leadership Institute for Women, a program that cultivates relationships with other women executives in the Washington D.C. metro area.

Justine Friedman, CMP is a seasoned Senior Sourcing Manager for The Linux Foundation. With 20+ years of experience in the event industry, she brings a unique approach to sourcing by bridging her experience in sales and events at The Ritz-Carlton and Kimpton Hotels, and as an in-house event planner in her current role. Working from both perspectives she understands there is a solution for everything and works to achieve synergy between her team, the stakeholders, and vendor partners. She loves recommending new locations and believes the best way to experience a new city is through the local fare.

Mariana Gallo is Director of Meetings & Progams at American Association of Physicists in Medicine. Her career path has included time with leaders in the market such as Experient, Inc, ConferenceDirect and IMN Solutions. Mariana holds a BA in Business and Marketing from St. Bonaventure University. She earned her Certified Meeting Planners (expired) and Digital Event Strategist; sat on the executive board for the Capital Chapter of PCMA; and is active on the Capital Chapter of PCMA Community Service Committee. When not taking over the world Mariana is vested in animal welfare and volunteers with the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, DC.

Cait Goldberg is the Chief of Event Planning and Operations at Society for Science, a 100-year old nonprofit institution based in Washington, D.C. and dedicated to the public understanding of science. Society for Science owns and administers the largest and most prestigious science competitions for middle and high school students in the world including the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. Overall Cait’s department produces 50 meetings and events annually in addition to managing the organization’s facilities and overall operations. Cait has been with Society for more than 25 years.

Josh Henry, CMP, is a Meeting Manager and the Diversity and Inclusion Lead for SPIE, an optical science association based in Bellingham, WA. Josh values any opportunity to bring creativity and pragmatism to the events he curates around the world. He utilizes his perspective as a diversity and inclusion advocate to make his event offerings uniquely engaging and welcoming. When he’s not working or traveling for pleasure, Josh enjoys antique shopping, vinyl record collecting, babying his vast array of houseplants and spending lazy movie nights in with friends.

Megan Henshall (she/her) joined Google in April 2019, and serves as the Global Events Solutions, Strategic Lead. She partners across Google to understand how events drive business, build communities and promote cultural continuity, informing strategy for a global team of amazing event professionals. She leads an internal/external innovation effort called the Google Experience Institute (Xi), focused on the future of human-centered, multi-modal experience design.

David Kliman is President of The Kliman Group specializing in Customer Advisory Board facilitation and consulting services for hospitality and travel industry organizations. David is also Co-Founder of ELX - Event Leaders Exchange a private professional community for senior corporate event leaders to share ideas, industry insights, brainstorm issues and engage in actionable conversations. David has served as International Chairman of MPI and on the White House Board of Travel and Tourism. He currently serves on the executive committee of the MPI Foundation Board of Trustees. He’s also Co-Founder of the EIC APEX COVID Recovery Task Force. He was named by MPI in April 2022 as one of the 50 most influential members in the event industry. David was also named Paul Flackett IMEX Academy Award Winner in May 2023

Charlene Liu, CMP, DMCP serves as the Director of Meetings & Events for the Higher Education User Group. Charlene is a University of Florida alumna and recently attained her Master’s degree in Meeting and Event Management from San Diego State University. She also has attained the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), Destination Management Certified Professional (DMCP), and Six Sigma Yellow Belt certifications. Currently, Charlene dedicates her time on the MPI Tampa Bay Area Chapter Board of Directors, the National Client Advisory Board for the city of St. Louis and actively volunteers her skillset to various community organizations.

Kathleen McClemmy, CMP, is currently the Director of Meetings for the Aesthetic Society. Kathleen has worked in many positions in the hospitality industry over her 30-year career. Her leadership and forward-thinking have guided the organization by driving issue resolutions, performance enhancement and vendor engagement. Kathleen has served on the program committee for ALHI Executive Exchange. Currently she serves on the Greater Miami Visitors and Convention Bureau’s Innovative Think Tank and has recently been featured in articles for both PCMA and MPI.

Courtney Miller is Director of Meetings at the Society for Vascular Surgery. Courtney brings extensive experience and a proven track record of managing all aspects of nonprofit, association and corporate events. Her experience spans planning, sourcing, execution, staff augmentation and employee management, budget management and contract negotiation.

Vandana Patel is Director of Events and Experiential Marketing at Ingram Micro. Vandana leads the events & experiential marketing team in conceptualizing and executing high-value global experiences & activations to elevate the Ingram Micro brands including Ingram Micro Cloud & CloudBlue, from business unit to corporate level. Her career path has included time with Belkin International, Sportie LA Media, Oakland Raiders (NFL), and Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA). Vandana is a San Jose State University alumni.

Lisa Parse is Director of Meeting Services at the American Academy of Periodontology. She began her carreer in the meetings industry in 1996, working for a company known as ITS, where she honed her skills in registration management system development and citywide contract negotiation. Lisa later moved into the position of Housing and Council Administrator, in the International Meetings Division, at Rotary International, working on citywide meetings throughout the world. In her spare time, Lisa enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, traveling and watching college football.

As General Manager, Exhibition Place - Laura Purdy CEM CMM, is responsible for the management of Canada's largest convention and exhibition complex; Enercare Centre and Beanfield Centre. For 25 years, Laura has been a leader and influencer in the meetings, exhibition, and convention industry in Canada. An active member of several industry associations; she currently serves on the Board of the Convention Centres of Canada, Canadian Association of Exposition Management, Meetings Mean Business Canada, and is a founding member of Women In Exhibitions North America.

Carol Reising is Strategic Account Director at Maritz Global Events. She is the recipient of many peer recognitions, including: 2019 Sourcing Manager of the Year, Impact Player, Key Contributor, Special Performance, Standing Ovation, and 2016 Top Sourcing Manager. Carol’s passion for the industry started after earning an incentive trip to the 2004 Super Bowl. Inspired by that experience, she went on to spend 12 years at the American Bar Association, prior to joining the Maritz Global family. Carol and her husband have two amazing girls and live just outside of Chicago,in Brookfield, IL.

Pat Tobin is the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture with the City of Toronto, a position he has held since October 2022. In this role, Pat oversees the City’s economic development policies and initiatives, as well as the City’s support to the culture sector spanning heritage, the arts and the creative industries. He held the position of Director, Arts and Culture Services from 2017-2022. Prior to joining the City of Toronto, Pat spent 18 years with the Canadian federal government, working in areas such as culture, civic engagement, and economic development.

Trey Weaver (he/him/his) is the Senior Manager for Meetings & Education at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. In 2017 he was named an “Agent of Change” for faith-based meetings by Connect Faith magazine and recognized again by BizBash/Connect in 2022 as part of their “40 Under 40” feature highlighting association meeting professionals. He is a published contributor for Do Good Well, an introductory how-to on grassroots leadership, action, and innovation. Trey lives in Colorado Springs, CO, with his ever-patient partner Paul, their cat overlords Draco and Nola, and a constant supply of Cherry Pepsi.

Frank Wolfe is CEO, Hospitality Financial & Technology Professionals. Frank frequently speaks and writes about finance, technology, security, social media, volunteer strategy, and travel issues to audiences in more than 30 countries including two regular columns. Frank has been honored as a 'Champion of Technology Education', Valued Partner, CEO of the Year, and in 2018, Most Influential Hospitality Association CEO. He has appeared on several television network interviews including CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, TVAsia, and Bloomberg. In 2020, he was appointed as an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the Emirates Academy of Association Management and inducted as a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality. In 2023, Frank was recognized as a business thought leader and innovator by Forbes.

James Woollard is Director of Commercial Strategy at BLAST, a leading global esports network delivering world-class experiences and products in Counter-Strike, Rainbow 6, Fortnite and Apex Legends. His career path includes time with both FIFA and Wembley Stadium. James is a senior commercial and operational events industry professional with expertise in strategy, major events, commercial solutions, technology strategy and integration, destination management, event operations and, most recently, the growing esports industry.

Alex Zapple, CAE, CMP, CEM is Sr. Director of Meetings and Member Experience at the American Society of Nephrology. In her role she manages logistics including site selection, contracting and event management for Kidney Week, a 14,000 person city-wide meeting. Prior to ASN, Alex worked at SmithBucklin, engaging with client associations in the fields of healthcare, science, financial services, government, and business trade. Alex has planned meetings and events all over the United States and globally in Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Alex serves on several advisory boards and councils.