At the heart of the annual conference organized by the California Speech-Language Hearing Association (CSHA) lies a collective effort to bring together colleagues in the field. As the Marketing Communications Manager, I played a pivotal role in orchestrating this event, which stands as the organization’s primary revenue generator. Leveraging my expertise, I implemented a strategic email marketing campaign targeting segmented audiences, orchestrated both organic and paid social media initiatives, and executed a targeted direct mail campaign.

To enhance the conference’s value proposition, I closely collaborated with the Conference Manager and the Member Services Manager. Together, we actively solicited speaker proposals and conducted comprehensive survey research distributed via email and social media channels. This engagement method allowed us to pinpoint the most pressing presentation topics, ensuring a conference agenda tailored precisely to the needs of our members. Additionally, we reached out to subject matter experts in underrepresented areas, diversifying the sessions and enriching the conference content.

Further, in collaboration with the Conference Committee of board members, we meticulously reviewed and approved presentation proposals, ensuring the highest quality of content. The expertise and insights provided by the committee were invaluable in shaping the conference’s offerings.

During a pivotal juncture, we encountered a software challenge in tracking session attendance for Continuing Education Units (CEUs). I took the lead in resolving the issue, working closely with the Member Services Manager. Despite initial roadblocks with the software provider, I conducted a detailed analysis and identified the root cause: a formatting discrepancy resulting in the removal of leading zeros from attendee IDs. Taking matters into my own hands, I meticulously applied a custom format to over 6000 records in Excel, ensuring compliance with the American Speech-Language Hearing Association’s submission requirements.

This hands-on approach, marked by meticulous attention to detail and a problem-solving mindset, not only ensured the success of the conference but also allowed us to surpass our revenue goals and provided our members with essential CEUs. This experience underscores my capacity to lead cross-functional teams, collaborate effectively with board members, and navigate complex challenges to drive organizational achievement.

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