An Exhibitor Showcase Experience
Thursday, May 28, 2026
11:45-12:15 PM- designDATA
- designDATA- From Strategy to Systems: Your Association’s Frameworks for AI Implementation
- Speaker: Rob Shelton, Director of Demand Generation, designDATA
AI is becoming part of every platform and process your association relies on, but using it in a systematic, strategic way remains challenging. Many teams experiment with AI only to hit roadblocks like inconsistent outputs, unclear workflows, and difficulty scaling early wins. From Strategy to Systems helps your organization move past one-off use cases into a structured, operational approach to AI. In this session, the speaker will share a practical 30/60/90-day roadmap that shifts teams from exploration to embedded systems. You will work through live examples as the speaker whiteboards prompts, workflows, and guardrails that turn scattered experimentation into reliable, repeatable processes. Designed for marketing directors and association leaders, this session shows how AI connects across your broader tech stack, supporting marketing, member services, events, operations, and more. You will learn how to boost productivity, reduce bottlenecks, protect brand integrity, and build organization-wide frameworks for confident AI implementation.
12:15-12:45 PM- DAHLIA+ Agency
Speaker: Dahlia El Gazzar, Chief Ruckus Maker
Your ugly workday doesn’t need another motivational quote. It needs backup. In this fast-paced, live-fire session, Dahlia El Gazzar will demo the tools, workflows, and AI-powered shortcuts helping busy event professionals save time, reduce chaos, and get their creativity back. From content creation and meeting overload to marketing, planning, and communication bottlenecks, you’ll see real tools used in real time with practical ways to apply them immediately.
No fluffy theory. No boring screenshots. Just live demos, fast wins, and smarter habits.
You’ll leave with:
- Time-saving tools you can actually use
- New workflows to reduce overwhelm
- Creative shortcuts that don’t feel robotic
- Productivity habits designed for very busy humans
Bring your questions, your chaos, and maybe your ugly day.
Friday, May 29, 2026
8:45- 9:15 AM- Forj
- Forj- From Systems to Experience: A share Journey for modern Association Teams
- Speaker: Kurt Heikkinen, CEO, Forj
- Speaker: Stephen Sye, VP of IT from Heart Rhythm Society
Member expectations have shifted and changed. Today’s members don’t see “systems,” they experience your organization as a single, connected journey. And when that experience feels fragmented, outdated, or impersonal, they disengage. In this Tech Talk, Kurt Heikkinen, CEO of Forj, and Stephen Sye, VP of Technology at the Heart Rhythm Society, will challenge traditional silos across technology, marketing, and membership. Together, they’ll explore why delivering a modern member experience is a shared responsibility and what happens when IT leads a “member first” digital transformation. Drawing from real-world transformation at the Heart Rhythm Society, this session will highlight how connecting learning, community, and data creates more meaningful, personalized experiences. Attendees will leave with a clear takeaway: the member experience isn’t owned by one department. It's defined, built and executed together–as one team.
Learning Objectives:
- Reframe ownership: Understand why member experience requires alignment across technology, marketing, and membership teams
- Identify friction points: Recognize where disconnected systems and teams create gaps in the member journey
- Connect experience to outcomes: Learn how integrated learning, community, and data drive engagement and retention
- Apply real-world insights: Gain practical takeaways from Heart Rhythm Society’s approach to modernizing their member experience
Friday, May 29, 2026
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM: DAHLIA+ Agency
Speaker: Dahlia El Gazzar, Chief Ruckus Maker
Your ugly workday doesn’t need another motivational quote. It needs backup. In this fast-paced, live-fire session, Dahlia El Gazzar will demo the tools, workflows, and AI-powered shortcuts helping busy event professionals save time, reduce chaos, and get their creativity back. From content creation and meeting overload to marketing, planning, and communication bottlenecks, you’ll see real tools used in real time with practical ways to apply them immediately.
No fluffy theory. No boring screenshots. Just live demos, fast wins, and smarter habits.
You’ll leave with:
- Time-saving tools you can actually use
- New workflows to reduce overwhelm
- Creative shortcuts that don’t feel robotic
- Productivity habits designed for very busy humans
Bring your questions, your chaos, and maybe your ugly day.
