Through The Noise

Katie Shepherd is the National Advocacy Counsel for the Immigration Justice Campaign at the American Immigration Council, where she focuses on legal advocacy and policy related to the asylum-seeking women and children detained in family detention centers around the country. Before joining the Council in August 2016, Katie was the Managing Attorney of the CARA Pro Bono Project in Dilley, Texas, where she managed a team of lawyers, advocates, and volunteers which provides legal services to asylum-seeking women and children detained in Dilley, Texas. 

Jeffrey Shields, FASAE, CAE, has served as President and CEO of the National Business Officers Association (NBOA) since March 2010.  Jeff, an active member of the American Society of Association Executives, is a member of the 2008 Class of ASAE Fellows (FASAE) and earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 2002. He currently serves as a trustee for One Schoolhouse, an innovative online school offering supplemental education to independent schools and previously served as a trustee at Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC, where his daughter Samantha attends. He holds a BA from Shippensburg University and an MA from The Ohio State University.  NBOA is the premier national membership association serving the professional needs of business officers and business operations staff at PK-12 independent schools. The association has grown from 23 founding member schools in 1998 to over 1,350 US member schools, plus member schools in Mexico, Canada and 23 other countries around the globe during

Ryan Conrad is CEO of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® (NVAR), an organization comprised of approximately 12,000 real estate professionals in the Washington, D.C. metro area. As CEO, Conrad oversees a 34-person staff in two locations, as well as a Realtor® school and store. He serves as publisher of NVAR’s bi-monthly RE+VIEW magazine. NVAR promises its members to “Take You Further” by providing a variety of services, including educational opportunities, professional standards enforcement, market statistics, legislative reviews, issues lobbying, multiple listing and lockbox services and more.

Behzad Rassuli is the SVP, Strategic Development, overseeing marketing and communications, membership, communities, market intelligence and data innovation at the Auto Care Association. Prior to joining Auto Care, he served in strategic roles at CARFAX and CEB, where he conducted market research and competitive intelligence to guide corporate strategy. The Auto Care Association represents the entire supply chain of the automotive aftermarket, the size and scope of which covers over 500,000 manufacturers, distributors, retail and repair shops. Our members provide parts and services designed to make vehicles last longer and keep drivers safer.

Darrell K. Smith is President & Chief Executive Officer of the National Waste and Recycling Association. Since 2002, Darrell has been active in the public policy arena in Washington, DC. Previous to his current position in the waste industry, he represented the mining, petroleum and chemical industries. Darrell has a reputation of assisting heavy industry in the promotion of a positive, progressive image.  Prior to his public policy career, Darrell worked in the environmental and safety compliance fields for a number of industries including hazardous waste, telecommunications and electronics. He is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene. Darrell resides in Washington, DC. The National Waste & Recycling Association is the trade association representing private-sector U.S. waste and recycling companies, as well as the manufacturers and service providers.

As Director of Client Success at Gravitate Solutions, Rebecca draws upon her decade of experience as a business analyst and project manager to create smooth implementation experiences for clients. As clients journey into data analysis and reporting, Rebecca takes pride in guiding them toward tools and strategies that cultivate data-driven decision making. Gravitate Solutions is the creator of Nucleus, the first data analytics platform built specifically for associations and nonprofits. As of the publication of this recording, Nucleus is GDPR compliant

Dr. Barbara P. “Barb” Glenn is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Barb is a scientist with decades of experience as a policy researcher and advocate for agriculture. NASDA represents the Commissioners, Secretaries, and Directors of the state departments of agriculture in all fifty states and four U.S. territories.

Raz is a business, technology, and information governance attorney. His practice focuses on privacy and data security, information technology transactions and licensing, and data management. WTP is a full-service law firm with clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, including domestic and international nonprofit organizations and associations.

Gary Shapiro is the president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association. He also an author CTA’s New York Times bestsellers “Ninja Innovation: The Ten Killer Strategies of the World’s Most Successful Businesses” (Harper Collins, 2013) and “The Comeback: How Innovation will Restore the American Dream” (Beaufort, 2011). He is a frequent guest MSNBC, FOXNEWS, CNN, and with many editorials in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Washington Post.   The Consumer Technology Association is a trade association for over 2,200 companies within the consumer technology industry. They produce CES (Consumer Electronics Show) with more than 3,200 exhibitors, including manufacturers, developers and suppliers of consumer technology hardware, content, technology delivery systems and more; a conference program with more than 300 sessions; and more than 150,000 attendees from more than 150 countries.

Julie Riggs serves as the Maryland Program Manager for Serving Together. She has over 20 years in the nonprofit sector; spending the past 10 years working for the military and veteran-focused nonprofits in both San Diego and the National Capital Region. ServingTogether, a program of EveryMind is dedicated to creating a more coordinated system of care and easier access to services for military, veterans and their families.    

Michael France is the Managing Director of Safety & Training for the National Air Transportation Association, overseeing the Association’s Safety 1st program. Michael has extensive experience throughout the general aviation ground handling industry in safety, training and fuel quality management and is a frequent instructor of many of NATA’s in-person training events. The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has been the voice of aviation business for over 75 years. Representing nearly 2,300 aviation businesses, NATA’s member companies provide a broad range of services to general aviation, the airlines and the military and NATA serves as the public policy group representing the interests of aviation businesses before Congress and the federal agencies.

We haven't delved much into the world of the arts and the nonprofits that support them but we're thrilled to branch out with our guest from the Houston Arts Alliance. John Abodeely is the CEO of the Houston Arts Alliance and we're also joined by Ed Spitzberg, the Principal of Spitzberg Advisors who has provided strategic planning and other services to bolster the staff of small arts organizations. As a former nonprofit executive, Ed Spitzberg understands what nonprofits need -- and don't. While it may not always be possible to hire a full-time staff member to solve a problem, many consultants bring a wealth of nonprofit experience and can help address your problems on a project basis. Join us for this look into a local arts organization and how they make it work.

Water is everywhere -- until it's not. On the East Coast, we tend to take water for granted, we rarely have droughts and clean, safe, water is seemingly always available with a flick of the wrist. Water conservation is a critical issue today for billions of people around the world and we've invited Ian Lyle, the Executive Vice President of the National Water Resources Association to the show to give us some perspective. Think about dinner last night? Did you have wine? Beer? A single glass of wine requires 28 glasses of water to produce! Like this show? Leave us a review on iTunes!

As we get closer to tax season and people begin fretting about their deductions and refunds, we thought we'd speak to someone in the world of finance who is making a big difference for financial professionals and their clients. James Kaitz is the President and CEO of the Association For Financial Professionals and under his leadership, the organization has pursued a standardization of the profession by creating an offer an exam to measure knowledge and competency. The AFP represents 15,000 individuals globally and holds regular conferences. If your organization's financial professionals are looking for a community or a credential, the AFP is the place to start.

We constantly talk to representatives from major national and international organizations and today we're thrilled to speak with two people who put their energies towards organizing for their profession on a local level, through chapters. Brent Hayhurst and Stephenie Sikorski join us from the DC Chapter of the American Marketing Association where he is the current and outgoing president and she is the incoming president of a very active and all-volunteer board. They engage with professionals around the DC area and provide mentoring, networking, and educational opportunities for members across all levels of the profession. Don't miss this episode to learn how the marketers market to other marketers.

David LaBahn is today's guest on Through the Noise and he is the President and CEO of The Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. Like many of the listeners of the show, his membership is comprised of mission-driven individuals using their talents to create a better world. There are 3,000 prosecuting attorneys around the United States that participate in the vast and varied criminal justice system. Their membership can be appointed or elected and they operate in systems that are based entirely on discretion. Check out this episode to find out how they communicate with their diverse membership and employ their talented members in their lobbying efforts. Have a second? Review us on iTunes!

Getting your message to the right people is a concern of all communications staff and we're pleased to welcome Andrew Sousa of Steadfast Communications to Through the Noise to talk about just how to do that. Working in public relationships for nearly 20 years, Andrew Sousa has honed his ability to focus on the details that need to be told to tell the right story. Your organization could be doing incredible, life-changing -- and life-saving -- work but if you don't have a way to convey that to the people who need to know about your services, what's the point? Don't miss this episode and the chance to refine your communications strategy so you're talking to the right people, about the right message, through the proper channels to reach them.

Ever wonder what happens to your old phone when you upgrade? What happens to all the components? What about your car or refrigerator? In most of the U.S. we have curbside recycling but beyond household waste, there's a tremendous number of products that can and must be recycled to save water, energy, and money and the members of The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries are making sure that our innovations in recycling keep up with our innovations in products. We sit down with Billy H. Johnson, the Chief Lobbyist of ISRI to chat numbers, saving energy, and the complicated computers in our pockets.

The TRSA supports an industry that people only notice when something isn't working. Unlike event planners, the members of the TRSA touch each of our lives each day. TRSA is the association for linen, uniform and facility services and they run the industrial cleaning services that keep our hospitals, firefighters, and other critical workers in clean uniforms. They are a massive industry with 30,000 delivery trucks on the road each day, delivering uniforms, linens, and other goods to keep things running smoothly. They work towards sustainability by creating processes that greatly reduce water and toxic materials. Don't miss this episode to find out how they're engaging their diverse membership online, in print, in person, and in advocacy.

Richard Tracy of the Global Cold Chain Alliance returns to the show to talk about his industry's multi-faceted approach to eliminating food waste. As he's said before on the show, they are part of the “industry that is feeding the world.” The Alliance is comprised of four different associations involved in refrigeration, shipping, and transport of the food that makes it to your plate. They are deeply invested in supporting functional transportation systems around the world which enable farmers to safely and effectively move their goods to your home. With sustainable transportation and the right equipment, farmers are able to make a better living by getting more goods to the markets before they spoil.