Mary E. Boone is president of Boone Associates located in Essex, CT. She’s a leading authority on high performance collaboration, leadership, and the design of interactive meetings.

 

Mary has written hundreds of articles, including an award-winning cover article for Harvard Business Review which she co-authored with Dave Snowden. She has also written several books, one of which was selected as “required reading” for the U.S. Congress by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

 

Mary’s ideas have received widespread attention. Among those quoting from and praising her work are The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, CNBC, and National Public Radio. She has been featured as a “Strategic Thinker” on the cover of Successful Meetings Magazine, and she teaches organizational behavior for Northeastern University’s online MBA program.

Suzanne Carawan has spent the majority of her career working in early stage software companies to market and distribute web-based products through direct and indirect channels. Currently serving as Vice President of Global Marketing at the event management software company, etouches, Suzanne is responsible for expanding the customer portfolio and ensuring that the product features fit the unique needs of corporations, not-for-profit and educational organizations. Prior to etouches, Suzanne served as Vice President of Marketing & Strategy at two social networking software companies where she focused on brand management, demand creation and channel development. Past positions include global channel and product marketing roles, as well as consulting roles in web marketing and strategy. Suzanne has significant experience in go-to-market strategies, channel development, product marketing and brand development.

 

Suzanne holds a Master of Business Administration in high-tech marketing from American University’s Kogod School of Business, a Master of Public Health in social marketing from Tulane University, and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of Maryland, College Park.

A self-professed control freak, it is not unusual that Judy chose the event planning and project management business as a career path.

 

After witnessing firsthand the excessive waste that resulted from the large scale events she was managing, Judy became intrigued with green meetings and shortly thereafter joined the Green Meeting Industry Council. She was hooked and hasn’t turned back.

 

A firm believer that “silence is acceptance”, Kucharuk educates wherever she goes. She developed a green event workshop titled “Learn to Meet Green” where participants are treated to an enthusiastic session that is both humorous and inspiring. This past May at the University of Maryland, Judy participated in the GMIC train the trainer program for the APEX standards and is now an approved GMIC trainer of the APEX/ASTM environmentally sustainable event standards for the course: 7 Steps to Integration®.

 

Most recently, Kucharuk joined forces with Mariela McIlwraith, President of Meeting Change and co-signed the MOU to start a GMIC Canada Chapter.

Debra Roth is telling the truth when she says she learned about stretch-fabric from the inside-out. Beginning in the 80’s, Debra combined postmodern dance production with abstract-shaped costumes that she, literally, performed within. And to enhance the theatrical experience, she designed and sewed brightly-colored, highly imaginative stretch-fabric stage elements – complete environments, all of which became the basis of her business, Pink Inc.

Seeing a viable outlet for her work, Debra entered the special event marketplace where her innovative stretch-fabric structures and unique costumes have become the most sought-after and long-standing decorative design products the industry has known.

 

Attesting to her prominence in special events, Debra and her Pink Inc. brand were acquired by Moss, Inc., and together this synergy catapults her and the new Pink, now Powered by Moss’ to the top of the event design community.

Glenn Thayer is a professional presenter and host for live and hybrid events. His clients include Hewlett-Packard, Bayer, AAA, Progressive Insurance, and more. He is regularly seen on PBS as a pledge drive host and can be heard on radio and television representing clients such as Comcast and Quiznos, to name a few.

 

Glenn uses an interview format to engage keynote and breakout presenters in a two-way dialog with the face-to-face and virtual attendees. This takes content-heavy speakers and makes them accessible to the audience. The result is a high level of engagement and educational value for the attendees.

 

He holds a business management degree and has several years of experience in corporate retail (designing and executing marketing strategies within unique demographics). Glenn also has a background in the financial services industry (he has held his series 6 & 63 securities licenses, health, life, P&C, and variable annuities licensing). He lives in Colorado and loves to ski.