Your Advisors

M. Suzanne C. Berry, MBA, CAE, Strategic Advisor, Suzanne brings years of successful executive leadership as an association CEO and a past owner of an association management company. She is passionate about good governance, proactive strategic and operational planning as well as developing and enhancing an organization’s staff and operational infrastructures to meet the needs of members and key stakeholders.

Suzanne was co-founder and owner of Association Resources, Inc., a leading AMC where she and co-owner, Peter Berry, CAE, managed a wide range of international and national professional association clients. When the firm was sold in 2007, they had over sixty staff and twenty growing full-service clients.

Since departing Association Resources, Suzanne has created a practice in Interim C-Suite management and has worked with a number of associations in C-Suite roles. Her engagements have included: Interim CEO at the Association for Women’s Health, Obstetrics, and Neonatal Nurses and the American Diabetes Association; created COO roles at both the International Association for the Study of Pain and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards; and interim COO/CFO for the American Society of Interior Designers.

Suzanne is an active volunteer and presenter with the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and earned her CAE in 1995. She is a Governance Fellow with the National Association of Corporate Directors and a member of the Finance Committee for the Nurses on Boards Coalition (NOBC). She recently received the Entrepreneurial Excellence Award from the School of Business at Central Connecticut State University.

Marilyn Jansen, Strategic Advisor, brings over 40 years of business development and marketing expertise, and for the past 18 years has led the business development activities for a leading association management company. Working closely with volunteer board leaders and association management professionals, Marilyn is an excellent listener and carefully learns key goals, including vision and values, to develop strategies to move the organization’s objectives forward. She has a knack for understanding what is needed and searches for impactful business solutions that are both cost effective and the right fit, so a partnership of mutual trust will evolve and thrive. Her genuine enthusiasm about association management and helping clients achieve their objectives is contagious.

Presentations and public speaking are a regular part of Marilyn’s role, and she is very effective presenting nuances of the AMC model and related business solutions to volunteers and boards. Marilyn has a successful entrepreneurial background that brings added value to her clients. Her personal experience as a business owner enables her to empathize with volunteer boards that make decisions on behalf of their organizations.

Marilyn quickly connects with others, which makes her a natural at collaboration and working with groups to move initiatives forward. She is a respected leader and contributor to the association community. In 2013, Marilyn received the John C. Thiel Distinguished Service Award presented by the Association Forum of Chicagoland. She has mentored diversity scholars, is a champion of women in the workplace, and has chaired many impactful committees during her career. Marilyn is an active member of AMC Institute, Association Forum of Chicagoland, and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). She holds a bachelor’s in communication and business administration.

Ralph Bloch, Strategic Advisor, is an entrepreneur, association executive, and a trusted advisor to nonprofit professional and trade associations. For the past 20 years Ralph and his associates have served various organizations as consultants, interim executives, and program managers.

Ralph is the co-founder and past president of BlochReed Association Advisors. Previously, Ralph founded The Access Group, an association management company with 28 employees serving 10 associations. Ralph served as executive director for several of the company’s clients. His earlier association career includes serving as marketing vice president for National Home Furnishings Association, executive vice president for Western Home Furnishings Association, and executive director for California Home Furnishings Council. As owner of a retail home furnishing business, he served as a volunteer leader on the board of directors and as president and chairman of the Western Home Furnishings Association.

Ralph is a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and served as founding co-chair of the ASAE Association Management Company Section Council. As such, he served on the ASAE Board of Directors. Currently, his company is a member of the AMC Institute, the trade association for association management companies.

Ralph received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Los Angeles, where he pursued post-graduate studies in management, marketing, finance and information technology.

Chris Brown, MPA, Strategic Advisor is a seasoned consulting professional with experience in the areas of government relations and advocacy, non-profit management, association governance and board relations, survey research and data collection, strategic planning, fundraising, and legislative and regulatory issues in the food industry. Chris has broad experience in working with diverse industries and coalitions where he has been a successful partner in helping companies and organizations to position their businesses to be successful.

Chris has written and spoken before large and small groups on issues important to trade associations and the non-profit community.  He has led several sessions at the annual meeting of ASAE:  The Center for Association Leadership, “Innovate to Motivate:  The National Conference for Political Involvement Professionals” and the ASAE Government Relations Symposium.  He is a previous chair of the ASAE Government Relations Section Council.

Chris earned his bachelor’s degree in history from the College of Wooster and a Master of Public Administration degree from The George Washington University. He keeps busy with volunteer work in his community, serving with in the Watch D.O.G.S. Program (Dads of Great Students) program, the College of Wooster Alumni Association, and is a former trustee with the Berkeley Heights Education Foundation.