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.

Sue Pine, FASAE, CAE, Strategic Advisor, is an association visionary and international speaker. Sue has worked closely with a variety of associations and professional societies managed by association management companies during her 40-year career.

Sue is a frequent speaker at ASAE, AMC Institute, and a variety of ASAE State Society meetings. Sue is an ASAE trained facilitator of the ASAE Certificate in Association Management. She is a subject matter expert on Environmental Scanning, Trends Monitoring, & AMC Accreditation.

Sue is an active member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and the Mid-Atlantic Society of Association Executives. Sue has served on the Board and then as the Executive Director of AMC Institute, the trade association for association management companies. Sue is a Past President of the Delaware Valley Society of Association Executives, and current member of the AMC Institute Accreditation & Standard Committee.

As a Past Chair of the ASAE Research Committee (2008), Sue was actively involved in the “Designing Your Future” trends project. Sue continues to serve on the ASAE ForesightWorks Advisory Team. Sue is a huge fan of the ASAE Research Committee and strong advocate for the need to incorporate trends-watching as a critical skill required by both key leaders of association staff teams and volunteer leaders. Sue furthered her training by attending the University of Houston Certificate in Strategic Foresight program.

Most recently, Sue was inducted into the 2019 Class of ASAE Fellows. The ASAE Fellows program bestows an honorary recognition on less than 1 percent of ASAE’s membership. Sue has received the 2009 AMC Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2008 Leadership Award from the ASAE-AMC Section Council, and the 2015 MASAE Distinguished Service Award.

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.

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.

Karen A. Hurley, MA, CAE, Strategic Advisor, has a 20-year career marked by dynamic executive leadership in operational excellence, project management, and strategic growth. Renowned for her results-driven approach, Karen is engaging, analytical, and versatile and consistently delivers ROI to strategically advance organizations. Specializing in holistic organizational solutions, Karen excels in creating innovative turnaround strategies for societies, cultivating relationships, providing expert coaching and mentoring, building team consensus, and orchestrating both large- and small-scale projects. As the former Chief Operating Officer for the Society of Surgical Oncology, she collaborated with healthcare professionals with the mission of enhancing multidisciplinary patient care globally while leveraging the knowledge of the healthcare field to drive organizational excellence.

Karen has expertise in organizational assessments, developing high-performance teams and cultures, facilitating collaboration across diverse sectors, and spearheading transformative initiatives through immersive leadership. Her contributions to advancing the field and practice of association management are demonstrated by her co-authorship of 14 Professional Practice Statements published by the Association Forum.

She not only leads strong board governance, but Karen actively serves on boards. Currently, she is the Vice President of the Alumni Board of Directors and Chairperson of the Nominating Committee for St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Terre Haute, IN.

Karen holds a master’s degree from North Central College in Naperville, IL, and a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. She continuously prioritizes professional development and earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation from the American Society of Association Executives in Washington, DC.

Karen enjoys playing golf and practicing yoga, which enriches her life with a balance of leisure and business.

Bill MacMillan, MBA, CAE, Strategic Advisor, has been an association executive for almost fifty years.  He founded the association management company Association Headquarters in 1978 with four employees in a one-bedroom rented apartment.  When he retired in 2017 as chairman and sold his interest to his two partners, the company had almost 200 employees and was one of the five largest association management companies in the world.

During his career he has served on the board of directors of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), as president of the AMC Institute (the trade association for association management companies), and as chairman of the ASAE Association Management Company Section. He also served as founding member, treasurer and on the executive committee of Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S), a charity that gives children and teens impacted by poverty and tragedy kid-essential products that are vital to life and self-esteem.

Bill received his bachelor’s degree from Gettysburg College. He is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) and earned an MBA from Florida Atlantic University.