The principal purpose of the Greater Midwest Chapter of the Professional Convention Management Association shall be to increase the effectiveness of meetings and conventions through member industry education and promotion of the value of the meetings industry in the Midwest Region.
The principal purpose of the Greater Midwest Chapter of the Professional Convention Management Association shall be to increase the effectiveness of meetings and conventions through member industry education and promotion of the value of the meetings industry in the Midwest Region.
Board of Directors
Kelly Jena, CMP, DES - President -
Meeting Manager American Society for Dermatologic Surgery
Yolanda Simmons Battle - President-Elect -
Senior Manager AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association)
Kristi Casale, CMP, DMCP - Immediate Past-President -
Vice President of Meetings and CE American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
Dawn Amaskane, CMP, CAE - Secretary -
Associate Vice President, Administrative Affairs American Osteopathic Association
Tamara Jones - Treasurer -
Senior Director, Sales Choose Chicago
Colleen Bagnasco, CAE, CMP - Director -
Vice President, Event Strategy & Industry Relations Association Management Center
Joni Opperman - Director -
Assistant Managing Director, Association Group Sales Hilton Worldwide Sales
Phillip Ridley, CMP - Director -
Meeting Operations Manager Emergency Nurses Association
Bonnie Stetz - Director -
Director, Conference Experience Strategy National Association of Realtors
Sherry Vale - Director -
Regional Director of Sales, Midwest Visit Baltimore
Lindsay Williams, CMP - Director -
Senior Manager, Business Development GES
Committee Leadership
Awards Committee:
Co-Chair, Toyin Alaka, National Commission on Correctional Health Care
Co-Chair, Angela Jonker, CMP, DES, MBA, Emergency Nurses Association
Community Services Committee
Co-Chair, Wendy Carranza, CMP, DES, American Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Society
Co-Chair, Melissa King, Hilton Columbus Downtown
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity Committee
Chair, Michael Deisting, CMP, DES, MongoDB
Co-Chair, Ronnette Phillips, Hilton Worldwide Sales
Member Engagement Committee
Co-Chair, Beth Hayson, MBA, CAE, CMP, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
Co-Chair, Jenny Lynch, Visit Indy
Marketing Committee:
Co-Chair, Jeanne Pluemer, CMP, DES, ACSESS: the Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies
Co-Chair, Jen Salerno, CMP, DES, JTS Connect, LLC
Professional Development Committee
Co-Chair, Anthony Molino, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau
Co-Chair, Juliane Touhy, American Society of Plastic Surgeons
Sponsorship & Industry Relations Committee
Co-Chair, Adrienne Nudo, Hawaiʻi Visitors & Convention Bureau
Co-Chair, Michelle Whitworth, CMP, DES, Association Management Center
Past Presidents
2022 Kristi Casale
2020 Rachael Riggs
2018 Murray Ryan
2016 Hilary Rosenthal
2014 Julie Mullins
2012 Katie Bender
2010 Scott Romane
2008 Paul Miller
2006 Andrea Field
2004 Lora Stanley
2002 Louise Polchelski
2000 Nancy Kay Olson
1998 Dick Barton
1996 Paul Jay
1994 Charles Watts
2021 Molly Witges
2019 Douglas Dvorak
2017 Sandy Reynolds
2015 Catherine Mills
2013 Colleen Donohoe
2011 David Almond
2009 Michael McCurry
2007 Teri Jarvie
2005 John Folks
2003 Teri Tonioli
2001 Laurie Fitzgerald
1999 Laurie Behncke
1997 Lisa Sykes
1995 Diane Dale
1993 Barbara Connell