Mallory Mejias

Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights.

Split illustration of a junk drawer: left side shows a cluttered, overflowing drawer with tangled cables, mismatched keys, batteries, and loose screws in muted tones; right side shows the same items neatly arranged on a clean surface in a warm cream, peach, sage, and charcoal palette, organized but still varied in shape and size.

5 min read

Data Warehouses, Data Lakes, AI Data Platforms — What's the Difference and Why Should You Care?

When association leaders hear the term "AI data platform," there's usually a familiar response: "Oh, so it's like a data warehouse?" Not quite.

Read More
Whimsical illustration of a grumpy gnome at a toll booth on a small bridge, demanding payment as glowing sage and gold data streams flow beneath him.

5 min read

Your Software Vendors May Start Charging You to Access Your Own Data — Here's What to Do About It

On a recent investor call, HubSpot CEO Yamini Rangan was asked how the company plans to respond to clients using AI agents to pull data out of...

Read More
Sidecar Sync episode 123 cover featuring Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias

40 min read

Agent Tollgates & MCP Mayhem: Who Really Owns Your Data? | [Sidecar Sync Episode 123]

Summary: In this episode of the Sidecar Sync, Mallory and Amith dive deep into two seismic shifts rocking the AI landscape for associations: the rise...

Read More
Stylized flat illustration of six professional hats—hard hat, chef’s toque, mortarboard, beret, nurse’s cap, and baseball cap—clustered and slightly overlapping on a charcoal background, each in a different soft brand color.

4 min read

The Generalist Shift and What It Means for Niche Associations

For generations, the trajectory of professional development has pointed in one direction: deeper. You specialize. Then you sub-specialize. You become...

Read More
Geometric globe in sage and teal with missing panels revealing a charcoal wireframe, while peach, gold, and cream tiles float nearby as if assembling against a dark background.

4 min read

World Models Are Here — What Association Leaders Need to Know

If you've been following AI developments, you've probably seen impressive image generators and video tools. You type a prompt, you get a visual....

Read More
Oversized peach and salmon price tag dissolving into small pixel fragments from the bottom, set against a dark charcoal background with subtle sage and teal circuit board lines.

3 min read

The Shrinking Cost of AI (and Why Your Association Strategy Should Account for It)

Most association leaders making AI decisions right now are doing something that feels responsible but is actually a strategic mistake: they're...

Read More
Sidecar Sync episode 122 cover featuring Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias

31 min read

The Maia 200 Breakthrough, Project Genie’s Living Worlds, & The New Rules of Work | [Sidecar Sync Episode 122]

Summary: In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias zoom out to explore the AI infrastructure quietly reshaping everything...

Read More
Chalk-style classroom illustration with a smiling map of Africa as the teacher pointing to a chalkboard that reads “Machine Learning,” while four small figures sit in mismatched chairs facing the board, with crumpled paper on the floor against a dark background.

4 min read

What the World's Largest Machine Learning Community Can Teach Associations About Connection

Most associations were built on a promise that still holds: bring the right people together and good things happen. That idea launched thousands of...

Read More
Tightrope walker in charcoal and sage balances between a deep mine shaft on the left and a branching open landscape on the right, set against a warm cream background with soft gold accents.

5 min read

The Exploration-Exploitation Trade-Off: The Best Mental Model for Your AI Strategy

If you've been paying attention to AI news over the past year, you already know the feeling. A new model drops and the benchmarks are unprecedented....

Read More