Speaker: Erica Salm Rench 

Speaker: Amith Nagarajan

 AI can talk now. Not robotic hold-music talk, actual conversation. It listens, responds, remembers what you said thirty seconds ago, and adjusts. This session is about what that means for associations. Amith will demo live voice agents, break down why voice works differently than text for member engagement, and lay out what becomes possible when your organization can have thousands of conversations at once. You may have already talked to one today without realizing it.

Speakers: Ben Lee, Mark Patterson, Rob Barnes

Building on the opening keynote, AI Agents in Action is a fast-paced, demo-driven session that shows what “agent-powered” work can look like inside an association, without the hype. You’ll meet three Blue Cypress agents: Izzy (member services) handling real inquiries end-to-end, Betty (knowledge assistant) finding and applying trusted answers from your content, and Skip (data assistant) turning questions into insights you can use immediately. Each agent will be showcased through practical, association-ready scenarios that highlight how they collaborate, when humans stay in the loop, and how guardrails keep outcomes reliable. Attendees will leave inspired: where do agents fit today? Which workflows to pilot first? What does it take to deploy agents responsibly?

Speaker: Elizabeth Crosby, rasa.io

Member attention is scarce, and one-size-fits-all messages are easier than ever to ignore. This session shows how AI-powered personalization can tailor newsletters, updates, and campaigns to each member’s interests while preserving your voice, priorities, and governance. You’ll see a live demo of the technology in action, including how content is selected and assembled using AI and how teams can review, steer, and measure outcomes. Attendees will leave with a clear, realistic playbook for piloting personalization quickly and scaling it responsibly across channels.

Speaker: John Huisman

 AI is powerful, but most organizations skip the work that determines whether it actually delivers results. This session is about that work: the part everyone rushes past. How do you get leadership aligned on outcomes before they jump to solutions? How do you bring staff in early enough that they co-design the change instead of resisting it? How do you talk to members about AI in a way that builds trust instead of anxiety? You'll also see how AI itself can be a thought partner through this process. Leave with a readiness checklist and conversation starters you can use this week.

Networking Lunch & Sponsor Tables Open

Panel: Association Leaders - Bruce Moe (MSTA); Jamie Atchison (MSMIT); Ginger Ausloos (AACSB)

Moderator: Linda Tomczynski

Join industry leaders as they explore how associations are using AI to impact change at their organizations and lead the cultural shift that must accompany AI transformation.

Speakers:  Kim Fitzsimmons (AAE); Michael Wilson (NFSA); Jacob Branscom (RAFV); Moderator: Erica Salm Rench (Sidecar)

This high-energy demo panel brings together three marketing leaders who are using AI to drive measurable results, not just experiment. Each panelist will showcase one or two examples of “highly effective AI in action,” walking through what they did, the workflow behind it, and the impact on speed, quality, engagement, or revenue. You’ll hear practical lessons on what made the use case work (data, prompts, tools, team adoption) and what they’d do differently next time. Attendees will leave with a shortlist of proven ideas to pilot immediately and a clearer sense of how to operationalize AI in a modern marketing team.

Speaker: Jason Marchese

Watch as a pre-event crowd-sourced AI agent idea is put into action and built before your very eyes. Participants are invited to follow along and build themselves!

Speaker: Erica Salm Rench

College of Surgeons meeting space

Cap off an inspiring day with continued discussions and connections. Enjoy stunning views of Chicago while networking with speakers, industry leaders, and fellow innovators in the association space.