New Ideas Annual Conference

Lead Through Change: How to Build Trust and Inspire Authentic Leadership
In this dynamic and high-energy keynote, Juan Bendana delivers a blueprint for thriving in the face of change. Drawing from his work with Fortune 100 leaders and top-performing teams, Juan inspires attendees to embrace uncertainty by showing up with authenticity, leading with confidence, and inspiring a deep sense of trust. 

Most associations follow a familiar formula when it comes to member renewals: send reminders, hope for the best, and maybe follow up if someone lapses. But that approach leaves you in the dark about why someone did or didn’t renew. In this session, we’ll share how one association flipped the script and used their renewal campaign to listen to members, not just talk at them. By asking the right questions at the right time, they uncovered what members really thought about their value, events, and future plans.     The result? Better data, earlier signals, and smarter decisions about where to spend time and energy.

Melinda Bentley, CAE, COO, Texas Society of CPAs

Dave Will, Co-founder and CEO, PropFuel

In this scenario-based session, you’ll be briefed on resources you can use to guide ethical decision-making and help you Cover Your Association (CYA). Attendees will then be put to the test on scenarios relevant to association staff. Our panel of practitioners will lead a lively discussion to break down the decision-making process and find solutions to difficult situations.

Tom Greer, CAE, Associate Executive Director, Texas Association of School Business Officials

Kristie Ondracek, CPA, CAE, Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer, TXCPA Houston Foundation

Noelle Parsons, CAE, Account Director, Strategic Association Management

Small association staffs are the heartbeat of their organizations—but they often juggle outsized expectations with limited time, resources, and professional development opportunities. This session offers practical solutions to support and strengthen small teams, focusing on boosting staff capacity, creating opportunities for growth and development, and building a more connected, engaged team culture. Participants will leave with actionable ideas that respect the unique realities of small staff life while positioning their teams—and their associations—for long-term success.    

Associations are unique, mission-driven organizations with distinct decision-making processes, revenue models, and engagement priorities. For suppliers and vendors looking to build lasting partnerships, understanding how associations operate—and how they buy—is critical to success. In this “real talk” interactive session, Navigate’s Founder/Principal Carrie McIntrye and Growth Owl, LLC Founder/CEO Lori Zoss Kraska, MBA, CFRE will bridge the gap between sales professionals and their association prospects and clients, helping you decode the key factors that influence association purchasing decisions. You’ll walk away with actionable strategies to build trust and start being seen as a valued peer and partner–not just a vendor–in order to close more deals. 

Carrie McIntyre, Founder and Principal of Navigate, and Chief Revenue Officer, Matchbox

Lori Zoss Kraska, MBA, CFRE, Founder/CEO of Growth Owl, LLC

Discover how AI tools like ChatGPT can support your event planning and office operations. In this session, you'll learn practical ways to use AI for brainstorming ideas, refining session content, selecting speakers, tracking task lists, streamlining vendor communications, and managing logistics. Whether you're coordinating a major event or tackling day-to-day operations, this session will equip you with time-saving strategies, tools, and techniques to improve your workflow and boost productivity.    

Sunday Opening Party Hosted by Visit San Antonio
"Revelry: The Confluence of Culturas"
Experience puro San Antonio at Revelry: The Confluence of Culturas — a dynamic evening celebrating the city’s rich cultural heritage. From Spanish and Mexican roots to African American, German, French, and Texana influences, enjoy live music, dance, immersive art, and cuisine that captures the spirit of San Antonio. 

9:01 Afterparty Hosted by TSAE
Bigger and better for 2025! Join us for the TSAE 9:01 Afterparty! This event is a fundraiser event for TSAE where all funds go back into supporting the education and resources offered by TSAE. Grab a drink, mingle, and enjoy live music at a stunning location in San Antonio. 

Leading with Clarity and Conviction in a High-Stakes Environment
Today’s association leaders face unprecedented complexity—balancing internal dynamics, public scrutiny, limited resources, and heightened polarization. In this climate, leadership isn’t just about effective operations; it’s about making principled decisions, building trust, and uniting stakeholders around a clear purpose. When every decision is scrutinized and trust can be fragile, leaders must guide with clarity, inspire alignment, and make principled choices amid uncertainty. In this keynote, Jenifer Sarver will explore how association leaders can refine their leadership and communication styles to meet the demands of an increasingly divided and fast-moving world. 

Navigating Change and Uncertainty: Strategies to Lead Through Chaos
In a world where disruption is the new normal, the true test of leadership is the ability to turn chaos into clarity. From staffing reductions and operational upheavals to shifting national priorities and financial pressures, today’s leaders face constant uncertainty. This session offers evidence-based strategies for navigating complex change with confidence. Learn how to stabilize teams, make decisive moves during turbulence, and build a resilient organization that thrives — not just survives — in unpredictable times. Gain practical insights you can apply immediately to lead with vision, focus, and strength when it matters most.  

In a world saturated with events, creating something truly memorable requires more than just flawless logistics--it demands intention, strategy, and a deep understanding of the attendee  experience. This session delves into designing events that foster authentic human connections and leave a lasting impact, particularly at the executive level. Drawing from over a decade of experience producing immersive corporate experiences, Kelley will share how purpose-driven design, creative flow, and intentional networking can transform traditional conferences into environments rich with genuine connections that deliver tangible value. 

Thinking about dashboards but not sure where to begin? You’re not alone. Many associations want better reporting but hesitate to get started, unsure of what tools they need, whether their data is “good enough,” or what to measure first. This session is designed for teams that are just getting started with dashboards and want a simple, non-technical approach. We’ll walk through what you need to know before you build, like how to use the data you already have, which metrics actually matter, and how to avoid overcomplicating your first dashboard. We'll also look at how dashboards can help you uncover engagement insights that spreadsheets tend to miss.

Aylnn Ganelo Reporting Analyst, IntelliData

Denny Lengkong President, IntelliData

This unique but invaluable session teaches everyone from front-line to senior association executives how to tackle one of the most treacherous traps an organizational leader can encounter: dealing with the toxic superstar. While a high-performing individual may initially appear as an asset—particularly in organizations where budgets are tight—their interpersonal or ethical issues can jeopardize not only team dynamics and relationships with external stakeholders, and organizational initiatives of all types but also the leader's own career—and even the association itself. This program provides a comprehensive framework for effectively managing such situations, which can be adapted to handle other complex people association leadership challenges.

In this interactive workshop, association leaders and community organizers will gain practical tools to effectively manage social media in our rapidly evolving digital environment. We'll explore the latest platforms, discuss emerging trends, and provide actionable strategies that balance organizational needs with digital engagement. Participants will leave with a comprehensive toolkit for leveraging social media to strengthen community connections while maintaining appropriate boundaries and promoting responsible digital citizenship.  

Want to ensure your events—both in-person and virtual—deliver the content your audience truly wants? Explore how to best leverage data and surveys to shape relevant, high-quality programming that drives engagement and meets attendee needs. Through real-world examples and practical strategies, you’ll learn how to collect, analyze, and apply feedback to create compelling sessions and experiences your attendees won’t want to miss. Engage in peer-to-peer roundtable discussions to share challenges, exchange ideas, and leave with actionable insights to enhance your event strategy.

Lacy Compton, MA, CAE, Director of Content & Learning, National Association for Gifted Children
 

Kelly Mantay, M.Ed, Education & Programs Manager, Texas Library Association

Membership Unmasked: Tackling Your Toughest Challenges
Face it: membership isn't always sunshine and rainbows. This highly interactive session dives headfirst into the real, gritty challenges keeping membership staff up at night. So we're rolling up our sleeves to collectively dissect the most persistent hurdles in member retention, engagement, segmentation, data utilization, and beyond. This isn't a lecture; it's a dynamic problem-solving forum driven by your experiences. Be prepared to share your frustrations, your "what ifs," and your most perplexing membership puzzles. Through facilitated discussions, collaborative brainstorming, and peer-to-peer learning, we'll uncover practical solutions and innovative approaches to conquer these tough issues. 

Amanda Feil, CAE, Director of Operations, enSYNC Corporation

Cathi Hight Kaizen Consultant Hight Performance Group, Inc.

Kelly Whelan, Content Marketing Manager, Higher Logic

Space Disco Party Hosted By Hyatts in Texas
All attendees are welcome to blast off into a galaxy of glitter and grooves at our Space Disco Party! Get down to stellar beats from our live DJ. Sip on cocktails and indulge in desserts that are out of this world. Get ready to groove under the stars — this party’s going to be a total blast!

Unlock the hidden potential of your next event by discovering how your Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) or Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) can become your most strategic partner. This session will dispel common myths surrounding these powerful allies and reveal how to fully leverage their extensive sales, service, and marketing expertise. You'll hear real-world success stories from your peers and walk away with practical, actionable strategies to enhance your upcoming meetings and better serve your members.

Amy Brown, Senior Vice President of Convention Sales & Service, Visit Fort Worth

Stacey Carroll, Marketing Manager, Meetings & Conventions, Visit San Antonio

Association leaders are increasingly facing complex, high-stakes decisions — whether navigating political tension, financial uncertainty, or reputational threats. But when every issue feels urgent, how do you determine which risks deserve immediate attention from staff or the board? How do you avoid reactive decision-making and stay mission-aligned? In this interactive session, explore how the Texas Society of Association Executives (TSAE) developed and piloted a practical risk assessment framework to help associations identify, evaluate, and respond to organizational risks more strategically. Through case examples and hands-on activities, you’ll learn how to apply and adapt this framework to your own association, helping your leadership team make confident, values-based decisions even in ambiguous situations. 

For decades, the Association of Texas Professional Educators hosted a lobby day event during each regular session of the Texas Legislature. Hundreds of ATPE members (K-12 public school educators) would travel to Austin for a few hours of training before spending a day at the Capitol in the hope of visiting their lawmakers to discuss issues of concern. Scheduling problems, travel costs, staffing challenges, and even weather woes made the event increasingly difficult to host. In 2024-25, ATPE reimagined its lobby day into a member advocate program and a series of small group expeditions spread throughout the legislative session that were more manageable for staff and better timed for influencing legislation. ATPE limited participation to members who had completed an on-demand virtual training program, which earned them a microcredential and more in-depth preparation for their capitol visits. These innovations shrank the cost of the program, gave members new pathways for engagement, helped the association identify future leaders, and allowed ATPE to leverage the power of its grassroots advocates in a more meaningful and targeted way.    

Jennifer Mitchell, CAE, Associate Executive Director, Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE)

Andrea Elizondo, CMP, CMM, CAE, Events Director, Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE)

In every facet of life—be it in our careers, personal relationships, or the roles we assume—there comes an inevitable moment: the need to engage in difficult conversations. These moments can define and shape our interactions, yet we rarely receive formal guidance on how to handle them effectively. In this engaging session, Todd Nesloney draws upon his wealth of experience to unveil a five-step strategy for navigating challenging dialogues with confidence and empathy, regardless of the setting. This workshop is designed to empower you with the skills needed to turn potentially tense exchanges into constructive encounters.    

Digital Disruption: The Future of Work, Skills, Leadership, Education, and Careers in a Technology-Based World
The world is in disruption! You are at the forefront of rapid change. The continued accelerated pace of technology, and competitive forces is causing workplace environments to become more volatile and in need of disruptive leaders, employees to challenge the status quo, and educators to ensure student readiness. This multimedia presentation focuses on key trends that impact jobs, new skills that are needed today to remain relevant, and how to manage your career in a digital world.