On Today’s Episode of EXPOsed Conferences™ Podcast I’m talking with Lisa Block, Executive Vice President of Conference Strategy & Design of Velvet Chainsaw.  Lisa joined Velvet Chainsaw in 2019 after spending nearly 30 years leading and growing the conference and events team and portfolio at the Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM). She is an accomplished event innovator and change agent who strongly connects to organizational culture and mission. Her talent is in matching event and organizational purpose with live event design and strategy and in the people practices that go along with making events work.  She helped grow SHRM’s signature event the Annual Conference and Exposition which attracts over 22,000 domestic and international participants and over 700 exhibiting companies five fold, making it the leading event for the HR profession. She led efforts to broaden SHRM’s brand and implemented numerous strategies that increased revenue and heightened event ROI.

Lisa has been active in numerous professional organizations, most notably PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association), where she has served on numerous committees and as Board Chair. In 2013 she was awarded PCMA’s highest honor for lifetime achievement. She has also served on ASAE’s Meetings and Expositions Council and as an adjunct member of the ASAE Board of Directors. In 2015 she was inducted into the Inaugural Washington D.C. Biz Bash Hall of Fame.

On today's episode we will expose...

-Lisa's first memory of the industry
-How the industry and the HR Profession progressed and in what ways over the years were they able to expand and grow from a 4,000 person event to over 22,000 attendees
-What efforts were made to make their members feel valuable to add personal touches
-The Rock Program - pick up some unique tips and ideas for your organization implement a similar program to surprise and delight your attendees
-And Reverse Rock, how you can also surprise and delight your event team for their hard work
-The Connection Zone: How to create centralized experiences for attendees to gather, connect and enjoy !
-Lisa's action item for conference organizers and more!

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