The Publication of
the National Speakers Association
Volume 12, Number 5
JANUAR Y/FEBRUARY 2018
Meet NSA’s New CEO
NSAspeaker.org | speakermagazine.com
On November 14, after a nationwide search, the NSA Board voted unanimously to hire Mary Lue Peck as our new CEO. Mary Lue comes to NSA from the Institute
for Supply Management (ISM), where she served as chief content and engagement o;cer.
SPEAKER EDITORIAL
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Linda Keith, CPA, CSP
Chair
Laurie Guest, CSP
Vice-Chair
I sat down with Mary Lue to learn more about her and to find
out what drew her to her new position, which she took over as
of January 2, 2018.
Justin Jones-Fosu, MBA, CSP
Mel DePaoli, MBA
Michael Soon Lee, DBA, CSP
“I was really excited by NSA’s mission and values of mutual
support, shared success, and giving back,” Mary Lue told me.
She’s inspired by how our members help others and the impact
they have on society, and she wanted to be a part of that.
Patricia Iyer, MSN, RN, LNCC
Patt Sch wab, Ph D, CSP
Rita Barreto Craig, SPHR, CSP
Tamara S. Hamilton, MA
During her first 90 days, Mary Lue plans to listen and learn.
Mary Lue Peck
“My first 90 days are all about identifying ways we can add even
NATIONAL SPEAKERS ASSOCIATION
more value to each member’s experience,” she says. She’s already reached out
to chapter leaders and members to hear their ideas on doing just that.
OFFICERS
Brian Walter, CSP, CPAE
The NSA Board was looking for a leader who could help expand our membership and reach—and they found her! During Mary Lue’s time at ISM, she did
incredible work with their specialty conferences, publications, online learning,
marketing, CMS, and membership growth. Under her tenure, ISM:
President
Dan Thurmon, CSP, CPAE
President-Elect
C
Anna Liotta, MA, CSP
Vice President
M
¢ Initiated a program that increased its under- 30 membership by 60 percent,
and grew that cohort’s attendance at ISM’s annual conference by 127 percent.
¢ Recalibrated an online learning platform from exclusively being self-pace/
self-study (which has the highest drop-out and lowest completion rate) to also
incorporating learning styles and micro-learning. That switch increased the
revenue line by 250 percent.
John B. Molidor, PhD, CSP
Y
Immediate Past President
Mary Lue Peck
CM
CEO
MY
CY
FOUNDER
I’m thrilled to welcome Mary Lue to the NSA family, and I know all our
members will enjoy meeting her at upcoming events throughout 2018.
Cavett Robert, CSP, CPAE
CMY
K
NSA FOUNDATION
Nido R. Qubein, CSP, CPAE
Founder and Chairman Emeritus
Anna Liotta, MA, CSP
I took his grandmother
shortly before she passed
away. It was her first time
swimming in the ocean.
Remembering her pure joy
playing in the water is what
makes it our special place.
BEHIND THE SEARCH
Learn more about how
we found Mary Lue at
speakermagazine.com/
CEO-search.
Al Walker, CSP, CPAE
Chair
NSA Vice President, 2017–2018
EDITORIAL OFFICE
AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
National Speakers Association
1500 S. Priest Drive, Tempe, AZ 85281
tel: 480-968-2552 fax: 480-968-0911
Mary Lue Who?
ADVERTISING SALES
Rhette Baughman,
Three Fun Facts About Our New CEO
Director of Membership Experience & Marketing
480-968-2552 • Rhette@NSAspeaker.org
ORIGIN STORY:
BINGE-WORTHY
I grew up in both
SHOWS:
FAVORITE VACATION
LOCATION:
PUBLISHED BY KARABIN CREATIVE
Randi Karabin, Art Director
Cheyenne, Wyoming,
and Australia, and
have a quirky sense
of humor. I will be
married for 20 years
in March.
My downtime series
watch-list includes
Hawaii. My husband and
Jenn Woolson, Editor
Erin Zilis, Account Manager
Life in Pieces and This
Is Us—that show just
sucks me in every
time.
Article submissions at speakermagazine.com.
Speaker (ISSN 1934-9076) (USPS 012-886). Volume 12, Number 5.
Published monthly except February and August by the
National Speakers Association, 1500 S. Priest Drive, Tempe,
AZ 85281. Periodicals postage paid at Tempe, Arizona, and at
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