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With a leadership shortage on the horizon as baby boomers begin to retire, associations and nonprofits are working on ways to attract younger generations into the profession—and keep them there. According to a report by the Bridgespan Group, the nonprofit sector will need to fill 640,000 new senior management positions in the next 10 years. As foreboding as that sounds, it's important to note that there are plenty of young professionals already leading the association world into the future.

In the following pages, Associations Now profiles five such individuals—all under 35—who exemplify what's in the pipeline for association leadership.

Name: Diane Barrera

Age: 33

Title: Director of Professional Development

Association: American Dietetic Association, Chicago, Illinois

Members: Almost 68,000

Been There: Four and a half years

Previous Association/Nonprofit Gigs: USA Rice Federation

How did you first get into association management? I was in research at the University of Texas—Houston Health Science Center, and I was recruited for a new national dietitian position at USA Rice. I also became their manager of national consumer communications because I could tap into my graduate school training in health promotion and education, as well as my research background in project management.

If you weren't working for an association, you'd be an … accountant.

What's your peak experience as an association professional so far? In 2006, I was honored by the Illinois Dietetic Association as Illinois' Emerging Dietetic Leader. This award recognizes someone in the first 10 years of their career. I was truly wowed to be recognized for something outside of my professional association role, and it was truly an honor to be chosen for this award by my peers in Illinois.

What do you value in the people you work with? I don't believe in team hierarchy. I believe in providing a positive environment and surrounding myself with individuals that compensate for the skills I may be lacking—they provide a value that makes us a stronger team.

What do you think associations need to do to attract younger generations into the association world? A lot of young people aren't aware that associations are out there. Associations should be looking at technological advances since younger generations have lived with it; it's part of their world—it's how they function. Associations need to think in that way, and they also need to utilize the diverse backgrounds that many of these individuals have. Associations need to look at ways to recruit people. To me, it's exciting that I get to use different skills and wear different hats every day—I love that and embrace it. I think that if associations used this as an example to promote the profession, more young people would be open to working for associations. Associations need to work on their exposure and really go out to undergraduate and graduate schools.

What does leadership mean to you? Leadership doesn't have anything to do with a title. It's the ability to motivate and inspire others to find the best within themselves.

Association professional you admire. My current CEO, Ron S. Moen, who epitomizes to me how you treat your staff, and Cynthia D'Amour, who has inspired me to think outside the box.

Football or baseball? Baseball.

Sneakers or flip flops? Sneakers.

Favorite cereal: Corn Pops.

Website you can't go a day without visiting? CNN International.

Something readers would be surprised to learn about you. In college, I hauled automotive and truck tires. It really helped out my upper-body strength for my tennis game.

Finish this sentence: In 10 years, I will have … achieved the next level of association management leadership.

Name: Betsy Boyd-Flynn

Age: 34

Title: Director of Communications

Association: Oregon Medical Association, Portland

Members: 7,300

Been There: Since May 2007

Previous Association/Nonprofit Gigs: American College of Rheumatology

How did you first get into association management? Like many others, it was sort of accidental. I had moved to Atlanta with my husband and applied for a job editing a journal. I was completely not the right fit for that, but I was offered a job as communications coordinator—a job opening that had not yet been announced. I instantly knew it was the right fit, and I loved that association management was about a larger mission than making money.

If you weren't working for an association, you'd be … Well, if I won the lottery, I'd get my degree in comparative linguistics. But if I still have to work, I'd be consulting for associations.

What's your peak experience as an association professional so far? My involvement in ASAE & The Center's social responsibility initiative. I feel very lucky to have been a part of it. I first started talking about it in 2004 and have been able to speak about it and participate in panel discussions on this topic. It's great to see all the momentum building behind it right now.

What do you think associations need to do to attract younger generations into the association world? Younger generations are looking for a way to affix meaning to what they do. They do not want to divorce their principles or ethics from their daily work. With this in mind, associations need to frame their values and align them with those of younger generations, so that they attract the brightest people to the profession. Younger generations are no less of joiners; they just join for different reasons.

What does leadership mean to you? It's often easier to define leadership in its absence rather than its presence. Leadership to me is the very act of taking a stand. It's about synthesizing and taking into account the wisdom of the people around you to shape decisions, then sticking to them. Leaders must be ambassadors for the collective values of the people they lead.

You wake up tomorrow as CEO of your association—what's the first thing you'd change? Move our office downtown, so it was more accessible by public transportation.

Sneakers or flip flops? Hiking shoes.

Football or baseball? Baseball.

Book you can't go a year without rereading? Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner.

Favorite cereal: Raisin Bran.

Something readers would be surprised to learn about you. I learned to love Vietnamese food at 4 a.m. after clubbing in Houston when I was in college.

Finish this sentence: In 10 years, I will have … taken a decent vacation to Europe, maybe with my children or maybe not. I'm not sure which would be better.

Name: Ben Martin, CAE

Age: 32

Title: Director of Communications and New Media

Association: Virginia Association of REALTORS, Glen Allen

Members: More than 39,000

Been There: A little more than three months

Previous Association Gigs: Virginia Society of CPAs; Health Industry Distributors Association; Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals

How did you first get into association management? My wife had been working for an association at the time and was really enjoying what she was doing. Her boss encouraged me to look at association work, and that's what got my association career started.

If you weren't working for an association, you'd be … Well, I really like this kind of work, but if forced to choose, I'd say a rock ‘n roll guy, on stage, playing the guitar.

What's your peak experience as an association professional so far? When I first started at VAR, I was tasked with putting together a meet-up of bloggers at our annual convention 30 days before it was set to start. I was able to get 10 to 12 folks together, as well as our executive director and a board member. This led to a butterfly effect, where national jumped on the bandwagon, hosting its own blogger meet-up at its annual convention. It was all about being in the right place at the right time, and I am proud that I was part of it.

What do you think associations need to do to attract younger generations into the association world? Make it easier to make a difference. There's a lot of talk about the barriers to entry. Associations need to start casting the net wide and start thinking about the future and how to keep younger generations engaged and interested. They need to start paying homage to open-source technology and the idea of microcontributions—how the sum of all of those can really make a difference.

You wake up tomorrow as CEO of your association—what's the first thing you'd change? Offices. I'd move into the CEO's office. Then I'd change our meetings-registration process.

Association professional you admire. I'm going to have to go with the trifecta: My current CEO, Scott Brunner; my former CEO, Stephanie Peters; and Andy Steggles at RIMS.

Blog you can't go without reading? Jeff Cufaude's blog

Facebook or MySpace? Facebook. Hands down.

Football or baseball? Baseball.

Sneakers or flip flops? Flops.

Book you can't go a year without rereading? How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

Something readers would be surprised to learn about you. For 10 years, I held a swimming record at my neighborhood pool in the mixed-age relay.

Finish this sentence: In 10 years, I will have … no regrets.

Name: Sara Miller, CAE

Age: 31

Title: Senior Director, Member Loyalty and Conferences/Events

Association: The Humane Society of the United States, Washington, DC

Members: 10 million (members and constituents)

Been There: Since 2001

Previous Association/Nonprofit Gigs: Challenger Center for Space Science Education

How did you first get into association management? After my work at the Challenger Center, I started working for a for-profit company. Unfortunately, our venture capital was gone a week later, so I was out of a job. I liked the idea of working for the HSUS because I would be able to work directly with people for a mission I cared about—and that the individuals who belonged to the organization also cared about.

What's your peak experience as an association professional so far? I got my CAE certification almost three years ago. It was a big deal for me, because it allowed me to see how my membership knowledge is related to the other aspects of the association business. I got to apply my membership focus to other domains and see the big picture of how everything fits together.

What does leadership mean to you? I read about this in a book once, and it has really stuck with me since. It's the idea that leadership and being a good leader is about having the ability to motivate your staff to follow you even if they don't understand or know where you are going. They trust in you and your ability so much that they are willing to go with you.

What do you think associations need to do to attract younger generations into the association world? The work that they do has to engage younger generations—it has to be something that they can find purpose in. To younger generations, work is often about more than money. Associations need to learn to capitalize on that. Another way is by speaking their language. Here at the HSUS we are using forms of communication that younger generations frequent to get our message out—things like Facebook and Flickr.

Something readers would be surprised to learn about you. I truly don't have the aspiration to be CEO someday. I love doing what I am doing now—talking to our customers and members every day.

Blog you can't go without reading: Our CEO's blog, A Humane Nation.

Book that you can't go a year without rereading?The Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore.

Sneakers or flip flops? Flip flops.

Football or baseball? Football.

Finish this sentence: In 10 years, I will have … developed and written my own book on building brand loyalty.

I have to ask. How many pets do you have? Only one. A stray cat that literally walked into our house one day.

Name: Prabhash Shrestha

Age: 34

Title: Chief Information Officer

Association: Association of Fundraising Professionals, Arlington, Virginia

Members: A little more than 29,000

Been There: Since September 2006

Previous Association/Nonprofit Gigs: Association of Trial Lawyers of America

How did you first get into association management? I come from Nepal, where you are brought up to be a doctor or engineer or lawyer in order to have a successful career. So, for two years after high school, I studied to become a medical doctor. I had the opportunity to come study in the United States. When I came here, I started my bachelor's degree in computer information systems, and right after finishing my degree, I joined ATLA. I had other offers, but I liked what ATLA stood for—the whole idea of a nonprofit—and that enticed me to the association world.

What's your peak experience as an association professional so far? Following 9/11, we were asked to create a small website and set up email addresses almost immediately where people could sign up to volunteer to provide legal help pro bono for those affected by the attacks. The site could also take online contributions. I really take a lot of pride in being able to contribute to that project. I remember reading emails at three or four in the morning from law students saying, “I don't have any money, but I will come down to help.”

What does leadership mean to you? Not focusing on the little things but thinking and dreaming big. To be able to inspire and motivate by example. Being accountable and responsible as well as providing continuity and momentum toward the strategic goals. Asking what we're doing versus what we could be doing. Asking, “How can we be innovators?” And never leaving behind the team concept, which is absolutely important from my point of view.

What do you think associations need to do to attract younger generations into the association world? Associations really need to have a good focus on staff professional development. If associations—in a very selfish way—want to enhance themselves, they need to invest time and resources in staff to help them build their professional careers. Associations will win because they will have better people working for them, and in the long run, these are going to be the people that develop into leaders and give back to the community. How can you entice people? I think it's a mix of mentorship and professional development.

You wake up tomorrow as CEO of your association—what's the first thing you'd change? The world is getting more into online communities, and I feel like there's so much more that AFP could be doing there, so that's what I would work on first.

Blog you can't go a day without reading? Anything at CIO.com.

Book that you can't go a year without rereading?Results by Gary L. Neilson and Bruce A. Pasternack and Shackleton's Way by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell.

LinkedIn or Facebook? Both.

Sneakers or flip flops? Flip flops, absolutely.

Finish this sentence: In 10 years, I will have … I want to say that I will be retired, but that's not happening. I see myself as a COO at a $15 to $20 million company. 

Samantha Whitehorne is managing editor of Associations Now. Email: swhitehorne@asaecenter.org

More Articles From Associations Now, December 2007

  The Next Generation of Leadership

  Simple Branding Solutions

  Planning Predictable IT Budgets

  And the Winner Is …

  A Family Affair

  Influencing the Nominating Committee

  Auditing Your Influence

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