ASAE Joins New Event Industry Leaders Coalition to Stop Sexual Harassment

WASHINGTON—ASAE is part of a new coalition that’s comprised of leaders and executives from organizations including: AWE, EIC, IAEE, IMEX, JMIC, MPI, PCMA and SITE. The group’s goal is to eradicate sexual harassment in the events industry and workplace.

Each group has been addressing sexual harassment separately and determined that this issue required policies that span beyond the confines of each individual organization. In the wake of movements like #TimesUp and #MeToo, every industry must act to create positive change and end sexual harassment.

“All the organizations came together because the ethical concerns and human rights would be better served working together, so we can stop sexual harassment from occurring in the industry,” said ASAE President and CEO John H. Graham, IV, FASAE, CAE. 

The coalition will identify tools and develop new resources to assist in educating individuals and the events industry about sexual harassment.  

The individuals who have come forward to join this task force are as follows: 

  • John H. Graham, IV, FASAE, CAE, President & CEO, ASAE
  • Susan Robertson, CAE, Executive Vice President, ASAE and President, ASAE Foundation
  • Bob Skelton, Chief Administration Officer, ASAE
  • Kiki J. Fox, President & Co-Founder, AWE
  • Carrie Abernathy, CMP, CEM, CSEP, Past-President & Co-Founder, AWE
  • Johnnie White, MBA, CAE, CMP, Treasurer, AWE
  • Julie Sullivan, CMP, CEM, CTA, Vice President, AWE
  • Nicole Unger, CMP, Secretary, AWE
  • Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP, CEO, EIC
  • Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE, COO, IAEE
  • Carina Bauer, CEO, IMEX
  • Rod Cameron, Executive Director, JMIC
  • Amanda Armstrong, Chair, MPI
  • Sherrif Karamat, CAE, President & CEO, PCMA 

Carrie Abernathy, CMP, CEM, CSEP, Past-President & Co-Founder of the Association for Women in Events, and Kiki J. Fox, President & Co-Founder of the Association for Women in Events, gathered these industry leaders together for regular meetings and discussed the direction of the coalition. Fox is organizing action items and driving this initiative. 

The group’s next step is to release a webinar that introduces experts on the subject matter. 

“It's imperative that our organizations present a united front against sexual harassment in the industry. Together, we are declaring zero tolerance for behavior that harasses or discriminates," said Fox.

All nine organizations involved will be posting more details of upcoming education and initiatives around this subject to their respective website homepages. The coalition encourages the events industry to follow along and participate. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Sabrina Kidwai, APR, CAE, skidwai@asaecenter.org, 202-326-9505.

About ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership 
ASAE is a membership organization of more than 40,000 association executives and industry partners representing 7,200 organizations. Its members manage leading trade associations, individual membership societies and voluntary organizations across the United States and in nearly 50 countries around the world. With support of the ASAE Foundation, a separate nonprofit entity, ASAE is the premier source of learning, knowledge and future-oriented research for the association and nonprofit profession, and provides resources, education, ideas and advocacy to enhance the power and performance of the association and nonprofit community. For more information about ASAE, visit asaecenter.org.