Jen Mehltretter
Jen Mehltretter, CAE is the Director of Membership and Engagement at NextGen Association Management Company. She is the immediate past chair of the ASAE's Conscious Inclusion Advisory Committee and a 2026-2028 DELP Scholar.
Leading Through Conscious Inclusion, One Decision at a Time
Practical questions and examples for association leaders who want their decisions to reflect everyone they serve.
According to ASAE, "Conscious inclusion is a deliberate, intentional and proactive approach to creating a culture that values diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. It involves changing behaviors, policies, and systems to be more inclusive and create a sense of belonging." While the wording may change over time, the principle remains the same: Create an environment that allows diverse viewpoints, ideas, experiences, and identities to benefit the organization as a whole.
Conscious inclusion isn’t a separate initiative. It shows up in everyday decisions: who gets invited into leadership, which policies get reviewed, and how new programs are designed. When it’s missing, you see it in who never volunteers and which members stop renewing. You don’t need extensive expertise to practice conscious inclusion, but it does take intention and a habit of asking who is and isn’t at the table. In governance and executive leadership, those habits set the association up for long-term success.
For governance, a successful association engages diverse perspectives and experiences at all levels of leadership. Consider the intersecting characteristics that shape your leaders' viewpoints, rather than viewing them through a single identity. This includes not only personal identities (such as race, ethnicity, and gender identity) but also professional identities (such as organization and discipline). Bringing leaders with diverse experiences and perspectives to the table fosters innovation. Opening leadership roles at every level, from committees to the board, gives members a path to grow into larger roles. Here’s how conscious inclusion can show up in some of the governance competencies in the CAE Exam Content Outline.
| CAE Governance Competencies | Questions and Considerations |
|---|---|
| Governance structure emphasizing representation, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. | Is there a member who stood out by providing thoughtful analysis or experiences to a program? What programs or opportunities are available (or could be created) that allow volunteer leadership to engage with different members? Opportunity: Host an early-career professional program alongside the association's leadership retreat. Hold a reception at both events, so volunteer leaders can network with early-career professionals. This allows leaders to meet emerging leaders, and for early-career professionals to network with future mentors and employers. |
| Component relations with emphasis on agreements, alignment, and strengthening relationships. | Are the governance structure and expectations of your components still necessary and suited to today’s members’ needs? Have they been reviewed recently? Can volunteers realistically meet today’s demands, as outlined in your association’s documentation? Opportunity: Review your bylaws, policies, and procedures related to components, and assess whether their original intent remains relevant and supports your mission and vision. |
| Volunteer leadership development with structured pipelines, ongoing training, and accountability. | Does the association’s culture set up all volunteers for success? Do all volunteers, whether new or experienced, receive the same information about their role, what is expected of them, and the support available throughout their term? Is there a process by which volunteers can provide feedback and hold leaders accountable? Opportunity: Surveys, group check-ins, and other information-gathering methods provide leaders and staff with valuable insights into training outcomes, the overall volunteer experience, and general feedback for strategic planning. |
Executive leadership skills, as defined in the CAE Exam Content Outline, focus on fostering a consciously inclusive culture, leading ethically, and adapting to change. The same governance considerations above apply, but here the focus is on staff rather than volunteer leaders. For chief staff executives (CSEs), that means having diverse perspectives on the team. It means being aware of their own identities and biases, owning decisions and mistakes, and learning from those mistakes. Everyone perceives the world differently, so leaders also need to adapt to each individual to communicate their point and understand why decisions are being made. Here are some things to consider when reviewing the executive leadership domain.
| CAE Governance Competencies | Questions and Considerations |
|---|---|
| Decision-making centered on data-driven decision systems, delegated authority, and empowerment. | Does the CSE have all the necessary information to make an informed decision? Does the CSE have the necessary resources in place to put the decision into motion and support staff members executing this effort? Opportunity: When a decision is made, involve the staff who will carry it out. For example, if the CSO, in consultation with the board and C-suite leaders, decides to create a new incentive for chapters to retain members based on renewal data, the CSO can ask the relevant team to shape what that looks like in practice, then relay the plan to the board and other stakeholders. |
| Ethical leadership emphasizing transparency and integrity, aligned with ASAE standards. | When faced with a tough decision, can you separate personal feelings from professional impact and organizational health? Opportunity: When members raise a concern, bring it to the board and be transparent about what’s at stake. If members are concerned that next year’s annual meeting will be held in a place that is not welcoming to the LGBTQIA+ community, the CSE and chief elected officer can take it to the full board, explain the legal and financial implications and how members may react, and communicate any change in location to members. |
| Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; proactive alignment of policies, processes, offerings, and culture. | Who is involved in shaping a program or policy, from conception to execution? Opportunity: Involve the people you hope to serve from the start, not after the program is built. For example, if you’re creating a scholarship for students from underrepresented communities, bring those voices in at the beginning. They may offer ideas you hadn’t considered or point out an eligibility requirement that actually keeps the students you hope to reach from applying. Equity-Centered Community Design (ECCD)™, a framework developed by Creative Reaction Lab, is built around this kind of co-creation, and Oregon State University’s Institutional Diversity office shows how it works in practice. |
| Adaptive leadership prioritizing foresight, innovation, wellness, and collaboration. | Are key performance indicators (KPIs) being achieved at the expense of the organization’s future? Whose experience is missing from the data behind your goals? Opportunity: A KPI can be met and still hurt the organization. Check what hitting the number is actually producing. For example, if a KPI calls for reaching a percentage of new members but few renew after the first year, review the data and ask first-year members, especially those who didn’t renew, what they expected and whether they felt they belonged. Their answers can show whether the KPI is setting the organization up for success or hurting it. |
Conscious inclusion doesn’t happen in one grand gesture. It happens one decision at a time: who you invite into leadership, what you review, and what you ask. Focus on these governance and executive leadership domains, and you can bring more diverse perspectives and experiences into your work and your association, while helping members feel they belong.