CMAA Business Session

Stay informed, engaged, and connected to the Association’s future. Join us for an essential business session featuring key updates and strategic insights. Highlights include the Nominating Report with the 2027 Board of Directors Candidates Forum, 2026 National Committee outcomes, and the State of the Association Address with Jeff Morgan, FASAE, CAE. We’ll also unveil the Centennial Chapter Hub.

Reports to include CCE, Textbook, Member Needs Assessment, and Strategic Plan

Leadership Address: Fostering the Gift of Connection
Mark Ostach

In an era where isolation and distraction are on the rise, organizations must be intentional about fostering trust, collaboration, and authentic relationships. This keynote explores how to create a culture where connection drives innovation, well-being, and long-term success—whether in the office or across a screen. Help improve the foundation of your organization’s culture.

Awards Lunch featuring the Chapter Idea Fair Awards

The Full Picture: What Boards, Members, and Leaders Reveal When You Ask Them the Same Question
Eric Brey, Michael Gregory, Henry DeLozier

A club's board, its members, and the management team that runs it day-to-day rarely see the same challenges the same way, and most industry research asks only one of these key stakeholders. This session brings together GGA Partners' Club Board Perspectives and the Club Member Perspectives studies to show where governance and membership views on employee retention, financial health, and brand emphasis align. And, more importantly, where they don't.

Participants will learn firsthand how boards and members answered the same core questions differently across the private club sector, and get an introduction to Club Leader Perspectives research, which answers what board and member data alone can't by closing the loop with the perspectives of the people managing these businesses every day.

Attendees will leave with a look at how their peers compare to the broader sector on these questions, and with an introduction to a new way to bring that same conversation home through GGA’s learning sessions at chapter meetings, regional conferences, or on-site with their own boards and staff, where participants can benchmark their clubs’ results against those collected in our research.

The Guiding Leader: Building Ownership Without Doing It All Yourself
Shannon GaNun

Today’s workplace is more complex, fast-moving, and people-driven than ever. Getting results takes more than authority or technical expertise. It takes the ability to guide people effectively. Too often, leaders fall into the trap of playing the hero: stepping in with the answers, solving problems for their teams, and wondering why nothing moves without them. The result is disengagement, dependence, and missed opportunities.

In this engaging and energizing program, Shannon GaNun shares a powerful shift in how we think about leadership: from being the hero of the story to becoming the guide. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience, research, personal stories, and real-world examples, Shannon shows how leaders create better results when they ask instead of answer, set high expectations, and give their teams a clear destination rather than step-by-step directions.

Guiding leaders do not have all the answers. They create the space where answers emerge. When people feel guided, they step forward with confidence and begin to lead themselves.

Networking Event at Detroit Athletic Club
Short Walk

Enjoy an unforgettable Networking Event at “The Most Sought-After Experience in Detroit.” For more than 130 years, the Detroit Athletic Club has enriched the lives of generations of members by delivering distinguished experiences that foster camaraderie, fulfillment, and well-being.

Continental Breakfast and Royal Cup Coffee House

The Human Advantage: Social-Emotional Intelligence in the Age of AI
Elle Zimmerman

Board turnover. Volunteer burnout. Generational friction. AI anxiety. Chapter leaders are navigating more complexity than ever, and the leaders who navigate change most effectively have one thing in common. They're the most self-aware.

As AI reshapes the workplace, the skills that set great leaders apart aren't technical—they're deeply human.

In this one-hour interactive session, leadership expert Elle Zimmerman introduces the 3 Levels of Awareness framework, a practical emotional intelligence tool designed to build your leadership impact from the inside out. You'll explore:

• Self-Awareness — understand your motivations, triggers, and blind spots
• Social Awareness — read others, bridge generational gaps, and increase your influence
• Strategic Awareness — apply that insight to navigate change, drive effectiveness, and lead with confidence

Through reflection, small group discussion, and real-world application, you'll walk away with tools you can use immediately in your Chapter, with your board, and with the volunteers you're trying to inspire.

Legal Update
Erin Gibson Allen and Melissa Dials, Fisher Phillips

Strategic Planning Roundtables

Contribute to CMAA’s next Strategic Plan with these interactive, round-table conversations. Share your thoughts and perspective on CMAA’s next 100 years.