The Perils & Promises of Blockchain for Associations
Program Description
The buzz is unmistakable. The next technological wave is beginning to crest and blockchain is leading the way. Advocates claim it will revolutionize trust on the Internet and, counterintuitively, lead to more privacy for individuals. Detractors have concerns about misuse, security, and what the overall socio-economic impact may be of blockchain being deployed at scale. Is it all just hype? How can we develop a better understanding of how blockchain may impact us as individuals and leaders of organizations? In this session, we'll answer those questions, talk about what blockchain is and how the technology works, discuss how it’s going to affect the association industry, and provide a roadmap for associations to use as they begin to help their members prepare for the impacts of this disruptive technology on their industries and professions.
Participants will:
- Get beyond the buzzwords and understand what blockchain is and how it actually works, including getting step-by-step instructions on how to begin experimenting with blockchain
- Learn how blockchain might be applied to the business of associations and begin thinking about what they might want to investigate for their own association
- Develop a better understanding of how blockchain will affect their members so they can begin planning how they will help their members adjust to and use this new technology
Track
Trends Watch
Content Leaders
Shelly Alcorn, CAE, Alcorn Associates Management Consulting
Title
Principal
Website
Bio
Shelly is a Principal in Alcorn Associates Management Consulting. She brings her own unique flair to facilitating, training and speaking for her non-profit trade and professional association clients. She focuses on critical trends and issues faced by the association community and society at large. She is also the author of the Association Subculture blog.
Shelly was formerly the Executive Director of the CA Association for the Education of Young Children (CAEYC). CAEYC is a 501(c)3 organization with over 10,000 members in California in 37 separately incorporated affiliates. She was also the Executive Director for the Automotive Service Councils of CA (ASCCA), a 501(c)6 trade organization representing the interests of over 1,500 independently owned automotive repair facilities in California. In that role, she was also responsible for oversight of a for-profit subsidiary and a 501(c)3 scholarship foundation.
Shelly has spent many years in association management with such organizations as the CA Society of Association Executives (CalSAE), CA Automotive Wholesalers' Association (CAWA), and the CA Peace Officers' Association (CPOA). She has extensive experience in board governance, chapter and component relations, government affairs, communications, membership, endorsed programs, educational program design and the execution of conferences, meetings, and events. Previously, Shelly owned and operated her own consulting practice that provided government affairs, ballot initiative campaign work, website design, and grassroots lobbying program development for small associations.
Elizabeth Weaver Engel, MA, CAE, Spark Consulting LLC
Title
CEO & Chief Strategist
Website
Bio
Elizabeth Weaver Engel, MA, CAE, is CEO & Chief Strategist at Spark Consulting LLC. For more than 20 years, Elizabeth has helped associations grow in membership, marketing, communications, public presence, and especially revenue, which is what Spark is all about. She speaks and writes frequently on a variety of topics in association management. When she's not helping associations grow, Elizabeth loves to dance, listen to live music, cook, and garden.