Jeff Hurt joined Velvet Chainsaw Consulting in January 2010. In 2012, he was recognized as the PCMA Educator of the Year. Jeff has worked in leadership roles with five associations, five government organizations and several companies in the education, events and meetings departments, including Meetings Professionals International and Promotional Products Association International, one of the top 50 shows in the industry.

He is considered one of the leading authorities in the meetings industry on adult education, conference design, digital events and social media for events and associations. He speaks and blogs frequently about meeting and technology trends, the future of conference education, adult learning and all things meetings at velvetchainsaw.com.

Chris is co-founder / CEO at WebMechanix, a performance marketing firm that is one of the largest & most respected pure-play digital firms in the mid-atlantic. Chris knows a thing or two about SEO/SEM, search marketing, analytics, copywriting, UX, conversion rate optimization, email marketing, marketing automation, growth / funnel "hacking", CRM, and attribution.

Chris spearheaded the launch of WebMechanix Academy, a training & certification program that rapidly prepares aspiring marketers for meaningful careers in the field.

WebMechanix has won all kinds of awards, been a mainstay on the INC 5000 & Chris is a regular on the speaking agenda for conferences & universities all across the country. He was also recently named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist.

Chris graduated with honors from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at University of Maryland College Park.

Aubrey is the Marketing Manager at CommPartners and is responsible for all things digital. Aubrey is a seasoned marketing professional who has a passion for building strong brands. Aubrey has an MBA from Loyola University and a BS in Business/Marketing from Towson University.

As Chief Learning Strategist & Founder of InspirEd, Tracy leverages her more than 17 years in the education industry for associations interested in increasing their relevance and revenue with meaningful live, online, and mobile learning programs. Tracy specializes in the intersection of learning science and technology. She's a thought leader in education strategy and learning experience design. She consults with associations on integrated education strategy to remain sustainable and competitive. For more information, please visit www.inspired-ed.com or www.tracy-king.com

Rich founded CommPartners as a provider of online learning services and events in 1994. His vision was to create a culture where people could learn, advance their careers and have fun. He has a passion for helping clients connect with their communities through education. Rich graduated from the University of Maryland and did his graduate work at Marymount University in instructional design. He now lives in Columbia, Md., with his wife of over 35 years. He has two grown children. Rich enjoys marathon running, biking, tennis and rooting for Baltimore sports teams.

Marci Thompson is an experienced member-education strategist within the association community. She is familiar with all aspects of continuing education curriculum development, member outreach and running successful synchronous and asynchronous learning events. Currently, Marci is the Vice President of Knowledge and Professional Development for the Society for Marketing Professional Services – leading the charge to develop strategy for the future of SMPS training and development. She oversees all educational programming, including: the Society’s annual conference, classroom and individual instruction, and distance/online learning program development.

Molly S. Mazuk has been planning and developing continuing medical education since arriving as a bright-eyed intern at the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) in 2013.  Her work focuses primarily on physician education programs around prescription opioids and the overlap between pain and addiction. She loves finding new ways to teach the same material. Molly is a graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Rich founded CommPartners as a provider of online learning services and events in 1994. His vision was to create a culture where people could learn, advance their careers and have fun. He has a passion for helping clients connect with their communities through education. Rich graduated from the University of Maryland and did his graduate work at Marymount University in instructional design. He now lives in Columbia, Md., with his wife of over 35 years. He has two grown children. Rich enjoys marathon running, biking, tennis and rooting for Baltimore sports teams.

Andy is a frequent thought leader and keynote speaker at conferences and events, traveling the globe to educate professionals about the importance of collaborative software, the cloud and the impact technology makes on the community it serves. At Higher Logic, his guidance helps clients experience these profound impacts.

Prior to co-founding Higher Logic, Andy owned and built a profitable software business whose primary focus was on member-to-member collaboration technologies. It was this software, when combined with complementary software which his business partner, Rob Wenger had built, became the heart of the Higher Logic platform.

Before starting his software company, Andy spent ten years serving as the Chief Information Officer at the Risk & Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) where he headed their technology and social strategy initiatives. From 1986–1996, Andy served in the Royal Navy, which allowed him to travel internationally around most of the world including the Arctic and Antarctic. He returned from a three-year tour in Hong Kong to study Computing in Business at Brunel University in London.

Liz leads the PEAK Grantmaking Learning Program Department and is focused on creating learning opportunities and environments that will empower and inspire you to make a lasting impact on your organization and profession.

Liz is a seasoned education professional with expertise in the planning and implementation of online and in-person training programs. She is responsible for all education programs and content for PEAK Grantmaking conferences, workshops and online resources.

She has over 20 years of experience in higher learning and not-for-profit association management. She brings experience in strategic learning design, technology development, association governance and membership recruitment and retention. Liz earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Bay Path College and a Master of Arts in Education and Human Development from The George Washington University.

Rich founded CommPartners as a provider of online learning services and events in 1994. His vision was to create a culture where people could learn, advance their careers and have fun. He has a passion for helping clients connect with their communities through education. Rich graduated from the University of Maryland and did his graduate work at Marymount University in instructional design. He now lives in Columbia, Md., with his wife of over 35 years. He has two grown children. Rich enjoys marathon running, biking, tennis and rooting for Baltimore sports teams.

Doug Sandler has over 30 years of business experience as an entrepreneur, business owner, manager and also as a member of several associations. Doug's podcast "Nice Guys on Business" has been downloaded and shared millions of times and has a loyal following within his Nice Guy community. He regularly works with organizations to build, implement and grow their own podcasts and develop a social media strategy to get their message out and their brand booming using podcasting as a channel.

Additionally, his book, Nice Guys Finish First is a #1 ranked Amazon Best Seller.  Doug is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer and meeting facilitator. Doug has been titled by a leading social media marketing company in the top 100 of Social Media Thought Influencers to follow.

Shelly is a facilitator, trainer and speaker specializing in non-profit trade and professional associations. She conducts leadership and staff retreats, facilitates and designs tactical strategic solutions and speaks on critical issues faced by the association community and society. She is also the author of the Association Subculture blog. Find her on Twitter - @shellyalcorn.

Shelly was formerly the Executive Director of the California Association for the Education of Young Children (CAEYC) and Executive Director for the Automotive Service Councils of California (ASCCA).

Shelly has spent many years in association management with such organizations as the California Society of Association Executives (CalSAE), California Automotive Wholesalers' Association (CAWA) and the California Peace Officers' Association (CPOA). She has extensive experience in board governance, chapter and component relations, government affairs, communications, finance, 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 grass roots lobbying program development for small associations.