Emily Berman, CMP, CAL

Global Engagement Leader: Translating value across cultures.

Denver, Colorado, United States

About

I help global associations create incomparable value for their stakeholders. Engaging just one stakeholder group can be challenging. Engaging numerous groups from multiple countries is a true feat. The roadmap for providing unique value for diverse cultures, languages, regions, and backgrounds takes intentionality, humility and heart. As association leaders we must shed our ethnocentricity and adopt a worldview that says: Every culture counts. HOW I CREATE VALUE GLOBALLY: ♦ LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS. Listening for WHY each global region values membership – eg. career development, posterity, thought leadership? ♦ STRATEGIC PLANNING. Informing our visioning by first understanding WHAT value our stakeholders want from us, and HOW they want it. ♦ AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION. Creating unique personas for each audience by mapping their levels of influence vs. interest. ♦ CULTURAL SENSITIVITY. Adjusting our language, pricing, and branding by including local voices on organizing committees. ♦ CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION. Using design thinking exercises to empower all staff in the value creation process. MY LEADERSHIP STYLE: ► I use empathy to understand every facet of a problem before attempting to solve it. ► I’m able to pivot at a moment’s notice by always being in continuous learning mode. ► I’m a servant leader who builds communities of trust, transparency and empowerment. ► I employ Agile methodologies to ensure projects are well scoped, resourced, and tracked. ► I can distill down broad strategies to understand how individual stakeholders are impacted. ► I’m a calm voice in the midst of chaos, eminently approachable, and unstoppably curious. Let’s connect: [email protected]

Experience

  • Travel and Convening at Wikimedia Foundation
    Oct 2022 - Present · 3 yrs 9 mos

    At the Wikimedia Foundation, I lead global strategy and operations focused on driving organizational effectiveness and scalable growth. I’ve built and scaled a high-performing team and implemented systems that support complex, cross-functional initiatives. My leadership focuses on operational excellence, aligning stakeholders, and enabling more effective, data-driven ways of working across a global organization.

  • Director of Innovation at CHIME
    Jun 2021 - Sep 2022 · 1 yr 4 mos

    Design and manage programs to educate healthcare executives on innovation principles, frameworks, and strategies.

  • Head of Global Event Operations at DevNetwork
    Dec 2020 - May 2021 · 6 mos

    Directed operations for three (3) virtual global events totaling 25,000 attendees in North America and Europe. Spearheaded the launch of a new worldwide innovation competition and education conference, securing over 1,000 award nominations and participants from 130+ countries.

  • Head of Global Events at OWASP Foundation
    May 2019 - Dec 2020 · 1 yr 8 mos

    Developed and implement global events strategy responsible for over 50% of the foundation's total annual revenue. Directed all global, regional, training, and online events. Develop strategic partnerships to enhance OWASP brand recognition and advance mission.

  • Scrum Alliance (Greater Denver Area)
    • Director of Global Engagement
      Mar 2017 - Apr 2019 · 2 yrs 2 mos

      During my time at Scrum Alliance, I aided the success of a suite of engagement offerings by developing a global strategy in collaboration with CEO and key stakeholders. I strengthened my team by recruiting, hiring, training, and leading talented professionals across the new membership department. I cultivated a collaborative agile environment, ensuring clearly defined goals. Additionally, I led member engagement on a global scale and managed conference Profit and Loss (P&L) statements. Some of my key contributions are as follows: ✪ Employed a strong customer focus to design full-circle customer journey. ✪ Boosted membership renewal totals by 100% through strategic leadership of eight-person team to pinpoint new member value propositions and recruitment plans. ✪ Conceptualized and developed global membership program services for 200K+ members worldwide. ✪ Grew corporate sponsorship revenue by 50% by building and fortifying relationships with key partners. ✪ Increased conference attendance by 45% in three years. ✪ Triggered 15% Year-Over-Year (YOY) growth by implementing effective strategies. ✪ Enhanced Lifetime Value (LTV) of members by 75% in 18 months. ✪ Facilitated seamless daily operations by serving as member of executive team to plan and oversee execution of organizational goals as well as resolve issues.

    • Global Events Manager
      Oct 2015 - Mar 2017 · 1 yr 6 mos

      In this role, I guided a cross-functional team of 4 individuals to plan, coordinate, and execute global events. I oversaw event logistics including location selection, pre-registration, marketing, post-registration engagement, and onsite execution. Some of my key contributions are as follows: ✪ Boosted public awareness of events by developing and implementing marketing campaigns and strategies, leading to increased event attendance. ✪ Established team from the ground up, offering mentorship to maximize team performance. ✪ Created a volunteer program committee to engage subject matter experts in content creation.