The Forum is an essential part of IAEE’s commitment to empowering event professionals with the tools and knowledge to thrive in today’s evolving exhibition landscape.
Powered by CEIR research, the IAEE Organizer Insights Forum – for small to midsize show organizers – is designed to empower event organizers by providing tailored insights, practical tools, and industry expertise to successfully manage and grow small to mid-size shows.
Welcome and Introductions
Benchmark Your Way to Success: Leveraging CEIR Insights to Level-Set, and Level-Up Your Show
Presenter: Paige Cardwell
Paige Cardwell
President
CSG Creative
Paige Cardwell has been creating strategic and results-focused multichannel marketing campaigns and developing innovative association and event brands for more than 30 years. Her blend of strategic insights and creative savvy offers each client smart solutions to marketing and branding challenges intended to grow audiences and increase revenue.
Paige founded CSG Creative 20 years ago to serve the unique needs of associations and event organizers. As president, she leads the talented CSG team and oversees the marketing, strategy and branding initiatives for all agency clients.
Benchmark Your Way to Success: Leveraging CEIR Insights to Level-Set, and Level-Up Your Show
Event organizers face similar challenges but often approach them differently. What can we learn from one another?
Join us for an informative and interactive session where findings from CEIR’s Performance Benchmark Playbook will serve as a starting point for a productive peer-to-peer discussion.
You’ll connect with fellow professionals to share proven strategies, uncover what’s truly working, and pinpoint one or two strategic shifts that can take your show’s performance to the next level in the year ahead.
If you are responsible for revenue growth, exhibitor retention, or overall event strategy, this session will help you translate benchmarking insights into concrete next steps for your next event.
Come ready to contribute your own metrics and strategies—let’s learn and lead together!
Presenter: Paige Cardwell, President, CSG Creative
Organizer Table Talk Insights
Organizer Table Talk Insights
Join your peers in these interactive roundtable discussions designed to foster open dialogue, share best practices, and collaboratively address the unique challenges of producing exhibitions for the small to mid-size show sector. These sessions provide a valuable opportunity to exchange insights, problem-solve common issues, and build a community of support among healthcare association professionals.
Topics will include:
Quick Break
Strategic Safety and Risk Management: Elevating Security for Small to Mid-Size Exhibitions
Presenter: Dr. Jennifer Hesterman
Jennifer Hesterman, Ph.D.
Vice President, Business Resiliency
Watermark Risk Management International
Dr. Jennifer Hesterman is a retired Air Force colonel who served in three Pentagon tours and multiple command positions. Her final assignment was Vice Commander, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, where she led installation security, including the protection of Air Force One. She is the recipient of the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service medal with 5 oak leaf clusters, the National Defense Service Medal with one star and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
After her military retirement in 2007, Dr. Hesterman worked as a cleared contractor researching terrorism, organized crime, radicalization, and the Dark Web. She now provides security assessments for our nation’s critical infrastructure, advises two DHS Security Centers of Excellence and instructs graduate school for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, Department of Defense. She serves as an Expert Witness, providing analysis, opinions, and testimony in legal cases involving death or injury related to deficient security measures.
She holds a doctoral degree from Benedictine University, Master of Science degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Air University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State University. She was a National Defense Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, attended the Harvard Senior Executive Fellows program and was a senior fellow at the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University.
Dr. Hesterman’s book Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack was the ASIS Security Industry Book of the Year for 2015. The second edition was the ASIS Security Industry Book of the Year for 2019, and Social Sciences Book of the Year for Taylor & Francis. She also authored Soft Target Crisis Management (2016), The Terrorist-Criminal Nexus (2013) and numerous journal articles.
A lifelong space enthusiast and commercial astronaut hopeful, she conducts research for NASA and other agencies in austere and remote environments to help advance the future of human spaceflight. As an adventurer traveler, she’s explored both the North and South Poles, and many places in between.
Strategic Safety and Risk Management: Elevating Security for Small to Mid-Sized Exhibitions
As exhibitions continue to evolve amid changing industry dynamics and rising security concerns, adopting a strategic approach to safety and risk management is essential. This session equips small to mid-size event organizers with the frameworks and tools needed to proactively assess vulnerabilities, align safety protocols with organizational goals, and integrate risk mitigation into the overall exhibition strategy.
Attendees will explore how strategic planning for safety and security not only protects stakeholders but also enhances event reputation and drives attendee confidence in an increasingly complex exhibitions landscape.
Presenter: Jenni Hesterman, Ph.D., Vice President, Business Resiliency, Watermark Risk Management International
Networking Luncheon
Organizer Table Talk Insights
Organizer Table Talk Insights
Join your peers in these interactive roundtable discussions designed to foster open dialogue, share best practices, and collaboratively address the unique challenges of producing exhibitions for the small to mid-size show sector. These sessions provide a valuable opportunity to exchange insights, problem-solve common issues, and build a community of support among healthcare association professionals.
Topics will include:
Practical Applications of AI in Associations, Events and Management Companies
Presenter: Rich Vallaster, III, CEM, QAS, AAiiP, MBA
Rich Vallaster, III, CEM, QAS, AAiP,
Senior Director of Industry Relations and Community Engagement & Trade Show Wonk
Personify A2Z Events
Rich is the Senior Director of Industry Relations and Community Engagement at Momentive Software (formerly Personify). With decades of experience in the events and association industry, Rich has partnered with leading associations, AMCs, trade shows, and events. He has held key leadership positions, including Chair of the CEIR Research Council and board member of the International Association of Exhibitions & Events (IAEE).
An active member of both IAEE and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Rich is recognized as a forward-thinking leader shaping the industry’s future. His expertise has been featured in major publications, including The New York Times, Associations Now, Trade Show Executive, Skift Meetings, and Convene.
Rich regularly presents at high-profile events such as ASAE Annual, Expo! Expo!, AMCI, PCMA, and various state SAE conferences. Additionally, he instructs in the IAEE Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM) program. For more speaker information, visit: Rich Vallaster
Practical Applications of AI in Associations, Events and Management Companies
Imagine if AI could truly give your team more time to focus on strategy, boost revenue, and tackle those “wish list” projects that always get pushed aside instead of just adding another tool.
This session is all about practical, real-world ways associations, AMCs, and event organizers, regardless of size, can use AI across the full event lifecycle. From marketing and logistics to sponsorship and exhibit sales, education programming, and event data analysis, you’ll see live demos using publicly available AI tools (many free or low-cost), real event scenarios, and examples from a curated prompt library. You’ll walk away with ideas, sample data sets, and guides you can use right away to help your team work smarter and become even more strategic.
You’ll also learn how to train AI tools, so they sound like your organization and speak your audience’s language, making sure everything stays on brand (and doesn’t sound like AI). We’ll also go beyond basic efficiency and show how AI can help you spot attendance trends, discover hot topics, find new sponsors and create better experiences for attendees and exhibitors.
Whether you’re new to AI or already experimenting, this interactive session is hands-on and focused on what actually works for events. No hype or jargon, just real examples and prompts you can put to work right away for your events.
Presenter: Rich Vallaster, III, CEM, QAS, AAiiP, MBA, Senior Director of Industry Relations and Community Engagement & Trade Show Wonk, Personify A2Z Events
Networking Break
Panel Discussion
The Future of Small to Mid-Size Tradeshows: Innovating and Thriving with Resiliency (Panel Discussion)
The tradeshow and exhibition landscape is evolving rapidly, presenting both challenges and exciting opportunities—especially for small to mid-size organizers working with limited budgets. This dynamic panel will explore how organizers can embrace innovation, technology, and new event models to stay competitive and deliver exceptional value to attendees and exhibitors alike.
Wrap Up & Closing Remarks
Registration Cut-Off Date: Tuesday, 26 May
Cancellations, in whole or in part, must be made in writing and may be subject to a cancellation fee. For a full refund, written cancellations must be received no later than 30 days prior to the event. Within 15-29 days, all approved refunds are subject to a $75 administrative fee. Within 14 days of the event cancellations will not be accepted and event fees will not be refunded. Send written cancellation requests to: registration@iaee.com.
Group Rate
$169 plus applicable state and local taxes
Cutoff date: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Check-in Time: 3:00 PM
Check-Out Time: 11:00 AM
Hotel Parking
For attendees flying into Baltimore from out of town, you will fly into the following airports. Please note, the hotel does not provide airport shuttle service.
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
Distance From Property: 8 Miles
Phone Number: +1 410.859.7111
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Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
Distance From Property: 32 Miles
Phone Number: +1 703.572.2700
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Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
Distance From Property: 55 Miles
Phone Number: +1 703.417.8000
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The Live! Casino & Hotel is located in Hanover, Maryland, which is 14 miles southwest of downtown Baltimore, a drive of approximately 20-30 minutes depending on traffic. It is situated near the Arundel Mills Mall and is a short distance from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI).