The Professional Convention Management Association has appointed Tonya Almond (pictured above) as its vice president of knowledge and experience design. Almond will lead the events and education teams and will engage with its global audience to help PCMA evolve its education content and event experiences. She will report to Joyce Winnecke, PCMA’s chief content officer.
Almond has extensive knowledge of the association. She first served on the Greater Midwest Chapter Board and more recently has served on the PCMA Board of Directors. Since 2014, she has served on several of PCMA’s committees including the Annual Meeting Program Committee, the Nominating Committee, Annual Giving Taskforce and the Foundation Dinner Taskforce (now Visionary Awards).
Almond has more than 22 years of experience leading meetings, sponsorships and education and joins PCMA from her position as vice president of meetings and continuing education at the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Before the AAPD, she was previously director, meetings and events services at the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
“Tonya’s position will enhance the impact we are making every day by unleashing the potential of an integrated approach to education and experience,” says Sherrif Karamat, CAE, PCMA president and CEO. “She will be listening and engaging with our participants–capturing that moment when a look between participants lights a spark and connections are made–then, take that moment and use it to amplify all that we do.”
The PCMA Board of Directors unanimously approved Kirsten Olean, CMP, CAE, director of meetings, American Society for Microbiology, to fill Almond’s vacated seat on the board. “Kirsten previously served on our board between January 2015-January 2018, and was a critical contributor to our visioning undertaking,” says Karamat. “She will be a valued leadership voice as we execute our vision throughout 2018. Olean will serve through the end of Almond’s term, which expires January 10, 2019 following our Convening Leaders event.”
PCMA educates, inspires and listens, creating meaningful experiences where passion, purpose and commerce come together. They are the world’s largest community for Business Events Strategists providing senior education and networking for the business events sector. PCMA crafts and shares knowledge and market intelligence, enabling organizations to make informed business decisions while providing a platform for peer-to-peer exchange. Headquartered in Chicago, PCMA has 17 chapters throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico with members in more than 40 countries. For more info on the PCMA family of brands, visit PCMA at pcma.org, PCMA Education Foundation at foundation.pcma.org, PCMA Convene magazine at pcmaconvene.org, Digital Experience Institute (DEI) at digitalexperienceinstitute.org and the Incentive, Conference & Event Society Asia-Pacific (ICESAP) at icesap.org.
