Making History at the CAE Kickoff

LERP … SPIE … STEEP …UBIT. What do these terms have in common? They are all important acronyms for the successful association chief staff executive, and they are all valuable pieces of knowledge given to attendees of the NYSAE/ASAE jointly hosted CAE Kickoff that took place Feb. 3-5. A historic event, this was the first ever Kickoff to take place outside of Washington, D.C. Attendees came from all over the country – New Jersey, Virginia, Iowa, Utah and one even globe-trotted from Dubai! As someone attempting to earn the valued certified association executive (CAE) credential, I was proud to represent NYC.

Becoming a CAE requires work experience, 100 hours of professional development, and passing a 200-question, multiple-choice exam that covers the nine domains of association leadership. Over the course of an intense three days, a group of skilled facilitators guided us through the domains and gave us tips for studying and test taking based on their own experiences. To help us absorb the information, we followed the issues and successes of a fictional association, the International Order of Sandwich Makers, with leaders such as Victor Veggie and Peggy Panini. Seeing complex topics like accrual vs. cash accounting played out as real-world scenarios and gave us a greater depth of understanding.

On the last day, we celebrated our new-found knowledge with a practice test meant to serve as a microcosm of the real-life test experience. My thanks go out to NYSAE, ASAE and our incredible facilitators: Mariama Boney, MS, CAE; George Constantine; Carmen Elliott, MS, CAE; Jamie Saylor, CPA and Paul Preziotti, CPA; and Trevor Mitchell, MBA, CAE. I feel much better prepared to study for the CAE exam after this mind-opening experience.

Eileen Arnold-Ley is Executive Office and Special Projects Specialist at NAPNAP, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. She is also co-chair of the NYSAE Membership Engagement Committee.