Membership Growth Summit 2027

Membership directors, retention staff and chapter leaders should register for the Southeast chapter's third Membership Growth Summit, held April 7 and 8, 2027, at the Atlanta Convention Center and streamed live for members who can't travel. Chapter Chair Dana Whitfield, who has opened both prior editions, welcomes attendees on both days.

Beatriz Solano-Whitaker, membership director at the Institute of Coastal Resilience Planners and a Summit speaker in 2025 and 2026, returns for a third year to talk about growing a niche association whose member count is capped by the size of the profession itself. Kenji Albrecht, chief financial officer at the National Society of Water Utility Engineers, will speak from inside one of the twelve associations piloting a new dues model under NANA's own Dues Model Study — a pilot that runs through May 2027, with results not shared until a June webinar. Attendees should expect his session to cover what running the pilot looks like day to day, not what it has found.

Workshop blocks will let attendees work through their own renewal and recruitment numbers at shared tables, with worksheets provided at registration. Sponsor Brightfold Registration will run a badge-printing demonstration between sessions for attendees considering a system change before their own conference season, and Coalition Print & Mail will staff a table on direct-mail renewal campaigns.

Registration runs $495 for members and $795 for non-members, with a $395 early-bird rate for those who register at least 60 days ahead. The Summit carries up to 10 CAE credit hours across both days.

The Atlanta Convention Center is a short ride from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. A hybrid registration option is available for members joining by livestream only, at the same rate as an in-person pass, with recorded sessions posted within a week of the Summit's close for registrants who miss a session live.