Melissa Klingberg, CAEMelissa Klingberg, account executive and meeting planner with THM, has earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential through the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). This credential is the marker of a committed association professional who has demonstrated the wide range of knowledge essential to manage an association in today’s challenging environment and is the highest professional credential in the association industry.

Melissa has been working towards this goal since early 2020 and sat for the exam this past December. With over 100 CEUs required to apply for the CAE exam, she took this past year to study management trends and the body of knowledge through additional CEUs, study groups. The stringent exam in association management focuses on Strategic Planning, Resource Development, Board Governance, Marketing, Mission Based Management, Social Entrepreneurship, Volunteer Management, and Strategic Alliances.

Given that less than five percent of all association professionals have achieved this mark of excellence and there are less than 5,000 CAEs in total, THM is proud of Melissa’s accomplishment and her new designation as a Certified Association Executive. Please join me in congratulating her on this great accomplishment.

Theresa Burnett,
President, THM