Jon Trask interviews Nancy Zavada and Mariela Mcllwraith who discuss their upcoming session You Win! Collaborating to Meet Better, Greener and Kinder at the CIC Conclave in Reno Nevada Sept 26-28:
They are the co-authors of Meet Better: 167 Easy Ways to Make Your Events More Environmentally Responsible and bring this interactive session on ways of improving the triple bottom line of your events.
Modeling the process used to write the book, and implementing gamification tools, the authors will facilitate a fast-paced discussion that will draw out best practices from the audience in a wide range of topics including food and be
verage, meeting design, site selection and onsite management, waste management and other logistics as well as sustainability related sponsorship opportunities.
Nancy J. Zavada, CMP, Founder and President MeetGreen
Is a leader, innovator, and entrepreneur in the meeting planning and events industry. She founded MeetGreen in 1994 after beginning her career as a corporate health care planner in 1978. Nancy’s extensive work with scientific and academic organizations earned her an impeccable reputation for using state-of-the-art technology to produce successful meetings throughout the world.
Internationally recognized as a trailblazer in the sustainable event field, Nancy co-founded the Green Meeting Industry Council a decade later. She received the first “Achievement for Innovation in Hospitality Award” from California State University. Named one of the “25 Most Powerful in the Meetings Industry” in 2003, 2008 and 2012, she was awarded the “Top 25 Women in the Meetings Industry” and was named one of 22 “Meetings Trendsetters” in 2015. Nancy recently co-authored Meet Better, 167 Easy Ways to Make Your Events More Environmentally and Socially Responsible
Mariela McIlwraith specializes in business strategy, economics and corporate responsibility. She has over 15 years of experience and has worked in both Canada and the United States. She has consulted, presented, taught and written articles in the areas of marketing, corporate responsibility, ethics, hybrid meetings, gamification and pricing. Mariela completed her Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the Sauder School of Business at UBC. As part of her studies, she completed research on volunteer engagement, business strategy, change management and business ethics.
She holds a Certification in Meeting Management (CMM) and is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP). She is a Past Chair of the Content Advisory Council for Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and a Past President of the MPI British Columbia Chapter. She has served as a Trustee of the GMIC Sustainable Meetings Foundation.
Mariela is the co-author of Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Meetings and Events Industry, a part of the Wiley Event Series, and is the Executive Editor of the Convention Industry Council Manual, 9th Edition, published in 2014.