Kira Wisniewski, CMP, 33, works in Baltimore as director of operations at National Women’s Studies Association. As a 2017 40 Under 40 honoree, Wisniewski discusses her passion for the events industry.
*Connect with Wisniewski on Twitter and Instagram.
What I do: The National Women’s Studies Association is the professional membership academic association for the field of women and gender studies. In my role as director of operations, I oversee all meeting planning and logistics, membership, accounting, human resources and day-to-day office operations. Each November, the NWSA annual conference has 2,000 attendees with nearly 30 concurrent breakout sessions over three days and a smaller preconference. I oversee everything from site proposals, site selection, contract execution, scheduling, third-party vendors, audiovisual setup, accessibility, registration, volunteer training and more. I also manage all details and logistics for several smaller meetings throughout the year.
How I got here: I came to NWSA fresh off the 2009 Presidential Inauguration Committee that naturally came to an end. I was looking for a new opportunity and found that NWSA had the perfect position for my interests and skill set.
My greatest career accomplishment: I handled all logistics from point of proposal to contract to execution for the association’s first two conferences not held in the continental U.S.
Impressive stats: Although certainly a team effort, registration has grown for our annual conference during my tenure at NWSA by almost 40 percent.
A specific improvement I’ve made: One of the greatest things about working for NWSA is the staff is small and nimble and open to rethinking how things are done. Since I’ve joined the staff, we’ve eliminated tote inserts, saving a day and a half of labor (and countless hours looking for that one last box of inserts on-site). I’ve also engaged with American Tradeshow Services to streamline our on-site registration process; previously we printed out over 1,500 name badges in the office and then used foam badge organizers at registration.
What I’m working on: NWSA will celebrate its 40th annual conference this November. I’m excited to commemorate this milestone year in our hometown of Baltimore.
What I do outside of work: I’m the proud co-founder of 826DC, a nonprofit that works with students to enhance their creative writing skills in Washington, D.C. Additionally, I’ve curated several art shows that create collaboration between visual artists and writers, and have created an annual karaoke event called Kiraoke. I also volunteer every winter with the Special Olympics DC Unified Basketball program.
