The National Conference is just around the corner (did you see, registration is live!) and Song is working hard to bring you the best NAI conference yet! She has been working hard on all of the details, plus tracking COVID trends to make sure we bring you a safe and fun event. Also, did we mention she's planning an international conference right now too?!? On top of all the conference planning, she also makes time to be the S in NAI's S&P podcast.
Milward comes to NAI having spent a diverse career in nonprofit and state government executive leadership in Colorado, Minnesota, and Wyoming. He has been the artistic director of a historic site and theme park, a performing and visual arts center director, a state arts agency manager, an administrator of state government historic preservation agencies, a state parks and cultural resources agency director, and state director for a worldwide conservation organization. He is excited to bring his wealth of experience and passion for interpretation to his role as NAI's new Executive Director! Milward is responsible for all aspects of NAI’s business development and management, including strategic planning, fundraising, marketing and public relations, personnel management, data management, external communications, partnership management, and management of the organization’s finances. In addition to enjoying time with their three children and two grandchildren, Milward and his wife enjoy gardening, cooking, biking, reading, travel, music, and live theater.
Paul was hired as NAI's graphic designer in 2002, and is responsible for the organization's visual identity, including publications, websites, and logos. In his current role as deputy director, he conducts training on social media and graphic design, performs administrative duties in support of the executive director, and serves as the staff liaison with NAI's geographical regions and special-interest sections. Originally from the Philadelphia area, he lives with his two children in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he likes to write, run, and travel. Do not get him started talking about minor league baseball logos.
Jamie has been with NAI since the late '90s and has held many positions within the organization. She is currently responsible for our membership department. Her current duties include working to improve your membership benefits and serving as our database administrator. She also oversees the NAI Store, all conference registrations, and provides basic accounting services.
This is Heather's second stint as an NAI employee. After serving as the membership manager for a decade in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Heather is back in the role of Corporate Engagement Manager, where she serves as the main point of contact for commercial members and assists on other membership-related projects.
Emily teleworks from Washington, where she oversees NAI's certification program including managing over five hundred CITs, developing new programs and teaching workshops on interpretive planning, coaching and much more! When Emily is not on the road, she and her husband love to play outside and ride their road bikes just about anywhere.
Native to North Carolina, Kat is a lifelong Tar Heel with a career background in instructional design for nonprofits. Before joining the NAI team, Kat developed curriculum, programming, and advancement initiatives for educational institutions, start-up companies, and membership-based organizations. At NAI, Kat supports the certification program; she works with instructors, reviewers, and applicants (is it time for you to recertify?!). Outside of work, Kat supports nonprofits through volunteer board service and can be found with her husband and son as they seek adventures kayaking, geocaching, or shelling on the beach.
Jean started working for NAI in the summer of 2016 and started full time as Certification Assistant in March 2017. She processes recertifications, the returned CIG and CIH classes and shipping the classes and store items. Jean is originally from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and transplanted to Colorado in 1998. She doesn’t miss the weather in Michigan but she does miss the forests and wetlands. In Colorado she likes traveling, gardening, and the hot springs.
Song started her event career at Utah's Hogle Zoo in 2006, planning and executing public events. She was instrumental in breaking attendance records and bringing in new large-scale events such as ZooLights and after-hours wine events. From there she expanded her event and conference experience working for over 10 years as director of events for corporate companies, planning and executing conventions and meetings for thousands of attendees around the globe. She has a proven track record for growing conference attendance and event related revenue, through thoughtful event strategy and team leadership.
Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day bookkeeping at NAI. She also serves as the staff liaison with NAI’s accounting team, Altruic Advisors, where she works with a variety of nonprofit organizations throughout Colorado. She enjoys cooking, reading, and playing with her dog Thursday. A fourth-generation Coloradan and occasional freelance writer, Sarah loves to travel and can’t keep a plant alive to save her life.