Built for What Comes Next

Why TSAE’s Next Chapter Is About Community, Capacity, and the Courage to Evolve

By Shirley Robinson, CAE

AT A TIME when association professionals are being asked to move faster, operate leaner, respond to more complex member needs, and prepare for an uncertain future, TSAE’s role is to ensure that no one has to solve the next challenge alone.

My journey to and through the association world was accidental, but it was guided by forces that seemed to know this was where I needed to be. My relationship with TSAE was accidental, too, but it has become one of the reasons I stayed in this profession.

There were many moments when I knew association management had become my professional home. One of the most impactful came during TSAE’s 2020 New Ideas Annual Conference. I had been in my role as Executive Director of the Texas Library Association (TLA) for about nine months. Like so many of you, I was trying to lead through circumstances no one had planned for. I was sitting on my couch with my laptop open, a sign on the door asking my kids to be quiet because Mommy was in a meeting, and a mind full of questions I could not yet answer.

I remember very little about the specific sessions from that conference. What I do remember is the feeling. We were lost, exhausted, and overwhelmed. In one session moderated by J.J. Colburn, he talked about encouraging his team to think about “glass balls” and “rubber balls,” because sometimes you have to decide which ones can drop and which ones cannot. In that moment, I felt seen. I was grateful that I had people in my corner, experience behind me, and access to a community that would help me, my family, and my association move through whatever came next. I used that phrase, “glass balls” and “rubber balls,” dozens of times over the last six years with staff, board members, and even family members. It’s still as true today as it was in the middle of a global pandemic.

That is what TSAE has been for me. A place to learn, a place to ask hard questions, and a place to be reminded that we are not alone in the complexity of this work.

I came into associations through a mission-driven nonprofit pathway. Early in my career, I gained rich experience in fundraising, media work, events, grant writing, and working closely with boards and volunteers. I later had the great opportunity to serve as a staff member at TSAE, which became my transition point from traditional nonprofit work into association management. That time showed me the power of what associations do, not in theory but in practice. I saw how this community supports professionals who, in turn, support thousands of members, organizations, industries, and causes across Texas.

When it was time to take the next step in my own career, I knew TSAE would remain a central part of my toolkit. As I grew in each role, I had colleagues to reach out to when I needed a sounding board, articles at my fingertips when I needed a checklist, a webinar when I needed a few more hours for my CAE, and the New Ideas Conference when I needed to recharge my mental batteries and find inspiration for the next challenge.

It feels fitting that New Ideas is taking place in Galveston this year, because it was the incredible Dottie Bossley with Visit Galveston who leaned over to me at a December luncheon in 2022 and asked if I had ever thought about applying to serve on the TSAE Board of Directors. And here I am. Thank you, Dottie. That one question opened the door to one of the most meaningful service opportunities of my professional life.

Serving on the TSAE Board has given me the chance to give back a fraction of what I have received from this organization. Serving as Chair-Elect and now Board Chair has deepened my gratitude for the work TSAE does through its staff, board, volunteers, affiliate members, and partners. Our affiliate members, especially, pour so much into this profession. Their work goes far beyond selling a product or service. They understand the power of elevating, connecting, and strengthening the people who make associations work.

Associations are often described by their structures: dues, boards, committees, conferences, sponsors, chapters, and strategic plans. Those structures are important, but they are not the heart of the work. At their best, associations translate complexity into practical support. They help members understand what is changing, what it means, and what they can do next. They create professional communities where people can ask difficult questions and receive honest answers. They build leadership capacity across industries and professions. They convene people who may not otherwise find their way into the same room.

Associations also provide continuity. Volunteer leaders rotate, market conditions shift, public expectations change, and new technologies arrive faster than most organizations can absorb. Associations help professions and industries hold steady while still adapting. They gather individual expertise and turn it into collective impact.

In my role at TLA, I’ve seen how critical this work becomes when a profession is under pressure and member needs are urgent. Association leaders are often asked to support members, guide boards, manage staff, steward resources, respond to public scrutiny, and prepare for what’s coming next, often all at the same time. That’s not easy work. It requires skill, judgment, perspective, and community.

The associations we lead today will look different five years from now. That is not a prediction meant to create fear. It is a call to prepare. Artificial intelligence (AI), changing workforce expectations, evolving event models, financial pressures, member engagement shifts, governance challenges, and new business models are already changing the way we work. The question is not whether change is coming. The question is whether we will approach it with curiosity, discipline, and courage.

As Board Chair, I’m not stepping into this year with the belief that one Board, one Chair, or one staff team can solve every challenge facing our profession. The Board’s responsibility is to help create the conditions for TSAE to be strong, relevant, responsive, and futurefocused. For me, that work centers on four commitments.

Build Stronger Capacity

TSAE must continue investing in partnerships, revenue diversity, systems, and operational discipline that allow the organization to serve members well over time. Capacity is not only about having enough resources. It’s about using resources wisely, making thoughtful choices, and ensuring that the organization can keep delivering value as circumstances change.

Our Board and staff are doing the careful work of strengthening alignment, improving processes, and thinking strategically about what TSAE needs for the future. This isn’t always the most visible work, but it’s essential. Strong infrastructure gives an association room to innovate and gives staff and volunteers the ability to focus energy where it matters most.

Make Member Value More Personal and More Practical

TSAE’s members do not all need the same thing at the same time. A new association professional, a mid-career manager, a CEO, a volunteer leader, and an affiliate partner all enter the community with different questions, pressures, and goals. Our work is to keep listening and to ensure that participation in TSAE produces a clear return for both the individual and the organization they serve.

That value may come through education, mentoring, peer connection, leadership development, business relationships, or a conversation in the hallway that changes how someone approaches a problem. TSAE should continue to be a place where members can find both practical tools and trusted people.

Help Texas Associations Lead Into Change

We need to be curious about what’s changing around us, and we need to be honest about what’s no longer working as well as it once did. That includes how we use technology, structure meetings, support staff, engage volunteers, make decisions, and prepare future leaders.

TSAE can be a place where members test ideas, share findings, compare notes, and learn from one another’s successes and mistakes. No one has the full roadmap for the next chapter of association management. That’s exactly why we need each other.

Strengthen Our Collective Voice

Texas association professionals have expertise that matters. We understand industries, professions, workforces, communities, and the real-world implications of policy and economic change. TSAE can help build a more connected and informed association community, one that’s better prepared to explain the value of our work and the role associations play in civic, professional, and economic life.

That collective voice includes CEOs, senior staff, emerging leaders, affiliate members, meeting professionals, membership teams, communications leaders, finance professionals, and every person who helps an association fulfill its mission.

So, my invitation this year is simple: participate with intention. If you are a new member, come to New Ideas with a game plan. Introduce yourself to someone outside your usual circle. Ask the question you have been holding onto. If you’ve been in TSAE for a few years but have mostly kept your head down building your career, I understand that. I did that, too. Raise your hand now, in whatever way fits your capacity. We need you. If you’re a longtime member or leader, look for the person who may need the shoulder tap, the encouragement, or the invitation that helps them see a place for themselves in this community.

We all need to be seen. We all need people who help us notice strengths we may not see in ourselves. We all need colleagues who care about us as humans, not only as professionals.

The future of TSAE will not be shaped by one Chair, one Board, or one staff team. It will be shaped by a community willing to stay curious, show up for one another, and help build what comes next.