Frank Canavan is the Senior Manager, State Affairs for the American Gas Association. For the last three and a half years, he has worked at the state and local levels to advance the efforts of America’s natural gas utilities in advocating for policies that support local energy companies, their customers, and their communities. Caravan is a graduate of the Schreyer Honors College at Pennsylvania State University with degrees in History and International Politics. In 2020 he received his J.D. from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and is a member of the Washington, D.C., Bar Association.

Duane J. Desiderio has advocated on behalf of the real estate industry for nearly 20 years, seeking policy solutions that balance responsible economic development while conserving energy and environmental resources. He is currently Senior Vice President and Counsel with The Real Estate Roundtable in Washington, D.C. The Roundtable represents the leadership ofthe nation’s top 100 privately-owned and publicly-held real estate ownership, development, lending and management firms, as well as the elected leaders of the 16 major national real estate industry trade associations.

Mr. Desiderio’s legislative and regulatory portfolio emphasizes energy, environmental, immigration, infrastructure, and land usepolicy. He manages The Roundtable’s advocacy on these issues with The White House, Congress, and executive branch departments. Mr. Desiderio staffs TheRoundtable’s Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee(SPAC), and builds coalitions to unify diverse real estate, business, and environmental stakeholders toward shared policy goals. He has testified to the U.S. Senate and has prepared witnesses for numerous congressional hearings on energy efficiency, wetlands, endangered species, land development, and property rights matters as they affect the built environment.

David Harrison is a veteran public relations and marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience developing and executing integrated communications campaigns, many in the professional association, health care, and commercial real estate markets. He began his career in journalism, as a real estate reporter for the Baltimore Business Journal and the American Banker, and founded a PR firm in 2007. David is an industry leader and has created numerous national and regional award-winning PR and branding campaigns. 

Rock Irvin is the Chief Commercial Officer of SupplierGATEWAY. Prior to his current role, he acquired and operated two data-driven marketing solutions companies as CEO. He also been the head of data products for leading technology PE firm, Vista Equity Partners, and co-founded the data products team at Cars.com, growing their data business revenue by 20x during his tenure. Irvin is based in Chicago and is an alumnus of Howard University and University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Kristine Metter has spent 30 years working with associations to advance their missions while adhering to strong business practices. She is currently president of Crystal Lake Partners, a consulting firm that focuses on helping association staff and volunteers to embrace foresight, grow revenue, strengthen stakeholder experience, and design meaningful events. Her deep knowledge of strategy and operations gives her the unique ability to help associations imagine the possible and bring it to reality. Prior to founding Crystal Lake Partners, Metter held senior staff positions with America's Essential Hospitals, the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA), AcademyHealth, and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). Metter earned her CAE in 2005 and holds a BSBA in marketing from the University of Missouri and an MS in nonprofit management from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Rhonda (she/her) is a sought-after entrepreneur, workforce equity advisor, organizational capacity builder, and educational events strategist with nationally recognized expertise in associations, adult education, and DEI. She supports best-in-class trade and professional member service organizations as a visionary change agent, learning leader, and social justice champion. For 30+ years, including roles as ASAE chief learning officer and ICSC global vice president, Rhonda has helped hundreds of associations and nonprofits tackle their most challenging issues and create competitive advantage with (and for) the communities they serve. Rhonda’s formal studies include a BA in organizational psychology at the University of Virginia, as well as graduate programs in Communication, Culture & Technology at Georgetown University and Entrepreneurship at Cornell University. She serves on the boards of the NYSAE and SocialOffset, is the creator of the safe-space talent community BLK + BRN Professionals, and is founder and CEO of the hub for equity in expertise, Flock Theory.

Stacy Plotkin Silber is a land use attorney who helps residential and commercial developers, national retailers, senior and affordable housing providers, and property owners navigate zoning approvals in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland. Silber focuses on urban redevelopment near transit. She helps developers with residential, mixed-use, office, and retail projects. In addition, Silber secures approvals for her clients seeking to build or expand on existing or redeveloped sites. She is deeply involved in master-plan and sector-plan development, having represented clients in updates to the Silver Spring, Bethesda Downtown, White Flint 2, Chevy Chase Lake, and Montgomery Village Sector Plans. Silber serves on the NAIOP DC|MD Board of Directors and chairs its Leadership Committee. She is also an adjunct professor at The George Washington University Law School, where she teaches a land use course.

Dr. Michael Tatonetti is a Certified Association Executive and Certified Pricing Professional on a mission to advance associations in their pricing models for financial sustainability. As the founder of Pricing for Associations, he and his team work with associations to harmonize pricing and value across membership, education, sponsorship, events and marketing. Tatonetti is a proud Association Forum Forty Under 40 honoree for his dedication to the association field.