Michelle Russell

Editor in Chief at Convene

I've been the editor in chief of Convene for 16 years, in which time the magazine has increased its frequency (from 10 monthly issues to 12), created a standalone website (which has since been integrated with pcma.org), won numerous awards for its high-quality content and design, launched a successful monthly CMP Series enabling readers be assessed on their grasp of an article's content for CMP clock hours, as well as several unique content marketing series. I began my career as a Random House nonfiction book editor, and have written about several industries, including food retailing and commercial real estate, for a number of publications. The events industry has been my favorite industry to cover — there's no shortage of compelling material to focus on, from the way destinations are evolving for business events, to the brain science behind adult learning and face-to-face engagement, to travel, hospitality, marketing, and food and beverage. I most enjoy the challenge of connecting the important issues of our day — homelessness, the epidemic of loneliness, ageism, AI, data ethics, overtourism, for example — to the business events industry. My goal with each issue is to give event organizers insights to innovate their meetings and conferences drawn from real-life case studies, research, and the work of business book authors, while elevating the profession and reinforcing the role the industry plays in promoting social and economic progress.

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