This year’s Salute to Excellence Association Trailblazer Award recipients have shown courage during challenging times. They have flourished despite pandemic-related setbacks and have led their organizations to significant growth. Brianna Gianti, Alicia Auerswald, Holly Smith and Tim Ebner have spearheaded initiatives to drive their associations forward.

Whether promoting sustainability, serving banks, or leading communications and graphic arts efforts, these trailblazers are innovative and insightful. They are passionate about serving their associations and stakeholders, and they are taking on challenges with can-do attitudes and hard work. 

Membership growth through innovation 

For Brianna Gianti, vice president of membership at the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA), organizational growth occurred amongst mounting pandemic obstacles. ReMA’s mission is “to promote safe, environmentally responsible, and economically sustainable recycling through advocacy, networking and education,” efforts to which Gianti has brought her expertise. 

Gianti has deep association leadership experience. She served as senior director of membership for the National Association of Manufacturers, director of strategic initiatives at EveryAction, and director of membership at the Solar Energy Industries Association.

After joining ReMA in late 2019, Gianti saw the world changing around her. While some associations’ finances and member numbers deteriorated and staff lost their jobs, ReMA’s membership and revenues have grown tremendously since Gianti started in her role, by 227% and 62%, respectively. She has shown herself to be a trailblazer during especially trying times. 

Beyond metrics, Gianti has focused on transforming ReMA’s internal operations. “We've been able to really refocus our team and turn them into more of a sales and customer service team, rather than an administrative team,” Gianti said. “We’re now up to a team of seven direct reports, so eight including me … something we only could have dreamed of when I came on.”

Gianti has created new ways to engage stakeholders, including a YouTube video series called “ReMA on the Road,” about recycling companies across the U.S. Gianti’s team profiles ReMA members and “promotes them to other people who may not know of their work.”

“It’s a road trip where we travel around to different places. A lot of our members are small businesses in rural America, and we don’t necessarily get the chance to meet them. They don’t necessarily have the opportunity to take the time out of their business to come to our bigger events. … It’s teaching my new (staff) about the industry,” she said.

Gianti attributes this program’s success to the videos’ subjects: “It’s meeting these folks and building that relationship to make (the association) stronger.”

Knowing the importance of building cohesion, Gianti is decidedly team-first in her leadership approach. 

“I’m never going to be somebody on top of an ivory tower, pointing down (at) things. For example, even last week, we were mailing out renewal invoices. I was right there with my team licking envelopes, laughing, listening to music and doing the same things with them. I would never ask them to do something that I wouldn’t do.”

Gianti stays inspired by paying it forward. Whenever she’s having a bad day, she remembers the rewards of relationship-building. 

“I go to a physical event and I see a new member that I or somebody on my team brought in … and I get to introduce them to an existing member I know. Then I see them again a year later at another event, and they tell me how much their business has grown.”

Thriving during challenges

As the International Sign Association’s senior vice president of strategy and marketing, Alicia Auerswald has embraced new technology to overcome pandemic-related challenges. With a mission to “be the leader in shaping and developing the sign, graphics and visual communications community worldwide,” ISA is comprised of sign manufacturers, users and suppliers. Auerswald’s 12 years at ISA have been fruitful, especially her special event- and IT-focused leadership.

Known for in-person networking events, ISA had to pivot to provide safer spaces during and after COVID. 

“We created a virtual B2B speed networking event called ISA Install, which many associations did, but we were one of the few that were able to take a virtual event that was very successful during COVID and convert it to a successful in-person event,” Auerswald said. “The purpose of the event was to connect our largest sign companies with those smaller companies.”

Auerswald’s technology-focused leadership also encompassed IT transformation. “One of my current responsibilities is to take a look at all of our major data systems and technology systems and identify what they do, what their purpose is, what data is in there,” she said. With a goal to align all internal IT systems, Auerswald looking to achieve cohesion.

Centralizing data is high priority for Auerswald. “We’re in the process of a technological review: a data cleansing, consolidation and hygiene project, as well as implementing a new association management software,” she said.

Auerswald isn’t afraid to challenge what’s tried and true. “I love to work and empower and collaborate with staff, generating ideas and brainstorming, looking for potential alternative ideas to the way we’ve done things in the past,” she said. 

Gaining perspectives from stakeholders inspires Auerswald. “I have built close relationships with our key segments in our audience, as well as our board members, but more particularly with select and certain key members in our organization and our industry. And that really inspires me, because I know that when I need something, and I ask for help, I’ll get good, honest feedback.” 

Serving stakeholders 

In her 20-year tenure at American Bankers Association (ABA), Holly Smith, executive vice president of membership, has accomplished many things. The organization has served banks of all sizes nationwide for almost 150 years. 

Since Smith came aboard, ABA has recruited hundreds of members and has increased its member retention rate each year. The retention rate now sits at 96%.is proud to serve the bankers in her association. 

Smith has spearheaded support initiatives that saw ABA members through crises. “Through COVID, we provided bankers with resources in real time that made a huge difference in how they serve their customers and communities,” she said. Her efforts have included providing satellite phones to bankers and streamlining otherwise complicated operations during Hurricane Katrina. 

Banks faced many challenges during the pandemic that Smith and ABA helped them overcome. 

“We learned a lot about bankers’ resilience and ways that they were able to step up to serve their customers and communities — whether it was trying to figure out how to open branches, or thinking back to personal protective equipment and all of these things that were novel to not only America, but to the banking industry.” 

Smith describes her leadership style as collaborative, staying “joined at the hip” with her team of 30: “Making sure that all of us are constantly sharing information, that we’re picking up on emerging issues and managing pervasive issues. Our customer service is really a key focus. I’m one of those folks who likes to roll my sleeves up and dive in.”

Effective crisis management is the backbone of Smith’s and her team’s success. “It’s impressive how fast we’re able to react, respond, recalibrate, and make sure that we’re doing the right thing,” she said. 

Part of this is cutting through the communications clutter to speak directly to potential and existing members. “We’re getting constantly bombarded with information, and it’s difficult to try to figure out how to make your voice heard when we’re pushing out different communications to folks. How are we going to cut through all of this traffic and either deliver something (our members) need or ask them for feedback that’s actionable?” Smith said. 

Smith highlights professional development as a way ABA is successfully reaching people. “If you can think of a medium or a method or a topic, we do (a course on it), and we’re training thousands of bankers every year.”

Socially responsible leadership

At the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), Director of Communications Timothy Ebner leads the strategy and execution of all internal and external communications and marketing programs. A national trade organization for metal can makers and their suppliers, CMI strives to solidify the metal can’s recognition as a sustainable package. Ebner has led this effort since joining CMI in April 2024.

Ebner previously served as director of communications and press secretary at the American Forest & Paper Association. He has also held editorial roles at Education Week. 

Ebner’s recent campaigns for CMI have included Every Can Counts and the 2 Million Cans Recycling Contest. Both programs promote sustainability and are designed to engage elementary school students in recycling. 

“Trade and sustainability are connected. We import nearly 70% of (the) steel tin mill product we use in food and aerosol cans. Trade issues regarding aluminum is also another area we’re watching,” Ebner said. “For example, there’s an enormous amount of used beverage cans (UBCs) that are exported from U.S. scrap yards and these UBC exports could be a trade issue if it hinders the ability of American aluminum mills to source domestic recycled material.” 

Ebner’s leadership style is cooperative. “I strive daily to be a collaborative and inclusive leader. As an association, this means bringing all stakeholders to the table to discuss ways in which we can advance on common issues to make positive changes for people and our planet,” he said.

“Our staff team is small but mighty. We also adapt quickly to change, think strategically, and support work, alongside our members, to help advance an industry that employs more than 28,000 Americans in highly skilled U.S. manufacturing jobs.” 

In everything he does, Ebner wants to engage people with his creativity. “I am a creative person and critical thinker. I love to ask questions. I am constantly writing. It gives me an outlet to process what I see, hear, and learn in life, to hopefully inspire others.”