2020-21 Director Candidate Matt Miller
Candidate Statement – CESSE Director-At-Large
For the past 6 years, I have benefited from being a member of the CESSE community both as a CEO, and as an aspiring CEO. CESSE afforded me the opportunity to learn from leaders in our profession, which has enhanced my personal and professional growth. Quite recently, I benefitted from the CESSE community’s support during a difficult professional transition, which, I strongly believe, was integral in helping me find my current professional home at CLARB. Serving on the CESSE board will afford me the opportunity to “give back” to the community that has been so generous to me, and I bring with me an appreciation for the core value of CESSSE—community and network.Strategic Opportunities for CESSE
Over the last few years, I have witnessed the intentional strategic shift that CESSE has undertaken, and believe the organization is making the bold moves necessary to set up CESSE for future success.Expanding the membership to STEM organizations, reinvesting ACCESSE, and transitioning the operations to AMC have improved the quality and perception of CESSE.
Going forward, I believe the following strategic questions are critical for CESSE to address:
- What is CESSE’s model for growth?
- How will CESSE engage and nurture the aspiring STEM Executive and Future Leader?
- How will CESSE leverage exponential technologies to drive its mission?
- How does CESSE ensure that it does not dilute its value to the STEM community?
My diverse education and association experiences over the last 19 years has afforded me a perspective through which I view my work with my own boards. My focus for board work is “Mission—Margin— Strategy” – areas in which I am skilled and have had success. I have also had the privilege of accumulating “lessons learned” from experiences that didn’t work out quite the way I had planned. I would be honored to bring this knowledge to the CESSE board with the hope it will contribute to the continued elevation of the organization.
Biography
Matt Miller is an association executive with 19 years of experience in managing and leading mission-driven organizations and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB). At CLARB, Matt manages and collaborates with the staff team in its execution of the annual scope of work approved and funded by the Board of Directors. Matt also serves as a spokesperson for CLARB and as an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors.Previously, Matt’s role as Executive Director & CEO at the American Welding Society (AWS) required the management of a $40M annual revenue budget, diverse programs, staff development, board relations, and volunteer engagement.
Prior to his position at AWS, Matt served as the Chief Operating Officer for NACE International where he had product and operations responsibility for education, conferences, membership, market analytics, project management, IT, finance, and the NACE Foundation. Additionally, Matt worked as the Director of the SAE Foundation and Pre-Professional Programs at SAE International where he was responsible for directing the operations and fundraising activities of the SAE Foundation and setting the strategic direction of SAE’s Pre-Professional Education Programs including the award-winning A World in Motion program, SAE’s Collegiate Design Series, and numerous awards and scholarships.
Matt is also a proud veteran of the U.S. Army (1989 – 1992) with service in Operation Desert Storm (1990 – 1991).
