By Meghan Risch
Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA) president and CEO Sherrif Karamat, CAE, announced Sandra Marcus and Nicole Kern have joined the CEMA team as Vice President, Strategy and Operations, and Manager, Community Development, respectively.
“Our commitment to providing the CEMA community with new and aggressive innovations remains,” Karamat 
said. “The greater vision is to provide value through additional and deeper content as well as enhanced connections by leveraging a robust and global infrastructure. Sandra and Nicole will be integral as we develop new value opportunities for members and business partners that leverage the combination CEMA and PCMA, two of the global business events industry’s most powerful communities.”
As Vice President, Strategy and Operations, Marcus will work collaboratively with the PCMA team and the CEMA Advisory Board to execute the vision and lead growth initiatives for CEMA including brand marketing, new program development, events, membership, and on-going community engagement. She joins the CEMA team with more than 30 years in the corporate industry as an event professional and a marketing leader, 20 of which were with IBM in a variety of event leadership roles. She officially joins CEMA on April 24, 2023, and will report to Junior Tauvaa, PCMA’s Chief Business Officer.
In the new role of Manager, Community Development, Kern will manage CEMA membership retention and acquisition with support from the PCMA Community team. Most recently, she was the Publications and Communications Coordinator with American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Kern joined CEMA on April 17, 2023.
Karen Galatis, a long-time CEMA veteran and former Oracle executive, has supported CEMA operations on an interim basis and will continue through CEMA Summit.
Meghan Risch is PCMA Chief of Staff, Vice President, Corporate Communications.
