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2016 Conference Speakers

Lowell Aplebaum

Lowell Aplebaum is a Certified Association Executive, working with associations on value-focused approaches to membership and volunteer management.  He served as the co-Executive Editor and Contributing Author for ASAE’s Component Relations Handbook 2^nd edition, and authored chapters on component relations for Professional Practices in Association Management, 3^rd edition and on emerging trends for the new version of Membership Essentials.  He has served as an instructor on volunteer management for ASAE’s Online University, at Association Management Week, and for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organizational Management.  He is a volunteer as well – serving on the CAE Commission and organizing a master level learning series called Through the CEO Lens.  He has been to all fifty states in the US (48 of which were for working with volunteers), and his favorite job is the one he has at home as dad.

Pat Hall

Pat Hall has more than thirty-six years’ experience as Executive Director/Chief Executive of two large not-for-profit organizations, President of his own consulting company, and owner of a clothing store. 

Pat is currently the President and a partner in The Capital Group, a multi-faceted consulting firm that specializes in government relations, political campaign management, communications, board and media relations, and not-for-profit association management. 

In 2005 Pat also formed another consulting firm with veteran Republican legislator Jim Dunlap to form Majority Plus, LLC.  Together they are the co-hosts of a weekly Cox Communications political TV show titled “Inside the Issues.” From 1996 to the present, Pat has also co‑owned the Lady Austin’s clothing stores in Altus, Oklahoma. From 1980 through 1995, Pat was the Executive Director and lobbyist for the Oklahoma Public Employees Association. From 1996 to August 1999, Pat was the CEO of the Oklahoma Democratic Party and President of the Carl Albert Foundation. Pat was a member of the United States Army Military Police Corps from June 1974 to October 1977 and obtained the rank of Captain. Pat has a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma and a BS in Education from Southwest Missouri State University. 

Pat and his wife, Melanie, an attorney, live in Norman, Oklahoma.

Kari Mirabal

The Connection Coach
Leading you to People, Opportunity and Profit

Kari Mirabal, The Connection Coach, leads you to People, Opportunity and Profit.  Mirabal shares her top networking formulas to inspire the exploration of new possibilities when navigating today's #1 social media site for business professionals - LinkedIn.  From real-business examples to humorous yet relevant storytelling, Mirabal piques audience curiosity and inspires participants to leverage a variety of networking resources to unleash the power of connection.  Mirabal doesn’t just “lead the way”, she empowers participants through skill development practices designed to create new opportunities missed by most.  Want to learn more?  Visit www.karimirabal.com for more information.    

Jerrod Murr

Jerrod Murr is a dreamer of dreams, a music maker, and an avid bucket lister. He once set out to sell 100,000 t-shirts of Haiti relief. He learned to juggle in Cuba under a mango tree. He once went on a road trip to 11 states in less than two days. He even won over $35,000 on a game show. His goal is to live life to the fullest while challenging others to live theirs. 

Murr is a speaker and a cultural entrepreneur. He is a graduate of Northeastern State University with a Bachelor's in Business Administration, and a member of the Northeastern State University Hall of Fame. Murr is the founder of The 20 Leadership Camp, a faith-based movement equipping students through personal leadership challenges. He is also co-founder of Paradigm Shift working with groups across the country to reach their goals through experiential learning. 

Melynn Sight

Melynn is a firecracker of positivity and planning. She pours out pure marketing communication strategies that Association Executives like you simply praise.

Melynn is a seasoned sales and marketing executive who got a taste for creating and deploying integrated marketing programs at Sun Microsystems. She finely honed these skills while playing a lead role in building the product and service portfolio of Xerox for over 20 years. For the last ten years - she - along with her nSight Marketing team provides valuable insights that associations across the US and Canada clamor for.

She knows her stuff, she loves her work, and it shows.  

Jim Stovall

Since 1988, Jim Stovall, founder and Director of the Mediation Institute, has worked with individuals and organizations to resolve difficult and complicated disputes that often threaten valuable relationships.  Jim works to assist those in conflict to retain control over the decision making process and prevent diagreements from turning into a lengthy conflict or a painful grudge match.

The Mediation Institute promotes the use of alternative dispute resolution processes in governmental, corporate, and family law arenas. Mr. Stovall has conducted training workshops in Egypt, India, Indonesia and 23 states in the U.S. He has mediated over 1500 cases relating to family, the environment, personal injury, malpractice, and employment issues.

Mr. Stovall has conducted trainings for over 9000 individuals including judges, attorneys, executives, and human resource and mental health professionals.  He has taught mediation and negotiation at the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City University School of Law, and the University of Central Oklahoma.

He holds a Master of Divinity from Phillips Theological Seminary, a BA from the University of Illinois, and attended Louisiana State University Law School. He is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution, and is a member and past president of the Oklahoma Academy of Mediators and Arbitrators.

Mark Thomas

Mark Thomas is the Executive Vice-President and Secretary of the Oklahoma Press Association, the trade association of Oklahoma's 185 daily and weekly newspapers. Mark has been OPA's Executive Vice-President for 19 years, and 25 years total at OPA. Before OPA, Mr. Thomas worked for seven years as the Executive Director of the Colorado Press Association. 

In 2005, Mark served as President of the National Newspaper Managers Association. In 2007, Mr. Thomas was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame. Mark is the current, President-Elect of the Oklahoma Society of Association Executives.