Member Relations & Conference Planning

 

		Deborah Sykes Reilly Director of Member Relations, Sponsorship, and Conference Planning deborah@naicu.edu   Deborah Sykes Reilly has been NAICU’s director for member relations and conference planning since 1995. She is responsible for membership recruitment and retention; manages membership activities; and plans and handles logistics for all association meetings. She has coordinated the annual meeting appearances of President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. Reilly has been at the association since 1986, beginning as a consultant for annual meeting planning. Prior to joining the NAICU staff, she was a marketing coordinator for Reuben H. Donnelley. She earned a B.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
		Ben Burkhardt Membership & Operations Coordinator ben@naicu.edu Ben Burkhardt joined NAICU in March 2023. He assists with NAICU member services, meeting and event logistics, and manages office operations. Prior to joining NAICU, Burkhardt handled C-Suite and member communications as well as social media for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), where he oversaw a substantial increase in the association’s social media footprint and launched a series of video products. Prior to MBA, he managed a portfolio of programs at CTIA – The Wireless Association, including a partnership promoting and expanding the PulsePoint Respond app, which directs bystanders to nearby emergency situations that require first-aid and has helped save countless lives. Burkhardt earned a B.S. in management and international studies with minors in Mandarin Chinese and history from Guilford College (NC) and graduated from the Johns Hopkins University–Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies in Nanjing, People’s Republic of China.