Spotlight on Daniel García, CAE, CSAE Board Chair

Get to know CSAE’s Board chair, Daniel García in this interview with Penny Tantakis, director, communications, marketing & membership.

 Q:  What are you most excited about in your tenure as Board chair?

I’m most excited about all the opportunities that CSAE has to make a meaningful and lasting impact on the association sector. We launched the new strategic plan last year and carrying those initiatives forward is important for CSAE and its members. My goal is to continue the great work that the past chair, John Buck, CAE, led last year and continue advancing CSAE’s EDI Action Plan and its role in Truth and Reconciliation. 

Q: As the chair of the CSAE Board, do you have any guiding principles you apply to your leadership role?

I believe that my role as chair of the CSAE Board is to leverage the knowledge, expertise and experience around the Board table. We are fortunate to have an incredible group of volunteers that are dedicated to the organization and sector and creating space for everyone to fully participate is a key aspect of a successful year. I strive to ensure that everyone can share their perspectives and respectfully debate a range of opinions before a decision is made on a matter. The cohesion and unity of the Board is critical to moving CSAE forward and trailblazing a path for members.

Q: As the chief volunteer at CSAE – and a longtime volunteer – what value do you find in carrying out this kind of work?

Volunteering with CSAE has been extremely valuable to me, allowing me opportunities to connect with members across the country.  These connections facilitate the cross-pollination of ideas, approaches and solutions to challenges that many of us face today. What I have found over the years is that despite the range of organizational structures, mandates, locations and industries CSAE members represent, we face a lot of similar complexities and can be inspired by approaches that other members adopt. Volunteering with CSAE helps us create our communities of support, sharing and connection which is what makes CSAE special to members.

Q: What values most resonate with you in your work as a professional in this space?  

I believe that collaboration, creativity and inclusion are essential to addressing organizational and sector-related challenges. When we work together in a manner where everyone can fully participate and share their ideas and experiences, we are able to generate innovative solutions that can be applied across the association sector. We are fortunate to have an incredible mix of talent in the association sector that members can tap into to advance their organizations.

Q:  What do you think the greatest challenges are to the association sector/CSAE at this current point in time?

CSAE, like many of its members, is facing complex challenges such as delivering events in a rapidly evolving financial and social climate, sustaining its value and relevance to members, and responding to shifts in the labour market. These complex issues that we face as a sector can be addressed through our collective efforts and by supporting each other beyond a particular industry or region. The CSAE community has the knowledge and experience to connect and collaborate as we navigate the uncertainty that the future holds while maintaining our shared responsibility to foster the growth and development of the communities that we touch from coast to coast to coast.

Q: CSAE is positioned as the hub for Canadian associations. What in your view are the greatest strengths of membership with CSAE?

With all the challenges and opportunities that exist for the sector, we need a place to meet—in-person or virtually—to cultivate the connections and community available to us as CSAE members. Whether it’s at a virtual event, a network event or one of its signature events—like the annual conference, tete-a-tete, or Summer Summit, CSAE is the hub that connects us to achieve more together. These opportunities to connect with other members are one of CSAE’s key strengths and one of the many reasons why I have been a member for most of my career.