Amy E. Lestition, MA, CAE

Associate Vice President

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Areas of Expertise:

• Membership strategy
• Publications strategy, development and production
• Marketing events and programs
• Grant management
• Integrated branding and communications strategy

With 12 years of nonprofit management expertise, Amy E. Lestition, MA, CAE, joined Coulter in 2006, and was named an Associate Vice President in 2009. Through her tenure at Coulter, Lestition has focused her work on association management and consulting for Coulter’s clients ranging from strategic communications and marketing to organizational development and change. Lestition currently manages the CDC Grant awarded to the Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA) and serves as vice president of strategic communications and outreach for the United States Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (USPRA).

Previous to these roles, from 2006-2012 Lestition served as executive director of Association Media & Publishing (AM&P) (formerly the Society of National Association Publications), the trade association serving the needs of association publishers, communications professionals, and the media they create. Lestition led several critical initiatives, including name change and rebranding, membership re-structure, editorial strategy, program content and management, leadership succession and governance, corporate fundraising, and member relations.

Through her work with Coulter Strategy & Innovation, Lestition has also provided consultative support to various non-profit organizations, including Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions, the Hispanic Business Initiative Fund, National Child Support Enforcement Association, and Alliance for Community Media.

As a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Lestition volunteers in numerous capacities, including as the 2011-2012 Chair of the Membership Section Council, judge for the Gold Circle awards program, writer for Membership Developments e-newsletter and Association Now magazine, and content leader at several conferences. In addition, she has presented at digitalNow, Michigan Society of Association Executives (MSAE), PRSA Mid-Atlantic, and Association Foundation Group, served as a judge for various industry award programs, and is a member of Association Forum of Chicagoland. Lestition was awarded the Association Trends "2010 Young and Aspiring Association Professional" and the Angerosa Foundation Trendsetter Award of Merit in 2012. Since 2011, she has served as an associate professor at Northern Virginia Community College, teaching "Introduction to Non-Profit Management".

Lestition joined Coulter from the American Society of Association Executives. At ASAE, she served as chief manager of The Circle Club, the professional development, events, and knowledge resource for ASAE and its members. During her tenure at ASAE, Lestition was responsible for the overall development and launch of this cornerstone program. In three years under her leadership, the program grew five-fold in total number of members and overall program revenue.

Prior to managing The Circle Club, Lestition served as the manager of membership and customer relations for The Greater Washington Society of Association Executives (GWSAE).  In addition, she was a regular contributing writer to GWSAE's acclaimed magazine, Executive Update, where she had the distinction of interviewing leaders such as Nobel Prize Laureates Lech Walesa and Betty Williams. Lestition also worked for the United Nations Development Programme, where she conducted developmental research.

Lestition is an honors graduate of The George Washington University (GW) in Washington, D.C., where she earned her graduate degree in international affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs. She is a recipient of GW's Presidential Academic Scholarship and its Leadership Scholarship.

Lestition and her husband, Rusty Burke, reside in Centreville, Virginia.

Here's what Amy is talking about:

The future of associations: As predicted by 'the future of associations' 08/19/2010

 

Association Bisnow's Extreme Makeover - Association Edition

When Your Awards Program's Fairness Is Compromised [commentary provided by Amy]
ASSOCIATIONS NOW, ASAE April 2009, Feature

How the Part Translates to the Whole
ASSOCIATIONS NOW, November 2007, Small scale
By: Amy E. Lestition, CAE

 Membership Core Competencies in the 21st Century
Membership Developments, September 2010
By: Amy E. Lestition, CAE

quoted in: Keeping Key Stakeholders Informed
ASSOCIATIONS NOW, March 2011, Feature

 

Now, here's the backstory on Amy…

• Hometown: Williamsville (north of Buffalo), New York
• First car: Green Plymouth Breeze
• Superhero power I wish I had: Time manipulation: Ability to affect the flow of time by slowing, accelerating, reversing, or stopping it.
• Television show or movie most resembles my current life: Love Actually, because Billy Mack is the soundtrack to my life.
• App I can’t live without: There are many: TuneIn Radio, Cozi, Mapquest, Shazam, and Pandora.
• Favorite guilty pleasure: Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter sauce.
• Three publications I’d recommend for anyone who does what I do: Harvard Business Review; Fast Company; Wired; Wine Enthusiast
• What I do on my “free” time: Here are a few: Travel, shopping, go to concerts, watch football, participate in a fantasy football league, go on bike rides, wine tasting and to the movies.
• If I could travel anywhere in the world, I would go…: Russia
• Advice I would give my “younger self”: Always strive to do your best and be patient along the way.
• How my life has changed since I joined Coulter: Since joining Coulter, I have extensively expanded my abilities and knowledge of the association and non-profit management profession, made some truly great friends, and have developed a vast familiarity of television and movies, which was demonstrated through my reign as Oscar Pool Queen for the past two years.
• At the end of the day…: Carpe Diem! Failure is never fatal; Success is never final; it is courage that counts. – Winston Churchill