Meeting and event professionals have navigated a distinct professional identity—evolving from “pink-collar” administrative support roles into a global discipline centered on ROI, experience design, and organizational strategy.
Yet even as the field’s business impact has grown, many practitioners still encounter persistent occupational challenges, including:
• Underestimation of their expertise
• Burnout tied to emotional and invisible labor
• Role ambiguity and scope creep
• Compensation misalignment
These issues are characteristic of occupations still progressing toward full professionalization—the broader process through which fields gain societal recognition and legitimacy. Classic theories outline the steps by which occupations become professions, but newer scholarship highlights how fields with feminized labor histories often face additional barriers along this path.
This interactive session will explore the history of the meetings and events industry and demonstrate how roles within it have advanced toward greater professionalization. We will also examine how MPI and professional organizations have accelerated this evolution.
Finally, the session will identify strategies the industry can adopt to more fully support its highly skilled workforce on the journey toward full professional status.
EVENT DETAILS
Cezanne
- 2016 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64108
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Members: FREE
Non-Members: $38
Meet our Speakers
Keira Solon is an Associate Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Management at the University of Central Missouri, where she oversees several programs, including the BSBA in Events Marketing and Management. Before assuming the role of Chair, she served as a professor in the department, teaching Events Management, Advanced Events Management, Leadership, Strategic Organizational Communication, and Business Communication. She holds a doctoral degree from the University of Missouri and also holds degrees from Kansas State University and Oklahoma State University. She is an active member of the MPI Kansas City Chapter and was awarded the Industry Advocate of the Year in 2023.
Dr. Jaclyn Brandhorst is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Central Missouri. She teaches courses focused on strategic organizational communication and management of organizations. Her teaching and research focus on organizational communication, employee well-being, and gender and professional identity in workplace contexts. Her work examines how professional norms, communication practices, and identity expectations shape careers in people-centered industries. Dr. Brandhorst’s scholarship has been published in leading journals, including the Journal of Professions and Organization, Nonprofit Leadership & Management, Gender, Work & Organization, and Human Resource Development Review.
CMP Eligible: 1.0 Credit Hour
Venue Details
Cezanne
2016 Main St.
Kansas City, Missouri
