Monica Pemberton

Cecilia Sepp [Host]
Hello and welcome to Her Story, a series presented by AWTC, Association of Women Technology Champions, to profile and feature our members. In this episode, we are featuring Monica Pemberton, who is a founding board member of AWTC. So Monica, welcome to Her Story.
It's good to see you.
Thank you. I'm excited to be here.
And we would like to start off with, could you tell us what your current position is?

Monica Pemberton [Guest]
Right now, I am the vice president and chief information officer at the American Council on Education.
And what does that college do?
It's actually not a college, it's a council. Our members are college presidents.

Cecilia Sepp [Host]
Well, I would like to start off our interview portion with how did you get started working with associations?

Monica Pemberton [Guest]
Actually, I was given the opportunity to transition from government contracting. And there was a role available at the National Association of College and University Business Officers as a director of information technology. And that's how I got into associations.

Cecilia Sepp [Host]
Did you know what associations were before you took that position?

Monica Pemberton [Guest]
Honestly, no, I had no idea. So it has been an education over the years. And I have been lucky to be in the association community. And I have been in the higher ed side of it.

Cecilia Sepp [Host]
Well, that's great. I don't think any of us were little children saying, “When I grow up, I want to work at an association.” So that's a great story.
Great segue. So thinking of your transition into association work, and you mentioned it's been a learning experience for you—can you tell us about an experience in your work that made you feel really good?

Monica Pemberton [Guest]
I think it was implementing a new AMS. In my previous organization, it was an accelerated path. We had a very tight deadline, but we were able to improve the experience.

Cecilia Sepp [Host]
That is a great example. And I know AMS is our big project. Whenever you're implementing those, I think we've all done that at least once.
So as a woman in technology, is there some advice that helped you along the way with your career path?

Monica Pemberton [Guest]
I think you have your good and your bad days, but it's also getting a community around you and having resources you can tap into when you're having those bad days.

Cecilia Sepp [Host]
So your advice is: build a network and stay in touch with them.

Monica Pemberton [Guest]
Yes.

Cecilia Sepp [Host]
That's great advice. So this is a little bit bigger question: Where do you see technology leading associations as we move into the future?

Monica Pemberton [Guest]
I think there will be increased technology partnerships. I think that AI is definitely here to stay. And I think associations will be able to leverage it in their work to improve processes and improve some of the services and products that they're offering.

Cecilia Sepp [Host]
I know AI is being used a lot for automation and especially in the area of content management on websites. Do you think there's an area that associations are missing with AI tools—something they could be using it for that maybe they're not?

Monica Pemberton [Guest]
I think no, because we're using it for member experience in some aspects, but I think there will be products that come out of leveraging AI for our members.

Cecilia Sepp [Host]
Great. Okay. So as we wrap up this episode of Her Story—what do you like best about being part of AWTC?

Monica Pemberton [Guest]
I love the community. I love having these intelligent, phenomenal women around me. It's just a vibrant community that you can feed off of, you can network with. We tend to help each other and we continue to grow. And the plan is to continue to do that.

Cecilia Sepp [Host]
And my last question for you is: Someone who is not currently a member of AWTC—what, in your opinion, is a compelling reason for them to join?

Monica Pemberton [Guest]
I think one of the most compelling reasons is to have a network of women that you can interact with, network with, gain knowledge from, and access various resources available in the association community. So if you're not a member, you're missing out.

Cecilia Sepp [Host]
I agree. And Monica, what is the best way for people to learn more about AWTC?

Monica Pemberton [Guest]
You can go to our website, www.awtc.tech.

Cecilia Sepp [Host]
Thank you so much, Monica. For the audience: Monica is a leader and a trailblazer—not just at AWTC, but in the area of technology and associations. I'm pleased to host this series and share her insights.
So Monica, thank you so much for joining us for Her Story.
Thank you for having me.
And again, if you would like to learn more about AWTC, sign up for events, or join our membership, visit www.awtc.tech.
I'm Cecilia Sepp, and thanks for joining us.