Ferd Libunao
Vice President, Operations, ASHHRA
1. What has your experience been like at MCI?
I officially joined MCI in June 2021, when I came over with the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA). Before then, ASHHRA was a part of the American Hospital Association. I have been with ASHHRA for over 14 years. Now I have the longest tenure of the ASHHRA staff, so I have historical knowledge for the association.
In November of last year I was promoted to VP of Operations for ASHHRA after leading the transition of our data as a senior manager. I manage a lot for ASHHRA, including the website, marketing, staff onboarding, communications, some budgeting, event promotion, registration, and social media. Recently I have also taken on balancing marketing for other clients as well.
2. How did you get into the association world?
Before I joined ASHHRA, I was in higher education. I was in the School of Education Graduate Admissions at DePaul University right after graduating, then worked as an executive secretary for AVP of Faculty Development. It was a fun experience, and I was there for a few years until I heard about a coordinator position with ASHHRA from a former DePaul colleague.
I didn’t know about the association world until I joined ASHHRA. It was never something on my radar. I never dreamed about going into association management, but getting to work for mission-driven organizations means a lot to me. It’s the thing I value most about my job.
3. What are you speaking about at Expo! Expo! in December?
I’m presenting with Todd Eckman at Expo! Expo! (presented by IAEE) in Louisville, Kentucky, on December 14 at 3 p.m. CT. We are presenting on driving event revenue and engagement. It’s a case study on going back to a live event after a couple of years of virtual events. For ASHHRA, 2022 was the first in-person annual conference post-COVID. We also didn’t have a lot of lead time because in the months prior, we were focused on transitioning to MCI and rebuilding all our systems. By the time we had all of that sorted, we only had a few months to finalize all the details, but we still had 85 percent of pre-pandemic attendance, so that was quite a feat.
4. You’re well known around MCI USA for your beautiful plants in your background, how did you get into that hobby?
The plants were a pandemic hobby. I lived in a garden apartment before this with very little sunlight, and when I finally got a place with a lot of light I went nuts because I can finally grow plants and keep them alive. I have about 75 now.
Orchids are my favorite flower. My family is from the Philippines, so I have a lot of memories of all the orchids there. One of the ones I have is the same type that my grandmother had so it has a lot of sentimental value; it reminds me of her and it’s rebloomed for me multiple times.
5. What else do you like to do outside of work?
I recently injured my shoulder, which has been putting a damper on my usual activities. I’m really into yoga, and I also enjoy playing Beatsaber, which is a virtual reality video game, where you slice blocks to music. I’m looking forward to getting back into both of those things soon. I really like to stay active when I can, so in the meantime, I’m trying to soak in the unseasonably warm weather we’re having and go on long walks and jogs.
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