At the heart of our work at AME is a shared belief in continuous improvement — in our processes and in our teams. We strive every day to create better outcomes and support a culture where learning and innovation thrive. Change is a natural and necessary part of that journey. Whether it’s adopting new methods or welcoming innovative perspectives, change drives the excellence we aim for. We all claim to embrace change; however, it can be hard. I joke at times that “change is good — you go first.”
Even positive change can come with a tinge of sadness, especially when it means saying goodbye to a team member who is moving on to new opportunities. It’s hard to lose someone who has been a part of our daily work, our conversations and our shared accomplishments. We are proud, however, to see our teammates grow and pursue what’s next.
I am sad to see Desiree Dolecki leave the AME Home Team. Desiree was relatively new herself when I started with AME, having been there for only about a year prior. Did I mention I started my role in February 2020?! We had wonderful plans for AME, but as we all know, life had other ideas that year. But as a team, we pivoted into a new world. While other event organizations struggled, Desiree researched the best practices for virtual events and led AME to our first-ever completely virtual AME International Conference. They said it couldn’t be done, but she made it happen. And our online attendance that year was nearly equal to our typical in-person attendance. What a great achievement.
Sara O’Hara, AME senior conferences & events manager, speaks for the AME Home Team, sharing, “Thank you, Desiree, for your incredible leadership, creativity and mentorship during your time at AME. You made work not only meaningful, but fun, and your impact will be felt long after you’ve moved on to new adventures.”
Desiree with her farewell travel goodies
AME will continue to build a team that embraces change with optimism, values each other fully while together and stays connected no matter where our paths lead. In this spirit, I am happy to announce that Regina D’Alesio will serve as AME’s new director of conferences and events. Regina brings a wide variety of skills and experiences and is a fantastic collaborator. We are honored Regina has chosen to share her expertise with AME.
Regina D’Alesio has been producing corporate and non-profit events for almost 20 years. She has developed business-to-business conferences, workshops, professional development training, awards programs, fundraisers and virtual programs across the U.S. Her events have engaged and grown communities in various industries, bringing people together to learn new strategies, share ideas and build relationships.
Prior to her career in events, she produced television programs for Discovery Channel, National Geographic, The Weather Channel, A&E, MTV and PBS. From story development to recruiting talent, coordinating lighting and staging, and writing and editing, she produced large-scale productions seamlessly, which she now brings to her events. Please join me in welcoming Regina!
Regina D’Alesio, AME director of conferences and events
Don’t forget to join us at the AME St. Louis 2025 International Conference, where you will meet Regina, the rest of the AME Home Team and even one of our prior AME members, Jeff Puma, who will share How AI’s past and present shape its future in his keynote. I remain so proud of the AME family and love your advocacy in the community we serve. Thank you all.
As always, please stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
