Denyse Mehta, EMBA, CAE

Founder, Plant Based Partner Canada and New CAE^® Graduate

As a new not-for-profit leader, I was comfortable that my existing skills would meet the expectations of the association that I was working for, but I was not satisfied that I had the depth of skill to exceed member expectations or meet the strategic goals. When the CAE program was introduced to me in an e-mail, I reviewed the first module, CAE 100, which included strategy, governance and leadership. I knew immediately that I needed to learn more, as I was accountable to a board, members and many stakeholders. I decided to sign up. Not only did I learn over 12 weeks of questions to build new competencies, but I also shared experiences and learned from others. I also gained a baseline of where I stood in all competencies and there were gaps. I built and grew competencies in marketing, membership, operations support and products and services. I conducted benchmarking with almost 20 organizations. In many areas, I pushed to transform the organization and I built confidence and self-belief until I eventually completed the designation. Now, I am ready to take my career forward, to serve and support the not-for-profit industry. Thank you CSAE and all colleagues who supported the learning.

Email Denyse at denysemehta@gmail.com and connect with her on LinkedIn.