Meet Gayle Dahlman, Certification Director of the CMP Program

Last month, Gayle Dahlman joined CIC as the Certification Director of the CMP Program. With nearly a decade of certification experience, Gayle comes to the program with a wide breadth of knowledge and a repository of fresh ideas. From strategic management and positioning of certifications to expertise in keeping certifications current with rapidly evolving professions to best practices in program administration, Gayle’s experiences will help propel the CMP program to its next levels. Here, she shares with CMP Today her goals for the CMP program over the next year and a little bit about herself.

You have an extensive background in the certification field. How do you see those experiences helping you in your new role at CIC?

 I’ve worked with a wide range of certification programs, including established and new certifications. I hope to bring these experiences to the CMP program to help maintain the program’s reputation while also leading it into the future. Whether it’s building the program’s global engagement or addressing emerging professional specializations, I believe that my experience will be an asset to CIC. At my most recent position, for instance, I directed the creation of the new certification, which was launched in March 2011. I will use this experience to help develop the new healthcare subspecialty certification for CIC.

What will be your main focus over the course of your first year with CIC?

Ensuring that the CMP remains the preeminent certification for meeting professionals and advancing the globalization strategy is very important. I will also be focusing on communicating the value of certification, marketing the program and working with our wonderful CMP community.

What’s a typical day for you like?

For now, my biggest goal is to roll out the new subspecialty to our CMPs working in the healthcare meeting planning field. I am working with a number of dedicated subject matter experts on this program and welcome anyone with an interest in this subject to contact me (hint, hint).

You do not currently hold a certification as a meeting professional. Do you anticipate that being a challenge in your new role? If so, how will you address it?

Each new position is a challenge and I look forward to learning more about the CMP certification as we work to expand the program. My role is to ensure that the CMP program adheres to best practices in the certification field, which is not profession-specific. It’s the role of the CMP Board and other meeting professionals to provide subject matter expertise. Together, we make a perfect team.

Share with us something about yourself we wouldn’t be able to guess by looking at you.

Although I take my job seriously, in my off hours, I can be pretty goofy. Maybe because I’m from New York, my humor leans a little to the sarcastic side. And I like to think I can take it as well as give it. I enjoy golfing, but am not particularly good at it. (I like to say that what I lack in talent, I make up for in enthusiasm.) I love anything related to the beach and my dream is to one day retire to a golf community near the shore.

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