Join us every third Wednesday for the NSA Carolinas Speaker Development Series, designed to help you build a thriving, ethical speaking business.

Speaker Development Series

Rich Phaneuf, Executive Director of AENC, spends his career sitting on the other side of the speaker selection process — deciding who gets booked and why. In this session, Rich shares what actually works (and what doesn't) when speakers pitch, apply, and show up for association audiences, then opens the floor for a hot-seat Q&A where you can ask him directly about your own positioning, pitch, or approach. Come ready to learn what meeting planners wish speakers understood — and to get real-time feedback on your own game.

Check out our Speaker:

Rich Phaneuf graduated from Central Connecticut State University in 1992 with a B.A. in Psychology. During his time at Central, he was a student-athlete on the Division I Varsity Baseball Team and a member of Psi Chi, the national honor society for psychology majors. He graduated with distinction, ranking in the top 5% of psychology majors nationwide.

Since 2016, Rich has served as Chief Executive Officer of the Association Executives of North Carolina (AENC), an organization dedicated to advancing the professional development of staff across more than 240 associations in the state. In addition to leading AENC’s educational mission, he represents the association community as a liaison to the North Carolina General Assembly and the Office of the Governor of North Carolina.

Rich has been deeply engaged in governance and service throughout his career, having served on the Board of Directors for five organizations. His leadership has included two years as Chairman of the Board for Harrells Christian Academy, a private K-12 school serving over 500 students. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Association Leadership Coalition (formerly Association Societies Alliance) and is slated to assume the role of Board President in July 2026.

You Won't Want To Miss This!