Casey Burkhart, CMP - November 2019

By Diana Balakirov

The importance of building meaningful relationships and sharing long-lasting experiences with others, whether personally or professionally, is a value by which Casey, our chapter’s volunteer of the month, strives toward and embraces.

Although she initially graduated with a degree in art history, Casey turned to the hospitality industry early on in her career, establishing herself as an event planner with a willingness to hear, see and truly understand the needs of others. After moving south to Austin from the windy city of Chicago, Casey pursued opportunities at local organizations such as TEKsystems, St. Edward’s University and Strategic Association Management, serving university students, administrators, IT executives and leaders, school-board trustees, school-district staff and colleagues alike. She eventually joined the team at the Texas Association of School Boards, where she is currently a program administrator.

Working with individuals whose desire and willingness to learn in order to serve and lead others has been an ongoing source of inspiration for Casey, especially in her volunteering endeavors. In addition to her work with monthly education sessions at MPI THCC, of which she’s been a member for over three years, Casey is also involved with the Austin chapter of the Society for Information Management, overseeing the coordination of its highly engaging professional development and networking events.

As much as she loves working with people, Casey’s appreciation of meaningful interactions extends to animals and nature. She prefers the quiet calm of her yard (or garden) and has spent many a weekend among her favorite houseplants. Casey is also the proud owner of Murray -- a French bulldog whose adoption led her to the Short Mugs Rescue Squad and, as a result, multi-year fundraising opportunities -- and she recently met a baby kangaroo at an exhibit hall of a conference, yet another reward that came her way as a result of a job well-done.