About This Committee

The Awards and Scholarship Committee oversees the Association Forum's awards and Forty Under 40^® recognition program. They identify and honor exceptional talents, nurture future leaders, and promote the Association Forum Awards and Recognition program. They collaborate with staff to develop scholarship criteria and processes, ensuring a fair and merit-based selection. The committee strives to elevate the standards of excellence and leadership in the association community.

	Chair Laura Jelinek CEO & Founder, Jelinek Collaborative LLC
	Vice Chair Steve Smith, MS, CAE Chief Executive Officer, Association Management Center (AMC)
	BOARD LIAISON Nikki Golden, CAE Managing Director, Association Laboratory Inc.

2025-2026 Members 

Staff Liaison

• Reviews and modifies criteria for award application, nomination, and selection of the Honors and Forty Under 40 Awards 
• Reviews and modifies criteria for scholarship applications, nominations, and selection of the scholarship recipients 
• Actively encourages other Association Forum members and non-members to apply for all Association Forum awards and scholarship programs 
• Actively encourages other Association Forum members to nominate deserving candidates for the Honor Awards 
• Solicits awards applications and nominations from a diverse population of professionals to ensure equal representation of applicants 
• Abides by the committee’s nomination policy to not nominate colleagues or participate in discussions if committee members have a personal or professional relationship with the nominee 
• Develops/manages the award process to ensure nominations and applications submitted meet the criteria of the committee’s eligibility policies 
• Makes recommendations to the Board of Directors on Honors Awards honoree selections. 

• Willing to actively seek out and encourage peers to submit applications and/or nominations for awards
• Familiar with association awards programs
• Actively engaged in the association industry
• Past chairs of the Association Forum Board of Directors
• Past award and/or recognition honorees 
• Are Association Professional members or Supporting Members of Association Forum

• Quarterly committee meetings 
• Participation in conference calls and sub-committee meetings as necessary