Welcoming Environment® Champions Program

WE Champions Program

Lead the Way in Creating a Welcoming Environment®

Navigating diversity, equity, and inclusion in 2025 requires more than good intentions—it calls for clarity, strategy, and courage. Association Forum’s Welcoming Environment® Champions Program is your opportunity to build real-world skills, strengthen your approach, and confidently lead inclusive practices in a time of uncertainty and change.

Facilitated by DEI strategist Dr. Cie Armstead, this highly interactive program combines expert instruction, peer learning, and personalized guidance. You’ll bring your organization’s current challenges to the table—and leave with practical solutions and a renewed sense of purpose.

With fresh content informed by the evolving social climate, this year’s program invites new participants and returning alumni alike to dig deeper, apply learnings, and take meaningful action that advances welcoming environments for members, staff, and communities.

✏️ Why This Course? 

  • Learn how to communicate and lead amid anti-DEI rhetoric and polarization.
  • Go beyond DEI theory—gain hands-on strategies you can apply immediately.
  • Tackle your organization’s real challenges through structured problem-solving.
  • Join a cohort of peers for deep discussion and collaboration.
  • Participate in facilitated interim sessions for customized support.
  • Build a sustainable approach to inclusion that aligns with your organizational goals.
  • Receive curated resources and tools to extend your learning beyond the sessions.

📚 Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the historical context and current realities of DEI in today’s climate.
  • Develop action plans to address your organization’s specific opportunities or pain points.
  • Translate inclusive values into practical strategies and cultural change.
  • Increase confidence in engaging a variety of stakeholders—even those with opposing views.
  • Gain tools to foster psychological safety and inclusive engagement.
  • Strengthen your ability to lead through conflict, confusion, and complexity.
  • Expand your network of DEI advocates and change agents.

📆Program Dates:

This is a cohort-based virtual learning program with multiple sessions over several months. 

Upcoming dates to be announced soon

Location

All sessions are virtual and will take place on Zoom.

Pricing

Member Early: $480
Member Regular: $575
Nonmember Early: $625
Nonmember Regular: $810

Note: Receive a 10% discount when five or more members register together!

CAE credits

This program is tentatively approved for (5.25) CAE hours toward the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE's) Certified Association Executive (CAE) certification.

Who Should Attend?

This program is designed for association professionals at all levels who are committed to creating a culture where everyone belongs and can thrive:

  • Functional Experts—Specialists, managers, and DEI practitioners (current or former) looking for actionable strategies to advance their work and respond to today’s realities.

  • Empowered Middle—Directors and department heads ready to drive culture change, influence peers, and lead from the middle with courage and clarity.

  • C-Suite Leaders—Executives and senior leaders seeking to align inclusive practices with strategic priorities—and support their teams in creating a truly welcoming environment.

⭐Join us and become a Welcoming Environment Champion—ready to lead through the noise and build lasting impact.

🎤 Facilitator

CIE ARMSTEAD, DBA

Cie is the founder of Owlservations, LLC. For more than 30 years, Cie has served as a leader in various association management and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) roles. These include serving as the inaugural leader for DEI-related offices with the American College of Surgeons, American College of Healthcare Executives, and the American Bar Association. During her 24-year ABA tenure, Cie held several other leadership roles including the ABA President’s Senior Staff Advisor and Director of Litigation Section Periodicals. Cie is a frequent presenter, writer, and consultant on DEI, leadership development, and association management, specializing in evidence-based practices and creating collaborative initiatives to achieve organizational objectives. She has held numerous leadership roles in Association Forum, the American Society of Association Executives, and other member organizations. Cie earned an undergraduate Journalism degree from Northwestern University, a master’s in public administration from Roosevelt University, and a Doctorate in Business Administration, specializing in Industrial Organizational Psychology, from Northcentral University.