Join the Institute, On Demand, at $349/month before the price rises in
The Institute Advisory Board
The people who set the standard.
Finance, practice, and behavioral science. The Advisory Board shapes the Institute’s standards, keeps what we teach true to how the industry actually works, and reviews every case study submitted for CPES.
What the Advisory Board supports
Four responsibilities that keep the Institute meaningful for the people who learn here and the clients and leaders who hire them.
Standards and rigor
A credential that is earned, not handed out.
Relevance across the industry
What we teach reflects how the industry actually works.
Business credibility
Experiences tied to results a client or leader can see.
Growing the field
Building experiential strategy education, not just a program.
What it means for you
Your case study, reviewed
Submit it for board review and earn the CPES designation, if you choose to get certified.
The Success Promise
Still need help after 30 days in the program? You’ll get 1:1 support to get unstuck.
The finance lens
Gretchen Bartek
Founder and CEO, Adelska
“Where finance meets experience design.”
Gretchen Bartek built Adelska Events on a premise the industry is still catching up to: events are business tools, not productions. With a background in finance and business strategy, she approaches experience design the way a CFO approaches a balance sheet: every decision connects to an outcome. The result is an award-winning firm known for high-impact corporate, community, and destination experiences, from intimate executive summits to large-scale public events serving tens of thousands.
She has led strategy and execution for conferences, leadership summits, incentive programs, experiential marketing campaigns, and public events for corporate clients, municipalities, chambers of commerce, and national organizations.
On the Advisory Board
Gretchen brings a commitment to rigorous standards, strategic frameworks, and leadership that takes experiential strategy seriously.
The practitioner’s lens
Jenny Howard-Maxwell, CPES
Founder and CEO, HM Experiential, and Founder of The Edgucation Institute
“Experiences without strategy are just expensive parties.”
Jenny has spent 25 years in the experiential industry doing the work, and the last several building the infrastructure to make everyone else better at it. As founder of HM Experiential, she has designed and executed corporate, community, and branded experiences with one consistent thread: every experience exists to produce a result.
That conviction, and her MBA in marketing, led her to found The Edgucation Institute to teach event professionals how to tie real business outcomes to their events. She believed the industry deserved a standard, not just a credential, and she built one.
On the Advisory Board
Jenny brings the practitioner’s perspective, the Institute’s vision, and a deep commitment to raising the standard for experiential strategy.
The behavioral science lens
Dr. Kristin Malek
Founder and CEO, The Behavior Change Co
“Where behavior science meets experience design.”
Dr. Kristin Malek specializes in event design and integrated communications marketing. Her work has earned more than fifteen awards across state, regional, national, and international competitions.
With a background in events, marketing, customer engagement, and data-driven strategy, Dr. K is an active consultant, speaker, extension specialist, and faculty member, and a sought-after voice in her industry.
On the Advisory Board
Kristin brings the neuroscience and behavioral science that explain why experiences actually work, grounding the Institute in the research behind human behavior, not just the theory of it.
Learn the standard this board stands behind.
Get off the Planner Plateau™ on your own schedule, or save your seat to learn it live with Jenny.