Melissa Cummiskey

Melissa Cummiskey is the Vice President of Meeting Services at BICSI. Prior to their current position, Melissa worked at the Geological Society of America for almost 20 years, where they were the Senior Director of Meetings & Events. In this role, Melissa managed a portfolio of global meetings and field programs supporting GSA’s mission, vision, and strategic goals.

Leading the planning and successful execution of GSA meetings and events, Melissa oversaw everything from the Annual Meeting (which has approximately 7,000 attendees) to Section Meetings (up to 6 meetings each year with attendance ranging from 150 to 1500 attendees), GSA Penrose Conferences and Thompson Field Forums (varied numbers per year), global specialty meetings (varied numbers per year), and field programs (varied numbers per year). This included oversight of the overall timeline and planning, programming and coordinating with staff, meeting program committees, logistics, budget, and convention center, hotel and contractor negotiations.

After each meeting, Melissa used post-meeting analysis to recommend ways to improve the meeting experience (added value) and for increasing overall meeting revenue by finding ways to effectively manage expenses and/or find new budgetary efficiencies, and increase attendance at the meetings. Thanks to their hard work and dedication, Melissa was able to leave a lasting impact on the Geological Society of America.

Melissa Cummiskey has a degree from the University of Southern Colorado and is certified as a meeting professional from the Events Industry Council.

Their manager is John H. Daniels, Executive Director & CEO. Some individuals on their team include Kim Osterman - Conference & Events Manager, Courtney Nalls - Business Development Manager, Exhibits, Sponsorship & Advertising. Melissa Cummiskey works with Monica Campbell-Smith - Director, Membership & Volunteer Services, Reinaldo Llano Jr. - Director, Customer Care, and George F. A. Parnell - General Counsel.