Tess Vismale’s path to receiving her CMP Fellow designation this year is less a straight line than a seasoned event professional’s braided rope—threaded with on-the-ground grit, formal learning, mentorship and a persistent focus on execution.
Today, she is the founder and CEO of iSocialExecution, Inc. (iSocialX), a co-founder of Pull Up With Us and Event Tech Atlas, and a co-host of the Event Tech Pull Up podcast. Her credentials—CMP Fellow, Digital Event Strategist (DES), Certified Government Travel Professional (CGTP)—tell one part of the story; the rest lives in the backstage moments she’s spent transforming plans into experiences.
Growing up between Chicago and Atlanta, Vismale’s first exposure to the events world was visceral and immersive. As a child she traveled with her sister, a master cosmetologist who designed trade show experiences. Vismale was often backstage, watching model rotations, AV crews, and the show’s choreography. “Something clicked,” she says—not a formal job title, but a feeling that this chaotic, creative environment was where she belonged. That early backstage education led to her first professional steps at Macy’s Special Events, where she coordinated fashion shows and learned the interplay between logistics and creativity. Those lessons—how to write a run-of-show, manage a frantic backstage and keep a live program on track—became the foundation of a career centered on execution.
Her formal education complements those formative experiences. She earned a BA in Psychology and Organizational Management from Spelman College, a degree she credits with teaching her how to “read a room” and understand group dynamics—skills essential to on-site decision making.
She augmented that with a Project Management Certificate (PMC) from Georgia Tech, a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) from the University of Georgia and the CMP in 2012, followed by a DES in 2013, as part of PCMA’s inaugural certification class. But she is clear—the most impactful instruction happened in the field. Managing campus events at Spelman, running sessions at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and overseeing a conference center for Atlanta Technical College provided a living curriculum of unpredictable problems and creative solutions that no classroom could fully replicate.
Her decision to pursue the CMP was pragmatic and strategic. Deep into managing events, Vismale kept hearing the credential discussed in rooms where she wanted to belong. “The CMP kept coming up as the standard,” she reflects. The appeal was its comprehensiveness, not just logistics, but the full spectrum of strategic planning, financial management, risk assessment and stakeholder relations. For Vismale—a Black woman running a business and working with corporate and association clients—the credential was also a credibility lever. It signaled seriousness and offered a smoother path into conversations that her work alone might not immediately open.
Test Prep Tips
Preparation for the CMP exam was deliberately communal and practical. Vismale credits an MPI-CMP study group with making the difference. “What I needed was to see the information, hear the information and be around people who were interpreting it in real time,” she says.
Study techniques were pragmatic, breaking the body of knowledge into domains, using flashcards for terms and formulas, translating concepts into real event-floor scenarios and allowing for scheduled breaks to avoid burnout. Vismale’s advice to those studying now is to start early, respect the breadth of the material and study with others.
“The conversations you have while studying, debating scenarios and talking through concepts are often more valuable than solo review,” she says.
CMP Fellow
Earning the CMP in 2012 validated years of hands-on work; becoming a CMP Fellow later expanded that validation into recognition of contribution. Vismale didn’t set out to pursue the Fellow designation—a mentor urged her to consider it.
As she compiled her application, the extent of her contributions became clear: speaking at industry conferences; teaching in UNC Charlotte’s Meeting & Event Planning Program; serving on boards, including National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP); mentoring professionals nationwide; co-founding Event Tech Atlas to improve transparency in event tech evaluation and advocating for underrepresented voices. Those cumulative actions—not longevity alone—are what the Fellow designation honors.
“When you look at all of that together, the Fellow designation is the right container for what you’ve built,” Vismale notes. Her mentor’s nudge and the mirror it offered were decisive.
Central to Vismale’s professional ethos is a conviction that execution is strategic work. Early in her career she noticed a persistent gap: event education and recognition tended to emphasize planning, while day-of execution and real-time problem-solving were treated as afterthoughts. She built iSocialX to close that chasm. For Vismale, the on-site work—the last-mile delivery of an event—is where strategy meets attendees. Rescuing clients, solving last-minute tech crises and ensuring event integrity under pressure are not cleanup tasks but the heart of what makes a meeting successful.
That orientation toward execution shaped her response to some of the most challenging moments of her career. NCBMP’s early pandemic virtual program stands out. Tasked with producing five separate virtual events from five cultural institutions on just four days’ notice, Vismale and her team had to assess vastly different presenter tech setups—from high-end cameras to phones on hardline connections—and meet each presenter where they were.
Using the PINE platform and RegMatch for registration, they delivered cohesive, mission-driven virtual sessions despite limited institutional support and immense uncertainty. The project exemplifies Vismale’s practical approach: adaptability, technology mastery and an unwavering focus on attendee experience.
“Pulling off five distinct virtual events simultaneously, under a four-day clock, during one of the most uncertain moments our industry has ever faced, and delivering a high-quality, uplifting experience for that audience, that’s the one that stays with me,” she says.
Her work with Event Tech Atlas grew from a different frustration: tech decisions being driven by marketing dollars rather than product merit. Co-founded through Pull Up With Us, Event Tech Atlas is an independent decision-support platform designed to bring accountability and peer-led insight to event tech purchasing. This initiative reflects Vismale’s broader industry concerns about elevating execution and ensuring honest, useful resources for professionals making consequential buying decisions.
The CMP and the Fellow designation have shaped Vismale’s career in layered ways. The CMP accelerated trust in her expertise, opening doors for business development, speaking and client proposals. The Fellow designation shifted how peers perceived her work as a signal of sustained service and a mandate to give back. Both credentials deepened her ties to the profession’s network, exposing her to mentors, collaborators and students she now coaches and trains.
Her advice to others pursuing credentialing is practical: document your contributions consistently, study broadly, engage with the CMP community early and pursue Fellow status because you want to advance the profession, not merely to embellish a resume.
Vismale also emphasizes self-care—a philosophy she learned to respect after long event days. Her favorite fuel? A morning smoothie, steady access to protein and the sacred protection of meal time. After an event, she chooses restoration over fanfare, opting for a massage, time outdoors and a team debrief before she returns to work.
The Future
Looking forward, Vismale is encouraged by two interlocking trends: the growing recognition that execution is strategic and a maturing market for accountable event technology. She’s also energized by the next generation—tech-native, diverse and ready to challenge old habits. As an instructor, entrepreneur and Fellow, Vismale frames her role as preparing those hands to inherit the profession with rigor and integrity.
If there’s a throughline in her journey to CMP Fellow, it’s this: credentials matter because they create entry points; real mastery comes from lived experience; and contribution, when sustained and documented, becomes the currency of professional legacy.
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare,” she quotes Audre Lorde—a reminder that sustaining a career in service of others requires intentional care.
For Vismale, that care fuels a practice devoted to ensuring that plans don’t just exist on paper but land, beautifully and reliably, in the hands of real people.
