As a kid growing up in Roscoe, Illinois, Kyle Jordan was obsessed with LEGO bricks. He would sit for hours building sets and creating his own worlds. “I wanted to be a set designer,” he says. “That dream came quickly to an end when I took a CAD design class in high school and realized I had no talent for it.”
Jordan, now director of meetings for the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), earned his CMP in 2015 and was recognized as a CMP Fellow this year.
“Like many people in this field, I found my way into meetings by accident. I was volunteering with an association I belonged to and helped with registration at several of its meetings. I didn’t think much of it then, but that hands-on experience stuck with me,” he says. “After a decade working in higher education administration, I decided to change my career. I used that volunteer experience to get my first full-time job as a government meeting planner. Looking back, the LEGO connection makes a lot of sense. I still get to take a pile of pieces—people, venues, logistics, ideas—and put them together into something meaningful.”
Becoming a CMP
Jordan first learned about the CMP in 2007. “I had just joined one of our professional industry associations and they were advertising a CMP prep course,” he says. “I honestly had no idea what a credential even meant or why it mattered. It took a few years for me to understand how important it could be for career advancement, credibility and creating a shared professional language.”
When he left the field of higher education, he knew he needed to learn quickly and broadly. Volunteering with associations gave him a window into how they work. He says he deliberately took roles in membership, education, chapter relations and meetings. “Each one gave me a different view of how associations function and how members engage. That broader perspective has been invaluable in my current role because every other part of an organization influences meetings,” Jordan says.
“I also wanted to balance what I learned on the job with formal education. My graduate degrees gave me a foundation for working with people and organizations. Designations like the CAE and CMP connected me to a wider professional community and gave me the structure I needed to deepen my expertise. Educating myself has always been about being intentional and learning from my daily work and the networks and resources the profession offers,” he says.
Test Prep Tips
“The best advice I can give is to make sure you have the time and space to commit,” Jordan says. “If you don’t, wait until you do.”
He believes that rushing the process detracts from the real value of preparing. “It’s not just passing the exam but actually absorbing and applying the knowledge.”
He went on to explain, “I carried my EIC textbook everywhere. I studied at the beach, in coffee shops, and even once in a bar. I set aside time with each domain and tried to focus intentionally. It was not glamorous, but it worked because I immersed myself in the material wherever possible.”
The CMP Fellow
For Jordan, pursuing the CMP Fellow designation was about joining a group of colleagues he deeply respects—leaders in the profession. “It was about being part of a collective voice that can continue to elevate our industry and help prepare the next generation of leaders,” he says. “My advice is not to pursue the Fellow designation just for the letters after your name. Do it because you want to contribute to the bigger picture of the profession.”
“I did not fully appreciate the impact until I became a director and started leading a team,” he says. “The CMP gives professionals a shared language and expectations, making collaboration easier. It creates a baseline of knowledge that helps teams perform better together. Becoming a Fellow felt different. It was less about skill and more about affirmation. The support I received from colleagues, including private notes from people I have respected for years, confirmed that I am in the right place doing the right work.”
The Future
“Despite challenges, what inspires me is the same thing that has always driven this work: people want and need to come together,” Jordan says. “We make that happen. Even in the hardest years, the desire for connection has not disappeared. That makes me optimistic that meetings will remain a powerful force for positive change.”
Read More: Get to Know Benoit Sauvage, CMP Fellow
