With more than 25 years in the association, legal and financial services industries, Betsi Roach combines industry knowledge with a passion for collaboration and ability to create a culture that gets things done in a strong team environment. She is a visionary leader with expertise in organizational governance, operational management and possesses a keen oversight eye of programs, products and services development.
Most recently she served as Executive Director of the Legal Marketing Association. Founded in 1985, LMA is the universal voice of the legal marketing profession. Structured as a professional membership association, LMA brings together CMOs and entry-level specialists from law firms of all sizes, consultants and vendors, lawyers and marketers from other professions to share their collective knowledge. LMA’s 4,200+ members hail from 48 US states and 33 countries, with 90% of the largest 200 US law firms employing an LMA member.
While at LMA Ms. Roach led the LMA board of directors in ongoing long-range strategic planning and oversaw LMA’s best in class partnerships. These included association management company SmithBucklin, which provided staffing for LMA in the administration, finance, sponsorship, education, marketing and communications, publications and technology functional areas. She also oversaw a partnership with the American Conference Institute, which provided staffing and logistical services for LMA’s Annual Conference. Additionally, Ms. Roach was responsible for ensuring member value from the organization and furthering the reputation and reach of the association. She also served as the primary contact for volunteer leadership – a 13 member Board of Directors, 12 international committees, 2 advisory councils, 9 Shared Interest Groups and 8 regions. During her time with LMA, highlights of her successful leadership include:
⦁ growing revenue from $2.5m and 2,500 members to $6.2m revenue and 4,200+ members, while positioning the organization as the authority in the legal industry and the members as key professionals to drive law firm growth and improve client value;
⦁ leading the Board of Directors in transformational change, from an operational board to a strategic board, through governance education, strategic reading, facilitated discussions and oversight of long-range strategic planning, thus ensuring organizational growth, relevance and continued value.
⦁ facilitating expansion by leading transition of the organizational structure from 19 chapters to 8 regions, thus increasing member value and operational efficiencies while furthering the reputation and reach of association.
Ms. Roach also served as director, American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law (ABA-IPL), the world’s largest membership association of intellectual property law lawyers, where she oversaw all operations. Her strong leadership skills and expertise in strategic planning and internal and external communications helped grow her section to nearly 20,000 members. She is skilled in business development, branding and corporate and vendor relations. Previously, she served as a practice development manager at Farella Braun + Martel, LLP law firm in San Francisco. Prior to her time with Farella Braun + Martel, she worked for an association of venture capital and private equity investors where she helped to mobilize millions of dollars of capital to socially-responsible entrepreneurs. She also worked for a 10,000+ member international association of aerobic instructors and personal trainers, handling their international development while working with companies such as Nike and Reebok.
Roach holds a bachelor’s degree in linguistics from the University of Minnesota, a master’s degree in international management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, in Glendale, Ariz and her Certified Association Executive (“CAE”) designation. In addition to spending time with her family and friends, Ms. Roach enjoys participating in triathlons, agility and scent work training with her black lab, Worsley, anything to do with food and wine and exploring international destinations.