Tammy Kockaya CMP, CMM

Tammy Kockaya, CMP, CMM, has been a leader in the events industry for 20+ years as an in-house corporate event professional, from the beginning as a planner with CEB (now Gartner) to leading a 20+ team of meeting and event professionals with KPMG LLP. Before the events industry, Tammy worked in higher education as student affairs professional with the University of Maryland College Park. As a result, she has a depth of experience driving complex projects and strategic initiatives, developing relationships with stakeholders and vendors, and developing talent.

Tammy joined the Event Leadership Institute in January 2021 as a freelance consultant executing on projects and initiatives, developing strategic partnerships, and building the business development function. In addition, she hosts and moderates panel discussions for the monthly webinars and has been engaged in developing new curriculum and educational offerings for ELI.

Tammy is passionate about education and professional development, growing and engaging talent, developing high-performing teams, and creating strategies to achieve organizational success. She frequently speaks on change management and leadership development, has taught classes at the university level, and facilitated numerous webinars, panel discussions, workshops, and training programs. In addition, Tammy is a mentor and coach currently focused on supporting the many talented professionals in the job market with mindset shifts and resiliency.

Tammy has been a member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) since 2008. As a global volunteer, she has been a frequent facilitator for Chapter Leaders Forum and Chapter Business Summit, various advisory boards, and served on the Global Governance & Board Development Committee for three years. In addition, she served for eight years on the board of directors for the MPI Potomac Chapter culminating in serving as the chapter’s president in 2016-2017.

Tammy holds a master’s degree from Western Illinois University and a bachelor’s degree from Albion College in Michigan. She is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) through the Events Industry Council and has earned a Certificate in Meeting Management (CMM) through MPI.