When Christie Tarantino became CEO of the Association Forum of Chicagoland at the beginning of this year, she went from running one professional association to leading what’s been called an “association of associations.” The tight-knit Midwest association community is the nation’s second largest—headquarters for many of the country’s health care groups. Tarantino herself was CEO of the Academy of General Dentistry when Gary LaBranche left the Forum to head the Association for Corporate Growth. The Forum board turned to someone they knew well. Since arriving in Chicago in 2000, Tarantino had served on many of the group’s committees and chaired its annual meeting.… Read More