CGi is a full service association and events management company. Formed in 1995, we are based in Little Rock, AR, with a second office in Nashville, TN, and remote staff in Chicago and other locations. We currently have 35 staff positions and are growing rapidly. (See our careers page.)

CGi is able to provide the entire scope of association services including membership growth, accounting, marketing, data / records management, and benefits development.

We also have extensive experience in producing events, especially educational events in healthcare related areas.

Our approach to work and our path to client results encompasses our company values. We strive to apply these in all areas of our day-to-day work.

CGi Values

At some organizations, corporate values are written and then filed away and forgotten. CGi is different. Our values reflect what we believe and are part of the everyday discourse. We integrate these values into our team meetings, and they are a critical part of our performance evaluation and promotion criteria. If you want to know who we are as a company, our values are at the foundation.

  • Professionalism: represent the company and client(s) well by acting with integrity and accountability to achieve results
  • Transparency: have crucial conversations and communicate with openness and candor
  • Active participation: maintain awareness, communicate opportunities and be a part of the solution
  • Gratitude: appreciate and acknowledge others who help and support us
  • Service: be driven to help others
  • Determination: be creative, every barrier has a solution
  • Incomparability: continually strive to set the highest standards

Leadership


L. Greg Cunningham, MHA

CEO

Greg’s background is in hospital and health system administration. He earned his Bachelors in Biology and Bachelors in Business Administration from the University of Central Arkansas, and began his health care career as the Governor’s Assistant for Health and Human Services for former Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. He then completed his Masters in Health Administration from Duke University and a Residency with Carolinas Healthcare System.

After serving in the Vice President role for multiple health systems, Greg transitioned into consulting with hospitals in the fields of case management, operations, cultural change management and performance improvement. In this capacity, he worked with over 100 hospitals.

Greg created the first hospital case management conference in the U.S., which has now been the premier event for this field for 25 years. Greg was a founding member of the American Case Management Association (ACMA), served as ACMA’s first President and currently serves as its CEO.

Greg founded CGi in 2005.

Marlene Bober, MHA, ACM-RN

Senior Vice President, Client Services and Professional Practice

With more than 20 years of experience as an Executive Nurse Leader, Marlene’s career includes management roles in medical-surgical and oncology patient care, epidemiology/infection control, and quality and utilization management. She has served as Director of Nursing, Director of Clinical Informatics, and Administrator for Enterprise Care Management where she had accountability for the integration of all acute care management strategies for the Illinois-based Advocate Healthcare system. Her most recent role was that of Vice President for Integrated Care Management for Advocate Aurora Health Care’s 500 sites of care and 27 hospitals.

Marlene earned her Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science in Health Services degree from the University of St Francis. She has also earned a certificate of executive management and project management from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Randall Archer, MBA

Vice President, Sales and Marketing

Randall earned a Bachelors of Business Administration from Wake Forest University, and an MBA from Arkansas State University.

He joined CGi in 2006, and has led various departments in his tenure.

Randall leads a marketing team responsible for all marketing and communication for CGi’s clients. He leads two sales teams, one responsible for event exhibition sales and one managing B2B sales to healthcare clients.

Randall is also responsible for business development for CGi, where he creates partnerships with organizations to enhance CGi’s portfolio. He is based in CGi’s Nashville, TN office.

Outside of his professional life, Randall stays busy with two very active young children. He and his family enjoy almost anything that allows his family to spend time together and enjoy Tennessee outdoors.

Lis Harrell

Director, Product Development and Meeting Services

Elisabet ‘Lis’ Harrell joined CGi in 2015 and is the Director of Product Development and Meeting Services for CGi.

She has 20+ years of professional experience including case management for family, employment and disability/social security law, registration/licensing compliance management for professional employer organizations, product development for SaaS-based services, human resource services, management of member-based services, including organizational certification and accreditation programs and eLearning development.

In her current role, Lis is responsible for product and program development, including Compass Directional Training, Certification and new members services. Lis is additionally responsible for internal performance improvement and project management initiatives.

Lis holds a B.A in Biology from Hendrix College (Conway, AR). She is based in Little Rock, AR.

Christy Lund

Vice President, Human Resources

Christy earned a B.A. Public Relations with minor in Marketing from Southern Methodist University (SMU). She joined CGI in September 2017, as Director of Human Resources.

With over 25 years of experience in human resources, employee relations and operations management, Christy has devoted her professional life to “finding the best…and most importantly keeping the best” as it is her career mission to be a successful career “match-maker” to ensure a collaborative and caring connectivity between all parties.

Outside of work, Christy enjoys spending time with her family and friends, gardening, volunteering, interior decorating and living life to its fullest. After 25 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, Christy has happily returned to her original hometown of Little Rock to embrace her time with family and friends and raise her daughter as a Southern belle. As she often quotes…in the words of Dorothy (Wizard of OZ), “There’s no place like home!”

Becky Nations

Vice President, Membership

Becky began her work in managing ACMA’s National Conference in 1999, and she was part of the CGi team when it was founded in 2005. In those early years, she helped produce national and regional events for CGi’s client organizations. Her focus then shifted to sales, and she was responsible for filling the exhibition halls at these events.

Today, as Vice President, Membership Services, overseeing the delivery of membership services to CGi’s association management clients.

Becky earned her Bachelors degree from the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. She is an Arkansas native, and based in Little Rock, AR.

“You have to stand outside the box to see how the box can be re-designed. –Charles Handy”

Maria Velasco Salling, MBA

Vice President, Finance and Information Technology

Maria holds a Bachelors degree from Harding University, and earned her MBA from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR).

Maria joined CGi in 2006, coming from a background in hotel and hospitality management. This provided her a core understanding of events management - both the production of a successful event and how to make an event financially successful. She leveraged this background to successfully lead CGi’s events management team for several years.

Maria currently leads CGi’s finance and accounting team, and oversees the financial health of CGi’s client organizations. She is based in Little Rock, AR.

Angie Roberson, MSN, ACM-RN

Vice President, Client Services & Professional Practice

Angie is a nurse leader with 30 years of experience in various healthcare settings. She has been a leader in care management at both the state and national level and is a past president of the American Case Management Association. Her most recent role was that of Director of Case Management for Spartanburg Regional Healthcare Systems acute care facilities and Clinical Director of Care Management for Regional HealthPlus the division responsible for accountable care.

Angie earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of South Carolina Upstate, Spartanburg SC and Master of Science in Nursing from Gardner Webb University, Boiling Springs NC.

Shelly Greenwood

Director, Exhibit Sales

Shelly began her professional event management career in 1997, working for a small association management company in Little Rock, AR. Shelly has over 20+ years of experience working with non-profit and association management companies in leadership roles that include event and sales management positions. She continues to serve on the inaugural Customer Advisory Board for the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, assisting her adopted hometown of Little Rock in growing and expanding the community to bring meetings and events to Little Rock. She completed a 2-year term on the MPI (Meeting Professionals International) committee for publications, which included the review of articles published in the MPI professional magazine. She is an active member of MPI, PCMA and ASAE. Shelly is passionate about bringing recognition to the exhibitors and sponsors whose products and services bring value to the everyday work that case managers do.

Shelly has her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in Little Rock, AR. In her spare time, she likes to spend time with her adult children. She enjoys a healthy lifestyle and has completed 6 half marathons. Shelly is a charter member of The Summit Church Little Rock where she serves as the childcare ministry director. Shelly is a lifelong learner and enjoys reading to continue to learn and grow. She is an Arkansas transplant and considers Little Rock her hometown.

Michelle Murphey Porter, CAE

Director, Association and Client Services

Michelle earned a B.A. in English with a minor in psychology from the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, AL. She joined CGi in November 2019 as the Director of Certification.

Prior to CGi, Michelle spent 13 years in the association world within the building safety industry, directing a certification program of over 400 exam titles and 165,000 certificate holders. The focus on creating and maintaining quality, credible credentials to allow for both personal growth and public safety will be continued with the multiple certifications managed by CGi.

Besides work, Michelle enjoys the many sporting and cultural events offered by a city like Nashville, where she is based.

Kristian Piipponen

Director, Product Sales

Kristian earned his B.A. in Business Administration and Marketing with Minor in International Studies from Truman State University. He joined CGi in April 2022 as the Director of Product Sales.

Kristian has dedicated his career to healthcare. Prior to joining CGi, he held sales and marketing leadership positions in various healthcare verticals including pharmaceuticals, medical imaging, and integration consulting.

Kristian resides in Florida and enjoys spending time outdoors and on the water.

Marissa Carson

Controller

Marissa earned her B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from University of Nebraska at Omaha and Master of Science in Accountancy from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. After years of working in the Not-For-Profit industry, she became a Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional.

Prior to joining CGi in October 2022, Marissa spent 9 years growing within the social services industry in the accounting and human resources fields. At CGi, Marissa is leveraging her talents and expertise to manage and strengthen the financial health of the client organizations.