A: Marie - Licensing Executives Society USA and Canada

Marie Escobar:
Front and Center for LES Education
By Linda Corcoran
Marie Escobar, adding value through
quality programming
The Annual Meeting in
Q: Toronto proved to be quite a
success. What was your role at the
meeting?
Marie: If you’ve ever attended
A: an LES (USA & Canada) annual
or seasonal meeting, you may
have noticed staff members from LES
Headquarters working from morning
to night to ensure that every attendee
walks away with a high value, high
quality experience. In Toronto, I was
personally responsible for providing
Sunday’s educational programming,
which was comprised of six workshops
focused on CLP (Certified Licensing
Professional) domains. I also coordinated
the day long Licensing Basics
Course. I also worked with our Annual
Meeting speakers and managed our
Virtual Annual Meeting offering.
What do you enjoy most about
Q: attending annual and seasonal
meetings?
A:
Marie: The main benefit of
meetings and what I personally
enjoy the most is interacting with
members. I cultivate so many relationships
throughout the year without ever
meeting the Individuals. The Annual
Meeting is a great time to put a face
and a name with the voice and to actually
develop those relationships.
Most of the time you are
Q: working out of the LES (USA
& Canada) headquarters in Alexandria,
Virginia. What are your day-today
responsibilities?
Marie: LES (USA & Canada)
A:
Headquarters is the engine that
supports the day-to-day operations of
the Society. My responsibilities include
overseeing all professional development
initiatives, including education
programs, from Basics to Best Practices,
LES University, webinars and new
virtual options, as well as working with
meetings teams on program design.
What is the most interesting
Q: aspect of your job?
Marie: LES is interesting just
A:
because of the diversity of the
membership. Not only am I able to
assist members through association
management, but I am also learning
efficient business practices and tools
from the members themselves. On a
personal level, the skill sets that the
members bring have made me better at
my own job.
What are the challenges that
Q: you face in your role with LES?
Marie: In the current business
A:
climate, it is important to balance
the traditional values of membership
with new learning devices and principals.
Tightened travel budgets make it
more difficult for members to come out
to educational meetings and programs.
In turn, we’ve begun to offer hybrid
meetings where plenary sessions are
An interview with Marie Escobar, LES Education
and Program Content Manager.
broadcast to members. The challenge is
to bring content to people who cannot
attend meetings and to balance that
with the value of networking, which
makes membership in LES unique.
What are some of your goals
Q: for education and programming
in the coming year?
Marie: My main goals are to offer
more hybrid meetings and to
A:
make education more available at the
Chapter level.
What past experiences have
Q: prepared you for your role
with LES?
A:
Marie: Prior to joining LES,
I was the Foundation Director
for the American Chiropractic Association
(ACA). Through my tenure, I
established certification programs and
supplemented their education programs
with resources and learning materials.
What was it like to work with
Q: chiropractors?
Marie: The benefits were great.
A:
The chiropractors used to offer
“free” stress-reducing adjustments at
ACA annual meetings!
How do you spend your time
Q: when you are not working in
the LES office or on-the-road at an
LES meeting?
A:
Marie: I enjoy spending downtime
with my husband at our
home in Northwest D.C. I am also a
part-time student at American University
and will be graduating in May
with an MBA in Emerging Markets. ■
Rates, continued from Page 3
A total of 120 completed surveys were incorporated into
the final Global BioPharma Survey Report with almost half
of the reported deals from outside North America. Of those
who responded, 31% were from pharmaceutical companies,
22% were from biotech companies, 9% were from academic
institutions, 6% were from government, and 32% were
from other organizations.
The surveys were designed by committees of experienced LES
members within the Life Sciences Sector who worked alongside an
independent team from Veris Consulting, LLC, on design, dissemination,
data collection and analysis and ensuring confidentiality.
The final Global BioPharma Royalty Rates and Deal Terms
Survey Report will be made available online exclusively to LES
members worldwide in November. For more information, visit
www.lesusacanada.org. ■
12 LES Viewpoints