Colleen Harper is the Executive Director of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES). She joined the organization in March 2022 after serving as Executive Director of the Audio Engineering Society (AES). Prior to her tenure at AES, Colleen served as the Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Executive Officer for the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN). Her extensive experience also includes serving the National Investor Relations Institute as Director of Professional Development; as Association Manager for the global meeting and association management firm Meeting Expectations; as Assistant Manager of Membership for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers; and as the Director of Membership and Organizational Relations for the Geoprofessional Business Association.

Colleen has a BA in English from the College of William and Mary and a Master of Public Administration, Nonprofit Management degree from Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. She has been a Certified Association Executive (CAE) since 2012 and was an Association Forum of Chicagoland’s Forty Under 40 Award recipient in 2014. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the New York Society of Association Executives.