Patti Spaniola, MBA, CMP, CED+

Patti Spaniola is the Director of Conferences & Events in the Office of the Provost at the University of West Florida (UWF).

She joined UWF’s Division of Continuing Education in 2008 where she served as Director and Meeting Planner overseeing non-credit educational and professional development programs, marketing, meeting planning and student support.

Patti transferred to the Office of the Provost in January 2020 in the newly created position of Director of Conferences & Events just in time to experience the major shift in events from in person to virtual and all the joys of event design and technology in the virtual world. She specializes in creating participant engagement techniques that deliver meaningful content in a memorable way in any medium. Teamwork and collaboration are her passion as she believes we achieve the best results together in a positive and safe space.

In April 2011, Patti and her colleague attended the ACHE South Conference in San Antonio, Texas to collect the Non-Credit Program Award. After that warm and welcoming experience, she was hooked on ACHE’s mission, members, and opportunities to serve the Continuing Education field. Since then, Patti has served in leadership in the South Region, Conference Co-chair of the 2014 and 2019 ACHE International Conferences in Las Vegas, NV and Denver, CO respectively and as “Minister of Surprise” for the 2021 National Conference. She was elected to the National Board of Directors in 2015 and as Vice President in October 2022. Patti volunteered to assume the duties of President Elect early in March 2023 when the position was vacated.

In her free time, she enjoys being outside, attending events she didn’t plan, traveling, reading, taking photos and spending time with her talented husband, Joe, and their two adorable cats.