You may have never heard of Soundings Connect, but it’s a group you’ll want to get familiar with — and maybe even join. Founded in San Diego in 2018, it’s a network of 200 (and growing!) freelance meeting and event professionals, all of whom have experience in the fields of trade show management, meeting planning, event marketing and more.

The goal of the organization is to strategically match companies in need of these services with professionals whose skill sets and talents line up with their objectives. “We focus on both hard and soft skills to ensure the right fit,” says Tracy Judge, founder and chief connector with Soundings Connect. “At the same time, we help our freelancers grow their businesses by providing a platform that helps them find clients so that they can focus on their area of expertise.”

Intrigued? So are we. Soundings Connect’s business model is based on the flexibility and versatility of its talent pool: It has consultants and specialists available for any type of event you can think of and is able to provide supplemental talent for any client’s needs. Its website provides clickable options to “Find Talent” or “Find Work” depending on your position, so you can immediately begin searching for opportunities.

But Soundings Connect is not only about creating business for event professionals — the group is also focused on advocacy, both for entrepreneurship in the industry and the advancement of social issues affecting the world. Last month, for example, Soundings Connect announced it had signed The Code and supports the 20BY20 campaign, an initiative by ECPAT-USA working to eradicate sexual exploitation of children by July 2020 (more on that here).

As an incentive to professionals to take the online e-learning course for 20BY20, Soundings Connect has pledged to donate $10 to Refuge for Women for each freelance event professional who takes the course (the course also provides credit toward your CMP, just FYI).

Judge speaks frequently at industry events such as IMEX, MPI’s WEC, PCMA and MPI chapter events on topics like the freelance economy, pricing and profitability, stakeholder management and more. She will also join the MPI International Board of Directors in 2020.

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