Intro (00:00)
Hit it.

you

Phil Wilson (00:10)
In this episode of the Left To Boom show, it is my pleasure to introduce you to my friend, Elizabeth Huston. Elizabeth is the executive director of a group that I care deeply about called CUE. It’s a positive employee relations organization. It’s a membership led organization. They put on conferences. I’ve participated in them for, gosh, 25 years or so. I care a lot about it. It’s a great network. If you don’t know about CUE, you’re

You’re going to love this episode. should learn about it. I guarantee after you see it, you’ll go to a conference. And even if you are a member of CUE, there’s probably some resources you don’t even know are available that Elizabeth and I get a chance to talk about. So I am really excited for you to get a chance to meet Elizabeth Huston in this week’s Left To Boom show. Elizabeth Huston, welcome to the Left To Boom show. It’s great to see you.

Elizabeth Huston (00:58)
It’s great to be here, thank you.

Phil Wilson (01:00)
Yeah, I’m excited to get you introduced to our audience. Many of them you probably don’t need an introduction to because they already know you through CUE, but I’m really anxious to introduce the rest of our group that don’t know about CUE to CUE. So why don’t we just start with, know, tell us who you are, introduce yourself to us.

Elizabeth Huston (01:19)
Perfect. Well, I am the executive director at I have been with CUE since August of 2022. So I am far newer than CUE is. Michael Vandervoort correctly pointed out that CUE is about to have its 50th birthday in 2027. So CUE has a long and glorious history. And I was lucky enough to join it just a few years ago.

Phil Wilson (01:43)
Great, great. So what does an executive director of CUE do?

Elizabeth Huston (01:48)
So as a little bit of background, CUE is an organization that is committed to labor relations and positive employee relations. So oddly, that is not my background at all. I didn’t even know what that was when I started interviewing. So what my job is, is to create this community of practitioners and experts and help them design programs.

activities, formats, all of those things in order to create the most positive workplaces that they can. So my job is to figure out how to move the organization forward toward that.

Phil Wilson (02:28)
and you’re doing an amazing job as someone who I haven’t been there for the whole 50 years, but I’ve been there for quite a while. And yeah, it’s been it’s been really great to have you on board and the conferences are great. We’ll get into all of that. But yeah, you’ve done a great job. one of the one of the questions that we start off with usually is about your own kind of leadership journey. So you’re now leading this organization and

I always like to ask leaders who were important influential leaders in your own life. And just tell me a little bit about any standout leaders in your own life.

Elizabeth Huston (03:02)
It’s really interesting. In my very first official job when I was 23, I worked for this woman at a nonprofit, and it was a nonprofit of scientists, and they were all amazing. But she is not someone that I would have a drink with. We just weren’t going to be besties. But what was amazing about her was that she was very clear about creating relationships.

and that it was all done on the basis of relationships. That you couldn’t move forward unless you understood your audience, that you understood like where you were going, but without the help of those around you, you were never gonna get there. So it was amazing how much I look back at someone who like wasn’t my favorite person, but really clarified for me the like key ingredients of leadership and effectiveness.

And it was, how do you do the job well? How do you convince people to join in with you? How do you accept help? How do you give help? All of those pieces, which I felt like have served me well since then.

Phil Wilson (04:08)
Wow. Yeah. I mean, I see you doing what you do now and all of those. Right. Like that’s that’s cool. And did did she see you as a future leader? what? How did did she ever like talk to you about kind of like where are you heading in your career or anything like that?

Elizabeth Huston (04:23)
She, I mean, she definitely was, she first and foremost was a very big supporter of women in leadership. And at the time in science, that wasn’t the case. There weren’t like women everywhere. So it was very important to her. I remember I grew up in the South. And so I called everyone like Dr. Wilson, you know, or whatever. And she was like, that is not what you are doing. And I was like 22 and they were 70, you know, like.

Like it seemed totally appropriate. She was like, you’re going to call him Phil, because you are his colleague. And like this relationship needs to be based on equity and you know, like don’t diminish your role. It was so interesting. So she did a lot of that to position me to be able to be successful.

Phil Wilson (05:10)
Yeah, yeah, that’s a great, it’s a great lesson. Yeah, we talk a lot about power distance and one of those, one of those big issues around power distance is that like formality versus we’re more like a peer and that’s, that’s great advice to, you know, and, it’s hard sometimes for the person in the low power position. So you’re the 22 year old and you’re being respectful to your elders and, and, you know, in this new role, a lot of times it’s hard for the

the person in that low power position to sort of make that first move to reduce power distance. So that’s, that’s actually a really good lesson.

Elizabeth Huston (05:42)
And it wasn’t like any of the people ever responded negatively at all. You know, it was me doing it to myself rather than it happening to me. So yeah, I’m very grateful to her for all of that.

Phil Wilson (05:54)
That’s a good test to, yeah, that’s a good a-hole test anyway, right? It’s like, if they object to being called their first name, there’s probably an issue. So relating to kind of like relationship building, so you come into this organization, CUE, and this is a, it’s a nonprofit member-led organization.

Elizabeth Huston (06:03)
Thank you.

Phil Wilson (06:15)
I think it has a grand total of one employee. I think we’re talking to 100 % of the employees of CUE right now. And I’m not one of them. like that’s your, you you come into this organization, tell me a little bit about like, how does that work? And what, you what do you do to both take advantage of the fact that it is volunteer led, but then also, you know, that’s tough to manage volunteers as well.

Elizabeth Huston (06:37)
So one of the things that I have always been really impressed since like the day I showed up with CUE is the community and the willingness of the community to give to each other. Because if you look at it clearly on like a list of names, these are competitors, these are people who are probably applying for the same jobs. know, like this is like, you could be like, there could be a lot of sides.

You know, like, and there could be a lot of that happening. But what I found in this community and really from the very first time I met anyone was that everybody feels like they’re in it together. Like everyone’s willing to share their expertise. Everyone is willing to like help a, like a fellow along, you know, they’re just all so committed to what CUE is about.

that they really make sacrifices to support each other. My first interaction with CUE came, I was only nine weeks deep, so I felt like I was getting my first report card. I’m like, I’m one quarter in. And that’s exactly what I found, was that this was a community of people who were there to make workplaces better. And if they knew it, then they were gonna tell it to you, which is really, I think, more odd than you think.

it is. Like even in the non-profit community, like, you know, everyone’s not coughing up everything they have to make your job easier, you know? So I really have been impressed with the community that, I mean, has been built over 50 years. So it’s been an easy, it’s been easier for me to rely on people. I mean, I came in with like, like the only thing I knew about unions was like Norma Rae.

You know, that was my whole, like, visual. So I’ve had to learn and call people and say, all right, I don’t understand what’s happening. Like, lay it out for me. And people have been so generous in what they know, including you, Phil Wilson. And so it, but it’s, they also do it equally to each other. So I find that one of the most charming pieces and valuable pieces of CUE.

Phil Wilson (08:40)
Yeah. Well, you also bribe people with &Ms. How many pounds of &Ms were consumed at the last conference?

Elizabeth Huston (08:46)
Oh my God, it’s disgusting. It’s like, I want to say it was like 30 or something.

Phil Wilson (08:51)
I had 28 pounds, maybe 28 and a half pounds in my, yeah, so if you are thinking about going to a CUE conference and you like &Ms, it is your huckleberry.

Elizabeth Huston (09:01)
Exactly. This is totally your gig. Like, do it. &M’s and cocktails.

Phil Wilson (09:04)
Yes, they do play you with drinks as well. That’s true. Now, CUE’s values and the values, like organizational values are around flexibility and employee participation and employee choice. tell listeners a little bit about how do those values kind of like play out in both the way the organization works and also in kind of the content that’s

that’s delivered at conference. We’ll get into sort of the conferences in a minute, but how does that play out?

Elizabeth Huston (09:33)
So one of the things that I think I can say as someone who came in with no impression about labor relations is that it often gets kind of a bad rap. They’re anti-worker, all of that. And CUE has been very intentional. I only can come in in my time. But we were very intentional about defining why are we here? And the reason.

without dispute that people come to cue is to listen to employees, to engage employees, to create employee value, and all of those values. So also to educate employees, to allow employees to make informed decisions instead of ones based on misunderstanding or just not enough information.

Phil Wilson (10:24)
last thing they saw on TikTok.

Elizabeth Huston (10:25)
Exactly. Right. one of, we actually, just lost a member of their community, Peter List. And one of the things that everyone said about him is that he was just committed to truth. And I feel like that is true of nearly everyone that I work with at CUE is they are committed to like telling employees the truth and finding out what the, like what is true to the employee. You know, what is actually happening here?

What is the truth of this situation? And then finding ways to compromise and make informed choices and keep the business running, but also serve the employee. Which is a tricky, that’s a tricky bit. I don’t think anyone who comes to CUE has an easy day job. But I have been so impressed. So the flexibility,

comes into the compromise, the commitment to truth, it’s the fairness, all of that feeds itself. And I think that helps fuel CUE’s mission because those are the same, like they take what they’re, the volunteers take what they’re doing in their day job and they bring it over. They find areas where people aren’t properly informed or don’t know what they’re doing.

and that they share all of those truths with each other.

Phil Wilson (11:44)
Yeah. I mean, you already started with this, but to me, you know, so I’ve been around CUE, I don’t like 25 years plus. So a long time. Right. no, you can tell I’ve earned all these gray hairs. The that you talked about the community and the network. And to me, the the greatest thing about CUE is is that part, right? Like the people that people that would

Elizabeth Huston (11:52)
So when you were eight.

Phil Wilson (12:07)
would say like you don’t care about working people. You should see the amount of time and energy and the conversations and the hey, my company is struggling with this. How do you guys handle things like that as a way to make our workplaces great? It is a bunch of people that are totally committed to what we call extraordinary workplaces, but to have excellent places to work and

constantly just trying to sharpen each other’s game and figuring out, you know, the best ways and new ways and different ways to think about how can we engage with our team? Like that, that at its core to me is what it is all about. And there’s different ways that it gets handled, but like that to me is just that network of people who really care deeply about creating great workplaces. Like that’s, if you care about that, like this is your.

community.

Elizabeth Huston (12:57)
Absolutely. And I think what is often overlooked is, you know, I mean, it’s like parenting. Like, wouldn’t it be great if we always knew the right answer and we were just choosing whether to do it or not? Like, that is not what this is about. you know, what the members of CUE are striving to figure out is what is the best answer? You know, what is the best answer for this part of my community? What is the best answer for this part? Because it isn’t

Is the company choosing to do the right thing or the wrong thing? It is what’s the best thing, you know, or what’s the most effective thing? You know, so it’s a complicated question. So the ability to dive deep into those questions and discuss with your, you know, peers and colleagues who are probably struggling with the same questions is such an asset to being able to get to the right answer.

If it was something you could learn, like from a book, not that books are bad, I’m sure they’re all wonderful. Try Phil Wilson’s books. I recommend the leadership. But, you know, like if it was that simple, just am I going to do it yes or no, then you’re, you know, anyone to do it. But that’s not the questions that we’re finding. It’s, you know,

Phil Wilson (13:55)
Let me work.

Elizabeth Huston (14:08)
Are we getting the right message? Are we listening well? Are we actually hearing what they want to say? Are we, you know, like it’s all of these really complicated things. And so to be able to bounce ideas off people in your industry, off people with your demographic of employees, off people who have just like been on the journey is such an asset and one that can’t be replaced.

Phil Wilson (14:31)
Yeah, I totally agree. Let’s talk a little bit about like CUE members and you know, like who are the members and not, you know, we’re not naming names, like what types of companies, what industries, what, tell me a little bit about that.

Elizabeth Huston (14:47)
So CUE is interesting because everyone’s always like, so can I join? And the answer is kind of, because our members are actually companies, but the people who represent those companies at Pugh are typically the people directly involved in labor relations, employee engagement, and positive employee relations. The companies that join are exceptionally broad. We have companies that have 40 people.

We have companies that have 400,000 people. We have companies that operate in one city. We have companies that operate all over the world. We have companies that you use the name of their company, like Kleenex, and there’s companies you’ve never heard of and you probably never will. So it’s such a broad array that I think it brings diversity of ideas and diversity of solutions.

We’ve had a company, a couple of companies join. I’m like, that’s kind of an interesting gig you have going there because like it would never have occurred to me to even do that. And then you have like giant ones that I visit every day. So it’s a broad range.

Phil Wilson (15:55)
Yeah, it really is. I think that diversity of types of companies, of industries, of different challenges that each one of them deal with really brings a lot of energy to that room. So when we do conferences and I’ll have you talk about some of the other resources that the queue provides, the fact that you can have so many different people from different types of companies and sizes of companies

we’re all still struggling with that same very complicated problem of how do we create an extraordinary workplace. And, and, and sometimes you’ll hear an idea from somebody that is completely the opposite of your culture, completely the opposite of your type of company, but it’s like, that would absolutely work at my place. And you know, you run back and you have a, like a great actionable idea. So

So that to me is one of the great benefits of CUE is that that network and it’s not just the diversity of people, but the thing that you you’ve mentioned and I’ll mention again is everyone is so willing to help each other out and and that network isn’t just, I met some people at a conference. These are people that you can literally pick up the phone. They will talk to you. They will they will give you whatever experience share that they have. They you know, people really want to help each other out.

Elizabeth Huston (17:10)
Absolutely. I would say, unless I’m totally forgetting, which does happen, like I’ve never had someone say no. I’ve never been able not been able to find someone like to help a sister out. You know, like I’ve always been able to find someone when someone was just didn’t want to start from scratch or wanted to reevaluate what they were doing. I’ve always been able to find someone willing to jump in.

Phil Wilson (17:35)
Yeah, that’s my experience as well. And I get people from CUE reach out all the time and I’m happy to help them out. Michael on our team does. It’s what you do if you’re in that community. so it’s great. So talk a little bit about some of the resources that are available to CUE members, both sort of stuff you can do, but also people resources.

Elizabeth Huston (17:57)
So I said in my time here, what I like to call the Elizabethan era. I’ve been trying to develop, I’ve been trying to keep the conferences as strong and good and innovative as they are, but I’ve also been trying to maximize a member’s ability to connect with each other. Because as we’ve said a million times, like I think that’s where the best things happen. So on the knowledge building side,

Phil Wilson (18:01)
⁓ thank you.

Elizabeth Huston (18:24)
There are nearly monthly webinars on a variety of topics. There are semi-annual conferences. There are now summary documents you can reference. So there’s a lot of knowledge-based information. We have also moved forward in how people can connect by creating ongoing discussion groups. it’s like a…

everybody gets on and starts sharing. Like it’s a like absolutely member led activity. We’ve just begun guided discussion groups where they’re very intentional on certain topics so that you could take one topic and say, all right, this is how four people are doing, you know, like, or this is how some sort of information gathering. We also have an online community where you can post a question or find like find a friend.

And what we’ve recently started doing is collecting, I’m saying demographics, but I mean it about the company so that if you’re in a specific situation and you would like to speak to someone who is a peer group, you could find that person. like you’ll be able to sort contacts by industry, what unions they interact with, what percentage they are unionized. Because there are sometimes when you need someone, if you’re in a

Like if your organization is like 50-50, then sometimes the question you would want to ask is to someone who is also in a situation where they’re 50-50. But you’re like, how do I find these people in this like giant crowd of kids? And this will allow people to find very specific members, which I think is going to be amazing. We’re just getting that off the ground now.

but it also allows people to post a question for general discussion. So there’s really a lot of ways to connect.

Phil Wilson (20:13)
Yeah. And then other resources are, you know, there’s these expert panels that you have. Why don’t you talk a little bit about those?

Elizabeth Huston (20:20)
which I totally should have thought of as I am looking at your face, Ville Wilson. So we have two expert panels. One is the Labor Law Advisory Committee, the LLAC, and the other is the CUE Consultants Advisory Committee, the CCAC. And what they give to CUE is really extraordinary. You, as a CUE member, can just ask a question and they will answer it. So one of the examples that I really like

is there was a company that was moving into Louisville, Kentucky, and they hadn’t been in Kentucky before. So they just called the LLAC member and said, I’m moving into Louisville, who is like they’re organized geographically into Louisville. Like, what do I need to know? What do I need to think about? And without charging them, without having to secure his relationship, he gave them some points to consider, which is amazing because that’s

like what he knows. The consultants are also very similar. If you have a question, they will help you figure it out. If you just need 30 minutes of someone who knows better than you, you got it. Pose a question. So those are also resources that I just don’t know how else you would find.

Phil Wilson (21:32)
Yeah. And at the at the risk of sounding like I’m, you know, tooting my own horn, this is a this is a curated group of people. Right. So this isn’t just I mean, you know, nothing against shurm. like this, this isn’t this isn’t like a giant conference where there’s tons of, you know, consultants and lawyers roaming around that, you know, you don’t know. Yes, you could ask them for advice and they’ll give it to you. But you’re not.

how sure are you that it’s the best advice, right? Or the best experience share. You know, this is a group, so both the CCAC and the LLAC, they vet the people that are on those committees. You have to have shown a commitment to CUE and you have to agree that you’re not going to solicit people that are at the conference. So it creates a real safe environment to ask these questions and to…

seek advice. And it’s not like nobody ever does business with any of these lawyers or consultants, but that is really not in any way the point of these two committees. Like they are there to help support the mission of CUE and to support the members of CUE. we need somebody to help with this webinar. We need somebody to

present on this topic and we will help and we don’t ask for anything for that. We want to help the community.

Elizabeth Huston (22:50)
Well, another thing that I have liked about how CUE functions is that all of the topics and the webinars and all of that, that comes from the members. So recently you did a webinar that was excellent. And there was a summary online if you are a CUE member on like communicating about unions. Do you do it in orientation? And that was a direct response.

of questions that CUE had received. So it’s not like we sit down in January and think, all right, like, what do we want to talk about? You know, like, go. The members really drive what’s happening. The members are where the ideas come from because, I mean, I always say when I joined in 2020, like, never been a more interesting time to be diving into, like, labor relations as I learn all about it, but.

Like what you wanted to know about yesterday may be irrelevant. And so there’s a whole new topic tomorrow. So we try to keep it as timely as possible. One of our events this week, or at the end of next week, a member was talking about it with me at the conference. And I was like, this is really interesting. Let me ask around. And then everyone was like, I’d actually want to know what she’s doing. I would actually want to know what they are doing.

So now we’re having a guided discussion group where people can come and share notes, but it started with a member, like with a question. And that’s typically how all of ours begin.

Phil Wilson (24:16)
Yeah.

I would say, so if you’re not a CUE member and you’re kind of hearing about CUE for the first time, one of the things that, and I go to tons of conferences and I’ve been involved in a lot of different organizations, and this is one that I am just like fully committed to it’s unique. it’s special. I already go to this conference and I do some of these other things.

One of the things that I would say that makes it really unique that relates to what you’re just talking about, like you, it’s not a giant organization. So you can, you can get to know everybody. we do a lot of things in the way. If you’re new, if it’s your first time, we do tons of stuff to try to welcome you to the community. And we go out of our way to try to make sure that you, you know, you get to meet other people and get networked with people in that, in, in that meeting. the, but if you get involved,

you can curate your own experience, right? You get to choose your adventure because we do the program is literally members getting together and going, this is what I’d like to hear about. And all right, let’s go see if we can find someone who’s an expert who can talk about that. you’re building your own program every single time we get together. And then like you said, the webinars, come from suggestions from folks. yeah, like occasionally,

I might go, hey, this is a topic I’m getting asked about a ton. This might be a good topic for a presentation at conference. But it’s really heavily the members that drive that. And I think that’s very unique.

Elizabeth Huston (25:44)
I think the, and grassroots sounds cheesy, but it really is. It bubbles up from the members. It’s not at all top down. You know, I’m not even sure who the top would be, but like it doesn’t come from anyone who thinks they know, you know, like it’s all in response to what members are finding. And members are information members are seeking, which does, and it also makes it fun.

You know, because then you get people who are really engaged in the material. another point that I’ve been measuring and tracking is we also try to create scenarios and situations where we are communicating information that’s like immediately applicable.

So it isn’t always like, I get a webinars all the time and I’m like, like chat, GPT could have spit that out for me. And we try to bring like, you could walk out of here and make a change. know, like we’re not, it’s, it’s theoretical in that you’re considering big strategic questions, but you have, you also have to do’s, know, like it is both.

like theoretical and applicable. Like if it’s something we love, that, it would check those boxes.

Phil Wilson (27:03)
Yeah. All right. I’m going to ask you to take a victory lap in a second, but I’m going to go ahead and precede that with, I mean, that like some of the things that we do now at conference that are that are new that I love that are, I think, good examples of things that have happened under your leadership that that really, you know, again, make you this special place. So a couple of them. So one is going back to this point about practical.

takeaway, which that’s my, you I tell people every time I speak, like that’s my commitment is you’re going to walk out of here with some tools that you can use. As soon as we’re done, you have the tools in your hand and something that you’ve done is post conference. There is basically a summary of all the tools that were shared during that conference. So even if you, you know,

don’t do this, but like even if you went there and just hung out at the pool the whole time, you’re going to get like a whole toolbox of tools. You won’t have the best network like you should, but you’ll have the toolbox, right? So that’s one of the things that I think is really cool that we do now. The other one is going back to networking, these discussion dialogues where we break up into teams.

Tell me, I’ve never been to a conference where there are breakout sessions at conferences, right? This is in the conference, in the whole room of people, and then you break up into teams, and then those teams work on little scenarios together throughout the course of the conference where you’re learning something, you’re batting around a difficult issue, but you’re also getting to know this group of people that you wouldn’t have sat next to.

We, you you’re randomly assigned to this group. It’s a really great exercise and just proving what CUE is all about, which is this, you know, networking and working on hard things together. So I’m curious, go ahead. And then I’ve got, I’m going to ask you, I’m going to, I’ll tell you the question and then you make the comment and answer. But besides those two things, what are, what are a few of the other things that you’re sort of the proudest of bringing in, the Elizabethan era?

Elizabeth Huston (29:05)
So one of the things that I am…

I’m of, like both of those adjustments, A, I can take almost no credit for, but B, I think they, I mean, they were intentionally designed to create deeper community because I am moderately outgoing, but I’m kind of shy. So like, if you put me in a room with 120 people, like I’m going to meet four and they’re going to be the ones sitting right next to me. And then only four.

But the decision dialogues are actually designed to be kind of uncomfortable. So like if you came with a group of 12, not a single one of those people are going to be in your group. And you stayed with the same group so that you would at least have 10 or 12 people that you knew you had solved problems with, you had interacted with, making it easier than when you’re having a cocktail to be like, there’s that kid from my group. You know, we also do a big first timers so that people can get to know. So that because

the connections are the most precious thing. And what differentiates a conference from like a webinar, you know, like I don’t know the guys sitting next to me at the webinar, but we have, I think what I’m most proud of is extending that community building outside of just the conference into the industry discussion groups. We’re developing like,

sub industry discussion group. So there’s like an aerospace discussion group where they get together and talk about all the things. We’re creating a like small box retail. So not like grocery stores, but like little stores, the mall is how I like to think of it. Where their issues are, they’re, they’re like, they have a staff of eight. So like 50 % of the block is for people. You know what mean? That’s a different issue than one that like a big box store is having.

So those kind of connections are the thing I think I am most proud of. The growing and creation of those long-lasting connections in both the conference setting and outside of the conference.

Phil Wilson (31:04)
Right. Yeah, it’s, you know, I’m going to end the sales pitch and we’ll end on a couple of a couple of personal things. But if you are listening to this and are not a CUE member or never have heard of CUE, like don’t waste any time. Go to the website, check it out, go to a conference. don’t. Once you’ve gone to one conference, you’ll be sold. It’s a

If you do anything in this employee relations space, you owe it to yourself to at least go check out one of these conferences. They’re great. It’s an incredible community. You will not regret it. So I will say that. And then the other thing that I would say, if you are a CUE member, because sometimes when it gets to budget time, everyone’s like, what’s this CUE thing? I’m not sure. Have your boss watch this webinar or watch this interview because

You know, it is it’s such a valuable tool to have. And, you don’t have your a lot of these folks that are here are literally the subject matter expert in their company, like full stop. And you can’t do it by yourself. You need to have, you know, the Avengers around you that can, you know, can help help you when you’re struggling with something or just a bounce.

something off of or you’re, misery loves company sometimes, but well, whatever, whatever that need is you need filled. Like this is the place to do it. And so, you know, whether you’re in it or not in it, just make sure, you know, come to CUE contribute to CUE. It’s a, it’s a great organization.

Elizabeth Huston (32:31)
And I would also encourage CUE members, if you haven’t participated in a community event, like a discussion group or something like that, find one, sit in. Because it’s great to listen, but the opportunity to ask a question and get a meaningful, applicable answer is the best thing ever.

Phil Wilson (32:51)
Yeah. I just thought of one other thing, which is if you are looking as a, you know, let’s, let’s just say you’re not like the CHRO of your company. You are in your employee relations department and you’re kind of like working, you know, in, in, your career, or maybe even early in your career. Let me also offer you this. And I can, you know, think I’m thinking of people right now that

I love this about CUE, but it’s a volunteer organization. And if you sort of like step up a little bit, you will become a leader and then you will be networked with a bunch of other leaders who are going to be great to have in your network, are going to be great people to learn from, to be mentored by. There is a huge benefit to that. Like your own personal development as a leader.

and personal development as somebody who is important in an organization. This is a great place to learn that and get reps on that, even if you are not that person in your own organization. Because that’s who runs it,

Elizabeth Huston (33:53)
Right. We have tons of opportunities for that. We have, I would say, a really good balance on you can be part of the member services committee, which is what puts together the programming. You can be part of the conference committee. You can be part of the members committee. And what you do there is we try to create a good balance between sort of super senior and barely junior, because you need all of the voices at the table.

You need someone who’s going to be like, what are you even talking about? You know, like that doesn’t even make sense. Like that’s dumb. Who is, you know, like from a more junior perspective, and then you need someone who’s like, Ooh, you know, like, so we really have places no matter what, how long you’ve been in the game or like what part of the game you’re in. we have, we have a place for you to, to pitch in.

Phil Wilson (34:43)
Right. Okay, so let’s have some fun. What’s your, first of all, your conference bag. What is your must take item when you’re going to conference?

Elizabeth Huston (34:51)
Okay, so number one, I’m like the least organized person ever. So the fact that I would ever have like the same thing in my bag is probably unusual, but sadly it’s either in my bag or as close, like within two feet of me is a diet soda of some kind. I think it might be an addiction. I think I need a health program. We used to have a sign at my house that was like X number of days without a diet soda. My current record is like 12 minutes. So killing it, killing it.

Phil Wilson (35:19)
I

was this many years old the last time I had a diet. that, okay, dream keynote speaker at CUE. Who would be like the ultimate get for keynote speaker at CUE?

Elizabeth Huston (35:33)
Okay, so it has absolutely nothing to do with CUE’s mission or anything. I would want it to be Maya Angelou, just because I love her. And I just want her to talk. I mean, she could like read my grocery list and I would listen. And she’s like, like she’s amazing what she says in amazing and how she says it is amazing.

Phil Wilson (35:51)
Really? That’s great. That’s great. All right. And we’ll do this one. Well, there’s two more. So, City, what would be your dream city for a CUE conference?

Elizabeth Huston (36:02)
That’s a tricky one because as someone on this call knows, I have gotten some hate for my excellent city choices. So I’m trying to…

Phil Wilson (36:12)
a favorite in mind, you go ahead and name yours.

Elizabeth Huston (36:15)
If nobody had to like get there, you know, like I would want to, like one of the things that we always try to make CUE conferences so that people can go out to dinner together or go out after for drinks is walkability. So I am trying to figure out like, what is my favorite like walkable city? I also lived in New Orleans. So like, you know, like,

I love the ones where you never even think about an Uber. Like Savannah and New Orleans and… Atlanta is probably bottom of my list for that reason. I’d have a car.

Phil Wilson (36:52)
Right, right, right, yeah. Okay. Not Tulsa, ⁓

Elizabeth Huston (36:55)
Sadly not Tulsa.

Phil Wilson (37:01)
That’s true.

All right, last question. What is your walkout song? Like if you’re getting, yeah, you’re getting getting played on to the stage. What’s your song?

Elizabeth Huston (37:10)
Totally unrelated to CUE in all ways is Party in the USA by Marley Cyrus. Yeah, because A, I love Marley, B, I’m like also pretty awkward. Like I would be the one in Boos surrounded by people in stilettos. So gotta go with

Phil Wilson (37:14)
all right.

If I am not mistaken, I was called up on stage to, in Savannah, to that song. Am I remembering that correctly?

Elizabeth Huston (37:32)
enough.

My vague memories of that, but yes, I think it’s…

Phil Wilson (37:39)
⁓

I remember it distinctly. So yes. Well, anyway, that’s a great that’s a great place to end. Elizabeth, thank you so much. Thank you for everything you do for CUE. And it’s been been great to spend some time with you.

Elizabeth Huston (37:52)
Thank you for having me. Just as my final word, we never said what the website was. we didn’t. it is, right. It is C-U-E-I-N-C dot com. So CUE-ink. Sounds like a letter, but it is actually like on CUE.

Phil Wilson (38:08)
Right, there you go. Qink.com Lots of resources there as well. Thanks, Elizabeth. Great to see you and see you soon.

Elizabeth Huston (38:15)
Okay, thank you, film.