Barbara Byrd Keenan is the fifth and current Executive Vice President of the Institute of Food Technologists

Institute of Food Technologists

The Institute of Food Technologists or IFT is an international, non-profit professional organization for the advancement of food science and technology. It is the largest of food science organizations in the world, encompassing 22,000 members worldwide as of 2006. It is referred to as "THE Society...

 (IFT), a position she has held since 2003. Prior to that, she had served as President of the Community Associations Institute

Community Associations Institute

The Community Associations Institute is an influential trade association and special interest group, dominated by lawyers and property managers, that petitions for legislative beneficence for its members....

 and Vice President of the International Association of Hospitality Accountants.

Career

A native of Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

, Keenan earned her degree from Old Dominion University

Old Dominion University

Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...

 in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. After graduation, she went to work as Executive Vice President for the International Association of Hospitality Accountants (IAHA) which won awards for educational programming, promotion, marketing, and publications.

In 1990, Keenan joined the Community Associations Institute in Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

 as President. While as President, she turned the organization around from a struggling, almost bankrupt organization with 10,000 members to one that was financially sound with 17,000 members before she left for IFT in 2003.

Awards and memberships

• American Society of Association Executives
  American Society of Association Executives
  The American Society of Association Executives is the membership organization and voice of the association profession. Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ASAE now has more than 22,000 association CEOs, staff professionals, industry partners, and consultant members. ASAE...
  
   - Executive Committee Vice Chairman (2 terms) and Secretary-Treasurer (2 terms) & Charter Fellow.
• Greater Washington Society of Association Executives
  Greater Washington Society of Association Executives
  The Greater Washington Society of Association Executives is a non-profit professional organization for executive directors and executive vice presidents of professional societies in the Washington, DC area. As of 2007, it serves over 8,000 members and is a member of the American Society of...
  
  
• Who's Who in America
• Who's Who in American Women
• Who's Who in Finance and Industry
• First winner of the Barbara Byrd Keenan Award by the National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers (NBC-CAM) in 2002.

External links

• IFT profile on Keenan