After a decade of research spanning 59 countries, membership strategy expert Sarah Sladek is finally bringing her vision to life with the launch of Membership U, the first comprehensive learning platform and community designed specifically for membership professionals.
The announcement comes at a critical time for the membership industry, as organizations worldwide grapple with declining engagement, demographic shifts, and an increasingly competitive landscape for member attention and loyalty.
"We often hear that people kind of fall into the membership profession or they don't really know how to do membership," said Sladek, CEO of XYZ University and author of several books on membership strategy. "Well, this is going to be the answer."
Sladek's journey to create Membership U began during her early career at a metropolitan chamber of commerce, where she observed a troubling pattern that would follow her throughout the next decade of consulting work.
"Everyone came from different industries, and we were all just kind of winging it," Sladek recalled. "No one had worked for a chamber before. No one really knew how to do membership."
This observation proved prophetic. Through her subsequent research with membership organizations globally, Sladek consistently heard the same refrain: "I fell into the profession. I don't know exactly what I'm doing. I'm winging it."
The problem isn't limited to any single geography or organization type. XYZ University's groundbreaking Global Membership Health Study, which surveyed members and associations across 59 countries, revealed that membership challenges transcend borders, affecting traditional associations, chambers of commerce, YMCAs, service clubs, and other member-based organizations worldwide.
Sladek's first attempt to address this gap came 10 years ago with "Millennials to Members," an online course developed with an Emmy award-winning producer. Despite the quality of the content, the market wasn't ready.
"People went, 'okay, wait a second, what's an online course? How does that work?'" Sladek remembered. "We were too far ahead of the curve."
The course had minimal sales and was eventually discontinued, but Sladek never abandoned the vision. Now, with online learning firmly established and community-powered education gaining momentum, she believes the timing is finally right.
To bring Membership U to market, XYZ University has partnered with Forj, a leading community learning platform known for its future-focused approach to education technology.
"Membership U couldn't be possible without Forj," Sladek emphasized. "We chose Forj because they have a really strong commitment to community building and being very future-focused. The Forj values and company charter align with our XYZ University charter."
The partnership enables Membership U to offer both structured learning through online courses and organic knowledge sharing through community features, allowing professionals to connect across organizational and geographical boundaries.
What sets Membership U apart from traditional professional development offerings is its emphasis on peer-to-peer learning and community building. The platform will feature small group discussions, large community conversations, and opportunities for professionals to share real-time successes and challenges.
"Membership organizations work in silos," Sladek explained. "There's no place to go and share ideas and best practices for people in the membership role. My whole idea has been we need training, but we also need community."
The platform will also feature "guest professors" – practicing membership professionals who have achieved notable success – ensuring that the curriculum stays current with real-world challenges and innovations.
As membership organizations face an increasingly complex landscape of demographic change, economic uncertainty, and technological disruption, Sladek believes professional development in the field must evolve rapidly.
"All of those things are changing what people want from their membership experience," she noted. "The more knowledge they can have and the more best practices they can share, the better they will be at building communities of relevance."
Sladek predicts that successful membership organizations will increasingly focus on education and workforce development, with more specialized, industry-specific certifications emerging. However, she acknowledges that future challenges may be impossible to predict.
"There are certain things that will probably happen in the future that we don't even know yet," she said. "Our goal is to try to stay ahead of the curve."
Despite rapid technological advancement, Sladek believes the fundamental human need for belonging and community will only grow stronger, positioning membership organizations as increasingly valuable social infrastructure.
"Especially in this era of increased conflict and polarization, we're beginning to realize the importance of our humanity and our community," she said. "If associations are struggling to be relevant to members and seeing membership decline, that's not a good thing for our society as a whole."
This philosophy aligns with broader industry trends showing that while professionals are open to AI-powered tools, they still prioritize trusted expertise, human connection, and peer collaboration for learning and professional development.
Membership U will officially launch in August 2025 and will be accessible at membershipu.com. The platform is currently accepting waitlist registrations as it prepares for its public debut.
For an industry that has long operated without standardized professional development pathways, Membership U represents a potentially transformative resource. With membership organizations contributing billions to the global economy and serving as crucial community infrastructure, the success of the platform could have implications far beyond individual professional development.
As Sladek noted, "If we can really focus on that concept of belonging and create a place for people to learn how to cultivate cultures of belonging, it's going to be very important work and influential."
The launch of Membership U signals a maturation of the membership profession, moving from an industry of accidental practitioners to one with dedicated resources, community support, and professional development pathways designed for the challenges of the 21st century.
For more information about Membership U, visit: xyzuniversity.com/waitlist. To learn more about Forj’s powerful platform for community and learning, visit: forj.ai.