Catalyst Ranch

Crisis Communications Boot Camp
2025-04-10 - 2025-04-11 | Catalyst Ranch, 656 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL, 60661, United States
Crisis Communications Boot CampPresented by P-World
P-World returns to Catalyst Ranch with their two-day Crisis Communications Boot Camp.

From P-World:

The Crisis Communications Boot Camp is back for its third edition in Chicago, and it’s our most highly anticipated yet! With fresh speakers, cutting-edge topics, and exclusive insights from industry leaders, this is your chance to equip yourself with the critical skills to navigate today’s most pressing reputational challenges.
Why Attend?

Exclusive Case Studies: Gain real-world insights from top crisis experts from PwC, United Airlines, US Gymnastics, Walgreens, IBM, and more. Learn how industry leaders tackled their most challenging crises and emerged stronger.
Reputational Threats Unpacked: Address today’s most urgent issues—deepfakes, political polarization, cancel culture, and the mounting pressure to take a public stance on sensitive topics.
Essential Crisis Skills: Discover the power of internal communications, effective messaging during sensitive issues, and how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) can shape your crisis response.
Mini Workshop with United Airlines: Join United’s top communications team for an interactive session on critical skills every crisis communicator needs and how DEI can strengthen your crisis response.
Full-Day AI Workshop: Dive deep into AI-powered crisis communications with Peter Heneghan, former Deputy Director of Digital Communications, 10 Downing Street. Develop your strategies and sharpen your skills with this hands-on, immersive workshop.

Limited availability; Group discounts available.

Learn more

The Big Pivot: HR's Guide to Working Through Uncertainty, an ImproveIt! Workshop
2025-06-11 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago)
The Big Pivot:HR’s Guide to Working Through Uncertainty
Professional and workplace development get a revitalizing spin via improv comedy techniques, as guided by the pros from improve it! They return to Catalyst Ranch for a high-energy workshop for boosting confidence, staying grounded, and leading through uncertainty.
From improve it!:

Get ready for a high-energy, highly interactive experience designed to help you and your team build resilience, boost confidence, and thrive in the face of uncertainty. Our seasoned improv facilitators will guide you through hands-on activities and thoughtful debriefs that turn chaos into clarity.
In this dynamic session, you’ll:

Get real about how uncertainty affects you—and learn how to manage stress
Discover how to stay grounded and make confident decisions when things feel shaky
Strengthen your adaptability muscles with creative problem-solving techniques

Join us for a workshop that will leave you feeling empowered, energized, and ready to take on whatever curveballs come your way. This isn’t your average leadership training—it’s an improv-fueled reset for thriving through change.
The first 30 attendees will get a free signed copy of Erin Diehl’s (improve it!’s CEO) debut book: I See You! A Leader’s Guide to Energizing Your Team through Radical Empathy.

Agenda:

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM: Working through Uncertainty Workshop
7:30 PM – 8:00 PM: Optional Networking

Purchase tickets and find more information about the event, improve it! and I See You at the Eventbrite link below!

Tickets and additional information

AMA Chicago: Marketing Collaboration Lab 2026
2026-03-04 18:00 - 20:30
AMA Chicago: Marketing Collaboration Lab 2026
The Chicago chapter for the American Marketing Association, who host their regular Connex networking series at Catalyst Ranch, return to launch a new event concept on March 4 for AMA members and non-members alike:

The Lab creates a collaborative space where expertise meets real-world challenges.
Get fresh insights and peer-to-peer learning at the first annual Marketing Collaboration Lab! The Lab is an immersive, ideas-driven experience that brings brand-side marketers and small marketing agencies together for structured, themed roundtable conversations.
Hosted atCatalyst Ranch, Chicago’s vibrant creative hub, the Lab offers a high-energy setting that inspires fresh thinking and authentic connections.
Whether you’re a marketer actively seeking a new agency partner or simply looking for fresh insights and peer-to-peer learning, you’ll engage in meaningful conversations that tackle real marketing challenges, without the pressure of pitches.
With multiple rotation sessions and plenty of informal mingling, the format blends expert facilitation with collaborative problem-solving to spark ideas, build relationships and elevate your marketing strategy.
Key Takeaways

A stronger professional network: Engage with specialists and peers in a relaxed, creative atmosphere that sparks collaboration.
Insights and tools for managing your current challenges: You’ll choose from multiple hot topics aligned to your pain points, rotating among the tables that pertain to you.
Insights and practical strategies you can implement immediately.

Registration: Free and open to all — members and non-members.

Learn more and register

Thursday Therapy - Wedding and Event Industry Networking Night
2026-03-19 17:30 - 20:30
Chicago’s wedding and event professionals unwind and connect at Thursday Therapy, coming to Catalyst Ranch in March…

SAVE THE DATE: March 19, 2026
Catalyst Ranch is pleased to welcome the long-running, monthly get-together for the folks who throw the best parties: Chicago’s wedding and event planners and vendors!

If you’re looking to meet, mingle, and share with other wedding professionals in Chicago, look no further!
Thursday Therapy provides the perfect agenda-free atmosphere for wedding pros to unwind and connect with friendors old and new.

More details will be announced by Thursday Therapy organizers about what to expect on March 19, including food and drink and entertainment. When registration for this FREE event becomes available, we’ll share the link here, as well as in our newsletter — Sign up here.
We’re can’t wait to see all our wedding and event vendor peers and do our part in providing a fabulous time. See you then!

Thursday Therapy photo by Ed & Eileen Photography

AMA Chicago: Connex - Networking for Marketers
2026-05-13 18:00 - 20:00
AMA Chicago: Connex – Networking for Marketers
Stay connected through Connex! Chicago’s chapter of the American Marketing Association hosts this series on the second Wednesday of every other month, bringing together colleagues, friends, entrepreneurs and creative professionals from the best companies in the Midwest. Connect will fellow marketers to talk over what’s happening in marketing in small groups.
Round Robin Discussion Groups
At each event, you’ll rotate tables for short discussions around a hot marketing topic. Experts and topics change for every event, giving you a new experience and skillset every time.

Tickets and additional information
