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PCMA’s 20 in Their Twenties program honors exceptional young leaders in the business events industry. Class of 2025 member Maraika Black, European Association for the Study of the Liver’s public health program manager, shares her thoughts about how work/life balance should be a shared responsibility between employees and their employers.
Do you think work/life balance is a challenge in the industry? How do you achieve work-life balance in your position?
I believe that work/life balance is a challenge in every industry. Hardly anyone is fully exempt from the pressures to be constantly and consistently productive, to perform at 100 percent every day of the week and for some, on weekends. Having worked in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations and in different regions of the world, I have noticed that work-life balance is both an individual and organizational commitment. Some ways that I guard my mental health and personal life are:
- Understanding daily fluctuations in productivity and energy — I allow myself the freedom to work with natural flows of productivity.
- Understanding that attention and focus are not consistent throughout the day — I do all creative work in the morning. I try to take all my meetings in the afternoon. I frequently break up my day by going to the gym in the afternoon and finishing up work after to help my mind reset.
- Understanding the difference between manufactured and true urgency — When I work during events, I understand that 12-hour days are normal but when I’m working during off times, I make a hard stop at 5:30 p.m. and anything that didn’t get done will have to wait until the next day.
I believe each of these tactics is crucial for me. However, they are only possible because my organization prioritizes work-life balance and it’s not difficult to advocate for myself. I am never pressured to work on evenings or weekends and the culture of the organization is such that employees are encouraged to place limits on the [number] of new projects they take on and be realistic about how much they can achieve within a normal workday. Achieving work-life balance is about personally implementing boundaries that work for each of us but also it’s about the organization cultivating a corporate culture that allows employees to do so.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve gotten?
It wasn’t career advice and it’s not very eloquent, but here it is: You’ll never regret anything you learn. To me this means I should follow my interests, soak up information, listen to others, sign up for the free trainings, and learn the weird skill. And do all of those without worrying whether or not they will directly translate to your job. You never know when something you’ve learned while following your interests will come back to help you in your career.
What do you like most about your job?
My position is, perhaps, not a traditional one in the events industry. I began my journey in associations [with] a background in public health and now I manage the educational programming of the European Association for the Study of the Liver’s (EASL) public health mandate. My favorite aspect of this position is the diversity of projects, events, and activities I am able to work on and the incredible people I get to meet along the way. I have had the honor of developing content for the World Liver Day platform, coordinating activities in partnership with the World Health Organization, hosting events at the European Parliament, and managing a growing community engagement project at every EASL Congress. The diversity of initiatives that we run ensures that every day offers something different and gives our team the opportunity to show up for the liver health community in innovative and meaningful ways.
Members of PCMA’s 20 in Their Twenties class of 2025, supported by PCMA Foundation and Experience Columbus, were recognized at PCMA Convening Leaders 2025, Jan. 12-15 in Houston, Texas.