The best event planners are the ones who have taken the challenges of our times in stride and in fact leverage them to create unique experiences we never thought of. We have two such guests with us today: Dr. Nance Wilson from SUNY Cortland and Dr. Thomas Wolsey of the American University in Cairo.

They are the co-creators of Beyond the App: Cause and Conference, which strives to support teachers’ professional development and coach literacy experts in one of the most creative ways possible in response to COVID, and their model may just change the game.

With grief being such an individual experience, it takes a skilled and understanding person to meet all people where they’re at. This person is Jenny Sellers, the Global Operations Manager of Soaring Spirits International; a non-profit that helps widowed people through their grieving process. Having attended her first Camp just 10 weeks after losing her fiancee, Jenny developed a true passion for supporting new widows and widowers. Now she provides operational support for all Soaring Spirits programs, managing various offsite events, and providing additional logistical help to the Executive Team.

From using emergency systems to running them - Tom Louis currently serves as the Enterprise Training Manager for Emergency Reporting, serving over 7,000 EMS and Fire agencies around the world. As a retired battalion chief from the Green Valley Fire District in Arizona, Tom went from using the Emergency Reporting system for 16 years to being put in charge training for its software from 2011, working with customers around the world. He was recently the project manager of Emergency Reporting’s inaugural virtual summit, ADAPT 2020.

Randi Rivera is the Director of Customer Operations for the Space Foundation located in Colorado. Randi started with the Space Foundation in early 2011 assisting with customer service and registration support during the 27th National Space Symposium, an international annual event that is famously held by the foundation. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and is meticulous about the details needed to execute the yearly Symposiums that boast 15,000 people from around the world including government officials, CEOs, and Military Personnel!

Today we’re talking about how to manage the shifting dynamics of engagement in a virtual platform in the context of the Beauty industry! Here to talk about it is Kai Flood, an internal sales partner and part of the education team at The Salon People, an organization that helps stylists become their best selves as part of the Aveda Products Team. Kai has a wealth of experience in positions of leadership for various groups and jobs. She has a unique passion for education and teaching others how to care for the world and coordinates the events and classes that make it happen.

Today’s guest provides a unique approach to the world of events; she is a meeting planner for meeting planners. Diana Hakenholz, CMP is the Director of Meetings and Education at the Association of Collegiate Conference & Events Directors-International (ACCED-I). She is responsible for the highly anticipated Collegiate Conference & Events Professional (CCEP) designation as well as educational content and planning for meetings and events.

Today’s guest is Joanne Dennison, a speaker and event planner that has traveled the world educating people. She started out as a college administrator and even then was busy planning events, then started her own small event planning firm, which evolved into speaking, writing, and advising masses on her strategies for 20 years now. Her secret is her passion for listening to other people’s viewpoints to find points of communication and agreement to know how to best serve the client and build ROI for both parties.

Today’s guest is Patrick Higgins, Vice-President of Connect Marketplace. Patrick is a strategic leader within the events space. He provides destination marketing organizations, hotels, resorts, and service providers with unique and impactful methods to fast track business development success and achieve lasting results.