E5: Accelerating Space Events by Remaining Grounded with Randi Rivera
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!
[00:01 - 05:19] Opening Segment
I welcome and introduce Randi Rivera
Director of Customer Operations
Planner of Space Symposiums
Randi gives background on the Space Foundation
The inception and early days
15,000 people from around the world
Hosted in Colorado Springs
Finding a home for space force
[05:20 - 13:30] The Details Within the Space Symposium
Security measures and personnel within the Space Symposium
Vice President, Secretary of Defense
Extreme security measures
Ensuring that they are never a target
Vetting the registration lists
ID and Badge checks
FBI onsight
Dog sweeps
Randi talks about the Exhibit hall
Over 300 exhibiting companies
1,000’s of networking visitors
Randi shares about the complexities of the Sit-Down-Dinners
Over 15 dining events
7 are large scale
Example of benefits
Guaranteed seats with high-caliber people
Feedback from corporate sponsors
They get more business this week than in one year
Renewed memberships and upgrades
More demand than availability
[13:31 - 20:10] Making the Hard Decisions and Maintaining a Busy Life
Randi talks about the local museum-sponsored
Interactive exhibits
Unique experiences
Offered field trips
Professional development
Randi talks about how they handled the pandemic
Held off till March 16th
Postponing the in-person event
Decided to push the event
Planning for August 23rd through 26th 2021
People coming in from outside the USA
20% from outside
Randi shares about balancing everything with a busy life
Wearing lots of hats
Owning a business
Holding it all together
[20:11 - 27:21] Closing Segment
Randi talks about her other activities
Managing other aspects of the Symposium
Developing the Space Symposium 365
Delivering premium content
Combatting virtual burn out
Events to expect from Space Symposium 365
Live events
2 to 3 premium events per month
Example of activities
The hybrid goal
Reaching out to Space Symposiums and Randi
Links below
Final words
