25 Women Who Rule the Event Industry

Mar 24, 2021 Caroline Keane

This year for Women’s History Month, Eventcombo is highlighting 25 Outstanding Women in Events! Each of these women has blazed a trail, started a company, or made an impact in the world of corporate events. Their career accomplishments are boundless, and so we thought it’d be cool to give them all a shout out. 

No doubt, this list could be endless because there are too many fabulous women in events.

As Eventcombo’s core values include equality, this list has been ordered alphabetically to remove any instance of competition or rank. 

• Annette Naif, CEO and Creative Director at Naif Productions - Annette Naif, CEO of Naif Productions can do all things events! She does everything from event planning, event marketing, logistics, event management, and so much more. Her 25 years of experience makes her quite the event expert, and her industry and client accolades make her quite the role model.

• April Abernathy, Senior Virtual Operations Manager at Amazon Web Services - For years April Abernathy has worked in events. She worked her way all the way up to VP of Event Operations at Opus Agency. Abernathy has since made the switch to work for Amazon Web Services.

• Briana Snellgrove, CEO / Virtual Event Specialist and Digital Marketing Strategist at Social ICON - Briana Snellgrove, CEO - Social Icon, has over 15 years of marketing and branding expertise and has created noticed and admired work. Social Icon is a strategy agency where Snellgrove is driving sustained growth, and winning laurels from clients.

• Carrie Abernathy, Lead Meeting Planner at Altria and Co-Founder of Association for Women in Events - Carrie Abernathy has over 15 years of experience as an events strategist. As Co-founder and President of the Association for Women in Events, Abernathy dedicated her time to accelerating the careers of women in the events industry. Carrie has been a source of inspiration for many.

• Cat Rainey, Founder at The Professional Retreat - Cat Rainey has over 15 years in the global events industry. She has worked on events such as the London Olympics, FIFA World Cup 2014, and the International Festival for Business in 2016. In 2019 Rainey founded her own company, The Professional Retreat.

• Dahlia El Gazar, Founder at DAHLIA+Agency - Founder of her own event agency, DAHLIA+Agency, Dahlia El Gazar is an expert in all things events and a role model for industry professionals! Her agency specializes in marketing for virtual events, hybrid events, event production, and event branding.

• Elizabeth Glau, CEO at Event Integrity - As CEO of Event Integrity, Elizabeth Glau, CMP works to make work feel more fulfilling. Her goal to make this happen is to align both human emotions with business goals. We admire her accomplishments.

• Elizabeth Malafa Kurman, Director, Global Events at Under Armor - Elizabeth Malafa Kurman currently works at Under Armor as Director of global events. She has won admiration for her business acumen. Prior to this, Kurman worked in the male dominated field of football, but she never let being a woman stop her from sharing her ideas in a room full of men.

• Erin McElroy, Program Director, Digital & Event Innovation at IBM - Highlighting Erin McElroy for her dedication to innovating digital events! McElroy has experience working with Fortune 500 companies and is currently Program Director for Digital and Event Innovation at IBM.

• Helen Moon, Founder and CEO at EventWell - Four years ago, Helen Moon founded her own company, EventWell. EventWell focuses on the mental health aspects of the event industry. Moon founded this company as she is passionate about mental health and wellbeing. Her goal with EventWell is to support any #EventProf who is affected by poor mental health. We admire her accomplishments.

• Helen Stoddard, Head of Global Events & Experiential Marketing at Twitter - Helen Stoddard is the Head of Global Events and Experiential Marketing at Twitter. Much admired for her skills and leadership, she makes a wonderful role model for all women in events and marketing!

• Jenifer Bice, Senior Director, Event Solutions at Walmart - While she has worked for Walmart for almost ten years, Jenifer Bice's newest role is Senior Director of Event Solutions. Bice works on event development and strategy for the biggest retailer in the US!

• Jenn Artura, Senior Director, Global Events at Veritas Technologies LLC - Jenn Artura, an award winning marketer is currently the senior director of global strategic events at Veritas Technologies LLC. Prior to this role Artura was Global Director, Creative, Production & Events at Veritas Technologies LLC. She is also Vice President of the Association of Women in Events. Her career growth shows her ambition and her accomplishments, and she is sure to leave her mark in the events industry.

• Julie Sullivan, Past President at Association for Women in Events (2020) - Julie Sullivan, CMP, CEM, CTA has previously held the position of Event Sales Manager at ASIS International. She makes an impact for all women in the event industry, as she was the 2020 President of the Association for Women in Events, as well as a founding member of the organization.

• Kate Patay, Chief Strategist at Patay Consulting - With over 20 years of experience, Kate Patay is now Chief Strategist of Patay consulting. Along with being a brand strategist, international speaker, and industry influencer, Patay is an expert in all things special events. Patay gives back to those in the events industry as she is Chairwoman at SEARCH Foundation.

• Kathleen Francis, President and Chair at Women in Sports + Events - Since 2011 Kathleen Francis has been President of WISE, Women in Sports + Events. From her experience working with MLB, she is sure a powerhouse when it comes to blazing a trail for women in sports and events!

• Katrina Kent, VP Meeting Management and Event Strategy at Liberty Mutual Insurance - Katrina Kent, CMP, is accomplished in the fields of corporate events, event marketing, and event strategy. Kent now works as VP of Meeting Management and Event Strategy at Liberty Mutual Insurance.

• Laura Lovas, Executive Director Senior Partnerships and Events at Walt Disney Television - Laura Lovas works at Walt Disney Television as Executive Director of Senior Partnerships and Events. One of her specialties is special events development.

• Liz Caruso, CEO and Chief Event Strategist at Liz King Events - Liz Caruso is CEO at both Liz King Events and Techsytalk. Caruso specializes in virtual, in person, and hybrid events, with an inclination towards all things tech. She believes in looking at the big picture and building a strategy from there.

• Megan Muir, Vice President of Events at EDGE Productions- Megan Muir has worked on events all around the globe, from small galas, to large events with over 20,000 attendees. Megan has also worked on hybrid and virtual events during her career.

• Rachel Wimberly, EVP of Business Development, US at Tarsus Group US - Rachel Wimberly is Executive Vice President of Business Development at Tarsus Group. She has worked extensively in the Trade Show sector of the events industry. For the past 10 years, Wimberly has also been the editor in chief and president at the Trade Show News Network where she oversees all content creation.

• Sandy Hammer, Co Founder at AllSeated - Sandy Hammer has over 20 years of experience in the global events industry. The company she co-founded, AllSeated, which is a virtual reality platform for digitizing events. Hammer's ambition is to keep advancing the events industry.

• Sasha Souza, CEO at Sasha Souza Events - In 1995 Sasha Souza founded Sasha Souza events which specializes in event planning, management, and design. Souza has worked on events that range in size from very small to over 300 guests, she has also worked on events around the globe. She has made her mark and we applaud her. 

• Stacey Thorp, Event Strategist at DAHLIA + Agency - As an event strategist at DAHLIA+Agency, Stacey Thorp, DES, works to produce in person, hybrid, and virtual events. Previously Thorp spent over nine years working for Freeman as Vice President of Conferences and Events.

• Tika Woolley, Shows and Events Manager at Salon Centric - Throughout her career, Tika Woolley has worked on over 200 events. She has done everything from producing interactive installations, to making immersive environments, to increasing attendee traffic.

Tag @Eventcombo on Twitter and let us know of a woman in events that inspires you!