Breakout Speakers

Javid Campbell-Cohen

Javid Campbell-Cohen, Senior Director of Sales Performance Management and Analytics, Hilton Worldwide

Economic and Travel Forecast: Adapting to Market and Talent Volatility

Javid Campbell-Cohen joined Hilton in 2019 to lead its Sales Analytics function with the initial focus on building its data infrastructure and later focusing more on predictive analysis and sales performance management. Prior to Hilton, Javid spent the majority of his career at the Corporate Executive Board and Gartner supporting the sales organization in a number of capacities including leading the territory management and quota functions, incentive planning, productivity analysis, account data mastery and sales technology enablement.

Tara Chaffee

Tara Chaffee, Senior Consultant, External Development, Lincoln Financial Group

Meeting Planning Risks That Paid Off — Stories From Your Peers

Tara Chaffee, Sr. Consultant, Group Protection Distribution External Development at Lincoln Financial Group, develops, designs and executes strategy for experiential programs. Her events deliver measurable business partner and customer engagement and memorable in-person and virtual experience. Additionally, Tara provides consultative event design and project management for cross-functional internal meetings and recognition programs.

Prior to joining Lincoln Financial Group, Tara was Manager of Distribution Events for Liberty Mutual Benefits, Liberty Mutual Insurance. With her leadership, the team successfully developed strategies to support business priorities and executed internal and external events, sponsorships and memberships, promotional item programs, and recognition programs.

Tara’s experiences working for a Fortune 100 company includes being an Event Planner supporting top level incentive programs, key client facing events, and internal meetings for multiple business units to help drive business results through impactful and engaging events.

Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke, Senior Director, B2B Events & Programs Portfolio, Luxury & Leisure, Global Sales Organization - US & Canada, Marriott International

The Guiding Principles in Experience Design — Six Truths for Innovative Event Strategies

Michael leads a dynamic team of marketing and business event professionals inside the Global Sales Organization at Marriott International.  With a focus of assisting the GSO Team in staying connected with Marriott’s global customers within association, corporate, intermediary, wholesale, retail and TMC segments, he works with key GSO executive and associate stakeholders to provide strategy and relevant, personalized information and content to group, business transient and leisure travel customer channels, enabling more efficient decision making and problem solving across Marriott’s portfolio of 32 brands.

In addition, Michael manages Marriott’s meeting, event and tradeshow team for the US & Canada, developing strategy and design for internal sales and external customer facing events across all segments and within all premium and luxury brands. Further, he is responsible for all of Marriott’s sponsor and partner programs with all industry associations and organizations.

Jason Cohen

Jason Cohen, Executive Director, Global Corporate M&E Sales, Accor

Mastering the Art of Contracting: Insights From Industry Leaders

Jason Cohen lives in New York City and works with some of Accor’s largest corporate and agency meetings and events clients. Jason graduated from Tulane University and holds a master’s degree in hospitality from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. After years in the restaurant business Jason landed in Miami at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, then the Loews Miami Beach Hotel before joining Accor in Global Sales in 2010. He loves travel and good food.

Chelsea Crowe

Chelsea Crowe, Director, SMM Procurement & Industry Relations, Ameriprise Financial

Mastering the Art of Contracting: Insights From Industry Leaders

With a distinguished career spanning two decades in sales and hospitality, Chelsea had the privilege of spending a rewarding decade with Marriott International, where she honed her expertise in building relationships and connecting people. Most recently, Chelsea thrived in a global sales role, managing financial and insurance accounts, crafting valuable connections in the process. This rich experience naturally led her to her current role as Director, SMM Procurement & Industry Relations for Ameriprise Financial. In her current capacity, Chelsea excels at sourcing and skillfully negotiating over 100 contracts annually, ensuring successful partnerships for our organization.

Drawing from an extensive 20-year background in sales, Chelsea seamlessly transitioned into the world of event planning and procurement, bringing a unique perspective to the table. Her dedication to personal growth and collaboration is exemplified be her 12+ year membership with FICP.  As a testament to her commitment, Chelsea has served the past 2 years on the MPI SoCal Board of Directors as their Director or Special Events and currently holds the position of Vice President of Marketing on the SITE SoCal chapter. 

John Cruz

John Cruz, CMM, Principal Event Planner, BlueCross BlueShield of North

Meeting Planning Risks That Paid Off — Stories From Your Peers

John Cruz, CMM is currently Principal Event Planner for BlueCross and BlueShield of NC. He has been with the company for 12 years after being the Head of the Audio Visual Department and an Event Management Consultant for 15 years at GlaxoSmithkline. Beside his extensive background in planning and producing a wide variety of meetings and events, he also has a diverse background having managed a restaurant for 2 years at Courtyard by Marriott and was a Director of Audio Visual Services for both Marriott Resorts and several Audio visual companies in Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC and North Carolina. He is most proud to have his Certification in Meeting Management (CMM) and have participated on numerous Industry advisory boards to include currently being part of the Marriott Exchange.

Vinita Das

Vinita Das, CMP, DES, Sales Manager – US Market, Destination Toronto

FICP Chat LIVE! Tapping Into Your Destination's Cultural Richness to Elevate Event Experiences

A proven sales leader in hospitality and tourism, Vinita has worked in the hospitality industry for over 20 years. She is currently the Sales Manager for the U.S. market at Destination Toronto.

Vinita has her CMP and DES designations and was recently certified as a sales specialist by HubSpot Academy.

Vinita loves to travel and has lived abroad but calls Toronto home these days. She finds Toronto is a place where all are welcome and cultures remix - creating new ideas and new inspiration from a mosaic of voices.

Tom Edelen

Tom Edelen, CMP, Sr. Event Planner, Thrivent

Meeting Planning Risks That Paid Off — Stories From Your Peers

Tom currently serves as Senior Event Planner at Thrivent. His career at Thrivent began over 18 years ago serving in various roles supporting Thrivent’s long-standing partnership with Habitat for Humanity. In the past eight years that Tom has been in the full-time event planning role, he has been fortunate enough to help plan, lead and execute Thrivent meetings, incentive conferences, and service projects across the nation and all over the world.

Prior to his time at Thrivent, Tom served as a private school principal, youth pastor – serving gang and Hispanic youth and a Lutheran missionary in Venezuela.

Tom has been a committee member for his local MPI Minnesota chapter and currently sits on the Client Advisory Board for Global DMC Partners.

As a meetings professional, Tom is passionate about people and bringing them together to learn, celebrate and make a difference in this world.

Jim Effner

Jim Effner, Founder and President, P2P Group

The Financial and Insurance Landscape: Understanding the Industry You Serve

Jim Effner is founder and President of P2P Group – a company specializing in sales training for financial services professionals. His mission is to help bridge the gap between financial advisors’ Potential and their Performance.

Jim began his career in financial services over 30 years ago. He came straight off the campus at Valparaiso University to take his first contract as a financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual’s flagship office in Chicago, Illinois. He became a leading producer out of the gates, earning Rookie of the Year, and winning his region in 1990, 1991 and 1992.

A Million Dollar Round Table qualifier every year he worked in the business, Jim is now a lifetime member of MDRT. He was a three-time Forum qualifier, which represents the top 5% of all Northwestern Mutual advisors. In fact, he was the youngest person to make the Forum the first two times he qualified. Jim also held every leadership contract in the Northwestern system – ultimately being appointed Managing Partner, a position he held for 14 years. In short, he has walked in your shoes – having both produced, and developed others to do so, at a very high level.

When he founded P2P Group, Jim took everything he’s learned and built his trademarked Sales Cycle Mastery system. Of the nearly 500 advisors who have participated in his highest-level curriculum, over one-third have grown their core production by 50% or more, with 12 alum achieving $1M of premium for the first time. These results are particularly compelling when compared to the industry average growth rate of approximately 5%.

Jim has a reputation as the best sales trainer in the industry. I think you’ll see why…

Josh Elmore

Josh Elmore, Ph.D., Organization Scientist and Offsite Facilitator, Court Street Consulting LLC

Planning Events and Experiences for a Multi-Generational Workforce

Dr. Josh Elmore is the Principal Consultant at Court Street Consulting LLC, a management consulting firm based in Brooklyn, NY. With a focus on offsite facilitation and change management, Dr. Josh operates as a thought partner, advisor, and collaborator to planners developing strategic corporate events and leaders who seek to enhance the state of their teams and organizations. Dr. Josh has worked with Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, startups, and small businesses in technology, healthcare, media, and human services, to drive team communication, remote employee engagement, IT adoption, culture change, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. Dr. Josh is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. He received his BA in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and his MA and PhD in Social-Organizational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. He is a Scholar Alum at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

Krystina Enquist, CMP, Assistant Vice President and Head of Global Wealth & Asset Management Events, North America, John Hancock Life Insurance Company

Economic and Travel Forecast: Adapting to Market and Talent Volatility

Krystina is currently employed by one of the most well-known financial service companies Manulife / John Hancock. Krystina oversees all event planning efforts for the asset management side of the business across North America. Half of her team is based in Boston and the other half is based out of Canada. Prior to leading the North America team, she led the planning team for US & Europe team. She has been with Manulife / John Hancock for 10 years.

Graduating from Suffolk University with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, Krystina believes communication and networking are not only the foundation of a successful business but most importantly, for your personal brand. 

Krystina brings over a decade of knowledge to the table and obtains her Certified Meeting Planner certification. She is passionate about what she does and has a deep appreciate for the hospitality industry.

Hanna Giem

Hanna Giem, Director of Sales, Mandarin Oriental, New York

Meeting Planning Risks That Paid Off — Stories From Your Peers

Hanna Giem is the Director of Sales at Mandarin Oriental, New York. A Southern California native, Hanna graduated from New York University’s hospitality and tourism management program and has been with the flagship Americas property since 2017. She is passionate about meetings and events and creating meaningful experiences. Outside of work, you’ll find her eating her way through the diverse NYC dining scene, biking through the streets of New York and hosting afternoon tea parties in her Hells Kitchen apartment.

Rutger Hoorn, CIS, CITP, DES, Vice President Global Sales and Strategic Partnerships, Ovation Global DMC

Economic and Travel Forecast: Adapting to Market and Talent Volatility

Rutger Hoorn is an accomplished event industry professional, content creator, relationship builder, explorer, and father of 3. Traveling throughout the year to connect and build lasting relationships, Hoorn ensures that memorable event experiences are created for his 100+ Ovation Global DMC destinations, as Vice President Global Sales & Strategic Partnerships.

Neen James, Executive Strategist and Keynote Speaker, Neen James, Inc.

Attention PaysTM: Drive Profitability, Productivity and Accountability

Neen James is the author of Folding TimeTM and Attention PaysTM. She has been named one of the Top 30 Leadership Speakers by Global Guru several years in a row because of her work with companies like Viacom, Comcast, and Virtuoso Travel among others. Neen has boundless energy, is quick-witted and always offers powerful strategies for prioritizing focus in what matters most — all so you can pay more attention, create more significant moments and increase productivity at work and home. Whether presenting in person or virtually, Neen is the kind of speaker that engages, educates, entertains, and delivers the real-world solutions that apply in your organization, your home, and your community. She also provides one-on-one consulting in a variety of leadership topics and loves serving her audiences.

Adam Kahan, Senior Vice President, Empire Entertainment, Inc

Mastering the Art of Contracting: Insights From Industry Leaders

Adam Kahan is the Senior Vice President of Empire Entertainment, Inc, a full-service event production company and entertainment booking specialist. A graduate of NYU School of Law, Adam produces events and secures headline talent for projects worldwide.  Adam has had the pleasure of partnering on fantastic programs with FICP planners from Liberty Mutual, Cincinnati Insurance, Thrivent, Pure Insurance, Prudential, Nationwide, U.S. Bank, Cigna, and more. He has traveled to Russia to present Lionel Richie on a yacht in Moscow, contracted Duran Duran to perform a private show at Kensington Palace in London, presented both Andrea Bocelli and Pitbull at the world-renowned Sporting Club in Monaco, and has even had Michael McKean reprise his character David St. Hubbins from “This Is Spinal Tap” at a private event. Adam has been the Executive Producer of The Webby Awards every year since 2006, an event which has included onstage appearances by Prince, David Letterman, Kim Kardashian, Dave Grohl, David Bowie, Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, and others. Adam has worked with Lizzo, Robert Redford, Malala Yousafzai, John Mulaney, Kevin James, Flo Rida, Seth Meyers, Sebastian Maniscalco, Imagine Dragons, James Taylor, OneRepublic, Janet Jackson, Jim Gaffigan, Janelle Monae, and hundreds more, and has produced events for clients including Target, About.com, Thrillist, BuzzFeed, Bustle Digital Group, Architizer, and BJ's Wholesale Club.

Javid Campbell-Cohen

Catherine Kearney, Area Group Sales Manager, Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii & Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui

FICP Chat LIVE! Are You Prepared to Manage Your Next Event Crisis?

Catherine has a long, successful tenure with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, formerly with Fairmont Chateau Whistler, then Fairmont Southampton and Hamilton Princess, Bermuda and currently with the beautiful Fairmont Hawaii properties, Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii Island and Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui. An honors graduate from BCIT, she most recently achieved 2022 Fairmont Hotels President’s Circle. She has enjoyed growing and learning while attending for many years at the FICP Annual Conference. Catherine is an avid outdoors sports enthusiast, and enjoys travel and spending time at home in Vancouver, BC with her husband and rescue pup Finn, when not skiing, hiking or sailing.

Lindsay Maloni, Global Sales Director, DMC Network

Creative Career Pathing and the Importance of Community and Advocates

Lindsay Maloni-Kuntz is a Director of Global Sales for the DMC Network. Based in Western Massachusetts, Lindsay primarily serves the FICP market and the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the US, and also brings with her a wealth of previous corporate experience. Lindsay’s past career highlights include time spent as an event manager for two Fortune 100 companies as well as four years of service on the FICP Board of Directors. Above all else, Lindsay is passionate about using her sales and strategic event management skills to increase brand awareness and support the delivery of high-quality events. When she’s not hard at work helping to evolve the events industry, Lindsay can be found pounding the pavement as an avid runner or cheering on her three boys at a wide range of sporting events — including hockey, basketball, lacrosse, soccer and golf! 

Monica Mobley

Monica Mobley, CMP, AVP, Events Management, Lincoln Financial Group

Economic and Travel Forecast: Adapting to Market and Talent Volatility

Monica Mobley, CMP is AVP, of Event Management for Lincoln Financial Group. In her role, she leads a team of accomplished event professionals and oversees the operation and execution strategy for Lincoln Financial Group's meetings and events.

Monica’s background encompasses diverse experiences in hospitality and event management. She started her career in the hotel industry; worked in sales and event management at the PA Convention Center and tourism marketing at Visit Philly. In 2005 she became an association meeting planner and was eventually promoted to Director of Meetings and Events. She joined Lincoln Financial Group in 2016 and promoted to Assistant Vice President in 2020.

She holds a BA from Spelman College and an MBA from Drexel University. She resides in Philadelphia, PA with her husband and three daughters. She is passionate about the hospitality and events industry and enjoys coaching and mentoring young professionals.

Jennifer O’Hare, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Belle Box Co; Strategic Retail Consultant

Mastering Strategic Gifting: Unveiling Missed Touchpoints and Essential Trends

Jennifer O'Hare is a multi-passionate entrepreneur with 18 years of experience as a retail & merchandising expert and strategic gifting partner. She spent 14 years mastering merchandising & strategy development at the TJX Companies, sourced over $700M worth of product, and has worked with hundreds of clients on developing bespoke gifting and retail strategies that elevate brands and align with business goals. She is currently a retail industry consultant to fortune 500 companies and the founder of Belle Box Co, a corporate gifting company that helps businesses and organizations build meaningful connections and create memorable experiences.

Elena Overton

Elena Overton, VP, Events Management Senior Manager — Sourcing and Contracts, Wells Fargo

Mastering the Art of Contracting: Insights From Industry Leaders

Bio coming soon!

Karin Pontelandolfo

Karin Pontelandolfo, Event Manager, Meeting Management & Event Strategy, Liberty Mutual

FICP Chat LIVE! Event Design That Prioritizes Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Best Practices

Karin Ponte is a Certified Meeting Professional with extensive event planning experience in multiple industries including non-profit, health care, financial services and insurance. She currently holds the position of Event Manager at Liberty Mutual Insurance in Boston and plans programs that include executive leadership meetings, agent & broker events, and incentive trips. Prior to joining Liberty Mutual in July of 2012, Karin was with John Hancock Financial services for twelve years where she specialized in business meetings and trade shows. In her free time, she enjoys spending time at the beach, travelling to places she has never been and playing Pickleball.

Koleen Roach

Koleen M. Roach, Director, Meetings & Conference Management, Securian Financial

Creative Career Pathing and the Importance of Community and Advocates

Koleen is responsible for the overall planning, development, marketing and implementation of all company-wide recognition and incentive programs, as well as company-wide business meetings, board meetings, domestic conventions and international conferences. Her department also assumes full responsibility for the management of industry association membership and awards facilitation for GAMA, NAIFA, and MDRT on behalf of Securian managing partners, second-line managers and financial advisors.

Prior to joining Securian in 1998, Koleen spent 13 years as a corporate meeting planner and recognition program specialist with the Department Store Division of Dayton Hudson Corporation. After leaving Dayton Hudson and prior to joining Securian, she spent 1 ½ years with DynaMark, a database marketing division of FairIsaac, Co., where she managed their trade show department.

Koleen attended Rasmussen Business College from 1981-1982 where she received certification in Business and Travel Management, and attended the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota where she pursued a degree in English. Koleen lives in Stillwater, Minnesota.

Wayne Robinson, Staff Vice President Events and Multimedia, FM Global

Creative Career Pathing and the Importance of Community and Advocates

Wayne Robinson joined FM Global over 8 years ago and serves as Staff Vice President of Events and Multimedia where he led a team of planners and multimedia professionals responsible for client and internal facing meetings and events. His primary focus is creating the strategy and execution of face to face, virtual, and hybrid meetings and events and associated communications, marketing, and technology.

Wayne served as Director of Field Meetings at Northwestern Mutual after spending 14 years at Guardian Life Insurance Company in New York City where he headed up the Conference and Events Department.

Wayne works extensively with the marketing and business heads, public relations, procurement, law, and the product and sales departments on business and incentive-based programs. His department is also responsible for all videos, content creation, and presentations for meetings and events.

Wayne started his career in event management at AT&T where he served as Executive Meeting Manager and planned shareholder meetings, board of director meetings, and sales incentives. Wayne studied Economics and Management Science at Kean University in New Jersey and achieved his CMP certification in 1996 and his CMM in 2016. He is past chair of FICP, served on the Ritz Carlton Insurance Advisory and the MPI Executive Advisory Board. Wayne has over 30 + years of experience in the event industry where he began his career as a planner.

Amanda Sherman, CMP, CMM, Lead Team Member Experience Specialist, Credit Acceptance

Creative Career Pathing and the Importance of Community and Advocates

Amanda has built her career on a foundation of unwavering passion for hospitality and the art of creating unforgettable experiences through events. With a rich background that spans from orchestrating enchanting weddings to delivering world-class service at a five-star resort, Amanda's journey has been defined by her commitment to crafting unique and memorable moments.

In recent years, she has shifted her focus towards Employee Engagement, where she works to curate events that foster authentic connections and build a sense of community within the dynamic landscape of the modern hybrid work environment. Amanda, together with her incredible team, supports her company's efforts in creating a workplace culture that has earned them a spot on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list for nine consecutive years!

James Spellos, President, Meeting U

Navigating the AI Toolkit: Essential Tools and Proven Tips

James Spellos is the President of Meeting U. whose mission is to help people become more productive and comfortable with technology.

In 2022, Meeting Professionals International included Jim on their 50 most influential persons list in the hospitality industry in honor of their 50th anniversary celebration. In 2021, Glisser named Jim one of the most influential people in virtual events. A few years prior, Jim was named one of the Meeting Industry’s trendsetters by Meetings Today magazine. He was a faculty member at New York University for 25 years receiving both their Award for Teaching Excellence and their Outstanding Service Award.

Jim is on the Board of Directors for Rock and Wrap It Up, an anti-poverty, anti-hunger organization which recovers excess food from events. Jim co-created their Whole Earth Calculator app. He also speaks about food recovery and sustainability at events. In 2018 & 2019, BizBash named Jim one of their top 500 people in events for his work in sustainability.

He also has a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutritional Studies, is a certified Food for Life instructor through the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and is on the staff of Plant Powered Metro New York, helping to educate people about a healthy diet and lifestyle, which helped to save his own life.

Jim is an accomplished musician and songwriter who released his first solo album, Stroke of Genius in 2020.

Jennifer Squeglia, CMP, Independent Contractor, RLC Events

Facilitator for FICP Chat LIVE! Sessions:

As head of RLC Events, Inc. since 2007, Jennifer partners with clients from the financial and insurance industries as well as defense and health care. Jennifer collaborates with her business partners and colleagues working on their event strategy to meet their goals and objectives for the best possible event outcomes. She has led teams from 2 to 50 producing events throughout the country and has been a proud and active member of FICP since 2000 and became a member of the Board of Directors in January of 2019 and is now serving as FICP Chair. Jennifer’s career started in the hospitality industry over 35 years ago, specializing in operations, catering, and conference services. She transitioned to corporate meeting professional in 1999 moving to Boston and working on the great planning teams at John Hancock and Fidelity Investments.

Tracy Stuckrath

Tracy Stuckrath, CSEP, CMM, CHC, CFPM, Founder and President, thrive! meetings & events

Inclusive and Sustainable Dining: Revamp Your F&B Strategy Without Breaking the Bank

Tracy Stuckrath brings passion for safe and inclusive food and beverage, expertise through research and analysis, and real-world strategies to help clients establish best practices, mitigate risk, improve experiences, and increase profit with food and beverage served at events and in the workplace.

Founder and president of thrive! meetings & events, a first-of-its-kind company that specializes in helping companies accommodate the diverse dietary requirements of employees, clients and patrons in safe, yet deliciously satisfying ways. By understanding the wide range of food and beverage restrictions and how to manage them safely, Tracy delivers an unrivaled employee experience in which everyone feels valued and included. As an expert on the topic of inclusive event design, Tracy has delivered over 200 live and virtual presentations and spoken to more than 200 companies, corporations and associations across five continents.

Jason Thomson, Keynote Speaker, Workshop Creator, Radio Host and Content Coach

Powerful Communication: How to Amplify Your Impact, Build Trust and Drive Results During Tough Talks

Connect. It’s your secret sauce to winning business, winning over audiences and winning with communications.

When it comes to connecting better, smarter and more deeply — you want to know communications leader Jason Thomson.

For more than a generation as a TED-level keynote speaker, workshop creator and facilitator, copywriter and content creator, radio show host and Creative Director, Jason has helped brands, leaders influencers to shift mindsets, inspire new thinking and activate audiences.

As a self professed “Swiss Army Knife of Communications,” Jason fuels the trajectory of the world’s most important brands, IBM. Cirque du Soleil. TD Bank. Intel and Abbott Pharmaceuticals.