Experiential marketing professional with more than 15 years experience connecting consumers with brands through the power of live experiences – of all size and scale. Experience includes consumer electronics, retail, food & beverage and beauty. Part-time husband, father and now teacher. On the constant quest to merge work and life. Philly fan that grew up in New England, so am optimistic and pessimistic simultaneously.

Kevin White is the head of the Boston-based, award-winning experiential event agency XPL. He has been working with global organizations on their marketing and development efforts for nearly a quarter century. As veterans of the experiential industry, Kevin and his team of producers have helped these organizations to develop strategies for their target audiences, assess communication plans to deliver their messaging and then implement development events that engage, strengthen and energize groups.

Clients have brought XPL’s production skill to bear on five continents. Those clients include institutions such as Harvard Business School, non-profits such as The Special Olympics, governmental units such as the US Department of State and corporations such as Bugatti. Each brings a diverse set of needs that they entrust Kevin and his team to fulfill.

When not working on client projects, Kevin is a sought after keynote presenter and podcast guest. He has been a professor at NYU and is currently teaching at the Event Leadership Institute. Kevin is currently working on his first book on innovation in experiential design and has recently launched a series of entrepreneurial-based retreats around the world under the brand The Table.

Tim Hayes is a live event producer, aviator, business founder, and human rights activist based in New York City. Tim has created large scale global events for UNICEF, Amnesty International, Sandy Hook Promise, and other leading NGOs.
He has led negotiations for the release of political prisoners of conscience in Russia and was instrumental in launching Havel’s Place in St. Patrick’s Park in Dublin to memorialize Vaclav Havel’s velvet revolution; the non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia.
Tim founded Productions New York LLC in 2006. Earlier in his career he worked as a production executive at the Walt Disney Company / ABC. Prior to that, Tim toured the world with artists such as U2, Guns and Roses, Bon Jovi, The Who, and Van Halen settling each show and promoting human rights and democracy around the globe.

Dona Liston has been in the event industry for over 30 years with over 1000 events under her belt. She started her business as Parties by Dona, organizing and entertaining at children’s parties. Dona then added a retail party store into the mix. If that where not enough, her customers began asking her to plan their weddings, and a Wedding Consultant business was born. She surrounded herself with the best of the best and was able to sell the business in 2010 and move to San Antonio, Texas where she is now the proud owner of Lambermont Events, a mansion built in 1894. Dona and her husband Pat spent 3 years restoring Lambermont back to it’s grand state that it once was. Lambermont is now open for bookings for weddings, events and retreats.

Dona has been a member of ILEA for 10 years, serving on her local board as well as the Southwest RVP.
Past Member of Harlingen Chamber of Commerce
Past Board member and chair of RioFest an Art and Entertainment Festival
Past Board member of San Antonio Growth for the East Side
Past Board member of The Woman’s Club of San Antonio
Past committee member for the National Association of Catering and Events
Current St. Paul’s Episcopal Montessori School Board Member

Elizabeth Priya Kumar jet sets between the Big Apple and the Big Orange, transforming weddings into magical luxury experiences. For over a decade, Priya has brought the world full-service events that has earned national recognition, including winning “Planner of the Year” in 2019 by the Wedding International Planners Association. Her work has been featured in Harpers Bazaar Bride Magazine, Grace Ormonde Magazine, Town and Country Magazine, BRIDES Magazine, The New York Times, Refinery29, Party Slate, South Asian Bride Magazine, TLC’s Four Weddings, Strictly Weddings, and The Knot.

In 2019, her company “Premini” went bi-coastal, with teams in NYC and LA. She was named President of the National Association of Catering and Event Professionals in 2014, a position she held for three years. Priya currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Wedding Industry Professionals Association for the NYC Chapter, in addition to several charitable committees.

Priya began her career in corporate events for Fortune 500 companies. With a nudge from her brother (Prem) and sister (Padmini), she went on to create Premini Events in 2010, naming the company in their honor. Premini translates to a little love, her secret tool.

Priya brings a love of flamenco guitar and old world poetry, fusing hip hop and Indian beats, to invoke a style that is urban, luxury, and ultra global.

In her spare time, Priya enjoys spending time with her siblings, parents, and friends. She enjoys fine dining and food trucks, and is an avid lover of music, art and all things comedy.

With several projects in the works under the Premini brand, a little love is constantly on the move.

Kevin Molesworth is the President of Brass Tacks Events and Celadore Creative, based in Portland, OR. He is an international award-winning producer and designer. Kevin has travelled the globe speaking on topics from creativity and innovation to ethics and event safety. He is currently the Western Region Vice President of ILEA International.

Sasha Souza grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and cultivated a background in theater arts before starting her first event planning business. Since 1995, she has planned hundreds of weddings & social events.

She is also a featured event planner in numerous wedding magazines and blogs as well as having been a planner on the Style Network TV show “Whose Wedding is it Anyway???” Sasha and her work are frequently featured on television programming including CBS “Early Show”, ABC’s “Primetime” wedding series special, “Inside Edition”, “Eye on LA”, and “In Wine Country”, “Get Married” and on “Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen” for SyFy, among other shows. Sasha has shared her expertise with colleagues and brides around the world. She got her start with speaking engagements when she was a featured celebrity speaker at the Conde Nast Bridal Group’s Wedding March – part of the March on Madison series. She is now a regular speaker at The Special Event Show, Catersource and The Rental Show Conferences and is an active keynote speaker for events around the world. Her speaking engagements have taken her all across the United States and internationally to Canada, Mexico, Turks & Caicos, Japan, Trinidad, the Bahamas and South America. All to educate her peers & couples about the hottest trends in wedding & event design.

She was honored by Modern Bride Magazine as one of the first Top 25 Trendsetters in the wedding industry…the only planner in the San Francisco Bay Area to ever receive the honor. She was also a member of the prestigious advisory panel. Currently, Sasha sits on the advisory board for Catersource Conference & Tradeshow.

Sasha believes strongly in giving back to the community that has provided so much for her. From 2008 – 2012, she was the Events Chair for the SEARCH Foundation and served on the Executive Committee. SEARCH helps event industry peers who are faced with catastrophic loss & illness. Sasha was also the Founding President of the National Board of Directors for Wish Upon A Wedding from 2009 – 2013. Wish Upon A Wedding is the U.S.’s only wedding wish-granting non-profit for couples facing terminal illness.
Sasha published her first book in January 2010, Signature Sasha: Magnificent Weddings by Design. Her second book, Signature Sasha: Weddings and Celebrations to Inspire debuted in January 2015. In 2016, Sasha released her online Signature Sasha: Wedding Design Planner to help brides & planners with creating a perfect design plan.

Are you an event industry creative looking to expand or redefine your brand? Sasha now offers the Consultancy for Creatives.