Eileen Bistrisky, CSEP
President

Originally from Montreal, Eileen pursued studies for four years in Toronto, then returned to Montreal to attend McGill University. There she became V.P. Internal for AIESEC McGill, an international business association for students, and

President of McGill Players' Theatre. For this, she was named Chief Officer of the Year and received the coveted McGill Scarlet Key for outstanding leadership.

In May of 1987, Eileen started her first business with a partner in Montreal. She and Jayne King opened a talent agency representing actors and actresses for roles in film, television, commercials, and theatre. In October of 1989, Eileen moved west to explore the potential of bringing Biskin Talent Management to Vancouver.

While in Vancouver, Eileen was asked to become the Volunteer Coordinator for the Canadian Endurance Duathlon Series. Eileen welcomed the opportunity to play a key role in the management of the series, and began contract work in event management, after finding representation for her actors elsewhere.

Working with athletes must have rubbed off on her as she started to run, bought her first bike, and learned how to swim. Eileen has participated in countless races, including the 1990 Seattle Marathon and the 1992 Penticton Ironman. She also completed a two year term on the executive of the B.C. Triathlon Association, and served as Director of Events for the Atomic Racing Club, a road cycling club. Having experienced first hand being a "woman in sport", and wanting to foster better opportunities for other women, in 1997 she began the first of three years on the Board of Directors of Promotion Plus, the B.C. advocacy organization for women and girls in physical activity and sport. Her current passion is for adventure racing and mountaineering. Recent races include Raid the North, Test of Metal, and Sea2Summit. To add to her list of North American peaks, in 2004 she climbed Mount Elbrus in Russia for BC Children's Hospital through Summits of Hope. She spent a month in the mountains in Argentina in 2005, and will be of to explore Mount McKinley this summer.

In addition to athletics, Eileen has been actively involved in public speaking, being a past member of Toastmaster's Vancouver Club 59. She earned her CTM (Competent Toastmaster designation) in one year, became V.P. Membership, and was named Rookie of the Year in 1991. Eileen is a frequent emcee, facilitator and guest speaker at other events public functions, and conferences.

In March of 1992 she launched her current business with former partner Ellen Green, and has been successfully running the company ever since.

Not only has Eileen devoted herself to the success of her company, she is also committed to the development of the industry as a whole. She has served six terms on the Board of the Vancouver Chapter of the International Special Events Society (ISES) since 1995, and was Chapter President in 2000/2001. She has served on three international committees and was the Western Regional Vice President of the association in 2002/2003. She is currently on the International Conference Education committee.

ISES prides itself in the development of professional industry standards, and administers the Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP) designation which is internationally recognized. Eileen was the first individual in Western Canada to obtain the designation. She has been actively encouraging others to become accredited, which will help further elevate the professionalism of the event management industry throughout British Columbia.

Eileen has also sat on the board of the B.C. chapter of the American Marketing Association (BC AMA), and was Chair of the prestigious Vision Marketing Conference. She is active in the Vancouver Business community, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Vancouver Executives Association.

Susan Stuart, P.Admin, ACIS, CMA CFO
Chief Financial Officer

Susan is from Vancouver, BC. She earned her B.Comm at UBC in 1986. Later on she earned her P.Admin and ACIS from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Canada. Susan received her Certified Management Accountant designation in 1996.

Career highlights include 4 years as the Chief Accountant at the CMA BC office, a few years as the HR Controller at MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, and 8 years as a part time instructor at BCIT. Susan is currently working as an Accounting and General Business consultant to a number of small businesses and organizations in the Vancouver area.

Susan is an active volunteer with a number of organizations in both Canada and the United States. Her volunteer activities have included board membership on the BC chapter of the American Marketing Association, ICSA, and Charlton Court, as well as other organizations. It was through the BC AMA board that Susan and Eileen met; later Susan was invited to take on the CFO role at Effective Event Management Ltd.

Danyael (Dani) Weintraub
Director of Operations & Account Manager

Dani received her B.A in North American History at McGill University. She has also earned a diploma in Marketing Management with a specialization in Public Relations at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Dani began her career at Effective Events in 2004 as a contract employee for the Navigata Street Marketing Team. She then took a year to travel extensively through Australia, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Italy. In 2005, she re-joined the Effective Events team on a full time basis. In addition to running office operations, she has successfully developed, managed and executed events for clients such as lululemon, The Vancouver Canucks, Yellow Pages and The Heart & Stroke Foundation of B.C & Yukon. She has coordinated live and silent auctions, raffles, media and promotional material, and marketing street teams. Dani takes pride in her efficiency, dedication to clients, attention to detail and enthusiasm.

Dani’s passion is implementing events and raising funds for the not-for-profit sector. “We ensure sponsors, promotions, and ticket sales create awareness, and it’s extremely fulfilling when an organization receives substantial funds because of our hard work.�EDani has donated her time to literacy training schools, mentally & physically disabled associations and The Jewish Family Services Agency in Vancouver. Dani looks forward to growing with Effective Events and continuing to work with both socially conscious corporations and charitable organizations.

In addition to her employment at Effective Events, Dani is completing a M.A. in Professional Communication at Royal Roads University through their distance education program. In her (very little!) spare time, Dani enjoys bike riding, hiking and reading.

Stephanie Mullaney
Project Manager

Stephanie began her career as the Director of Operations at The Community for Learning, an elementary school in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. While there she created a school library, implemented an ESL program, administered accounting & finances,and was a substitute teacher for primary mathematics.

Simultaneously, Stephanie completed her B.A in Hotel Management with a specialization in Sales & Marketing at Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in Santo Domingo.

After university, Stephanie worked as a Sales Manager at a Destination Management Company in the Dominican Republic for three years. She then moved to the United Kingdom and became a Sales Executive for a British Magazine. In 2005, Stephanie moved to Vancouver and began her career at Effective Events as a full time employee.

During her time at Effective Events, Stephanie has developed and maintained strong relationships with clients. She has successfully coordinated the execution of events for The Arthritis Society, The Heart and Stroke Foundation of B.C & Yukon and St. Vincent’s & Holy Family Health Care Foundation. Stephanie takes pride in her commitment to clients, work ethic, sales experience and professionalism. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, running, baking and traveling.

Contractors:

Rachel Johns
Project Manager

Born in Vancouver, Rachel has had years of training in marketing, public relations and journalism. She has a BA in journalism from the University of Victoria . In addition to this training and education, she has mastered skills in organization and time management making her an execution and logistics specialist.

As well as consulting for Effective Event Management, Rachel is also Principal of Greenstone Productions, a boutique agency specializing in events and public relations. But it doesn’t stop there. Rachel currently holds the assistant editor position at BCAMA’s Marketline magazine and the Special Event Team Lead at the Canadian Red Cross of the Lower Mainland.

In 2001, Rachel left for a nine-month honeymoon, traveling throughout South-East Asian and New Zealand . Her passions are deeply rooted in her cultural background and travel. Rachel is always eager to be challenged and learn new things with the goal of overcoming obstacles with a big smile on her face.

Upon her return to Vancouver , Rachel was determined to be noticed immediately and make a name for herself. Rachel has consulted for Newad Media, Inventa, In Context Marketing and Public Relations and Dunn Mitchell Communications. She has also worked with Blitz Promotions, Optimum Public Relations, Grey Worldwide and National Public Relations.

In the non-profit sector, Rachel has continuously lent her skills to the Canadian Red Cross, Summer Sundays Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, and BC Lung Association. Through her roles, she has recruited and managed volunteers, managed events logistics and production and created publicity and marketing plans.

Rachel has developed and managed successful programs which exceed client expectations for brands such as VanCity, Bell , Molson, Dove, Lush, Toyota , Paramount Pictures and Fox Entertainment. Her excellent communication and management skills make her an asset to the Effective Event Management team.

Karen Jordan
Project Manager

Karen Jordan brings the planning, organization and creative problem solving skills from an early education, experience and qualification in Interior Design project work to each event.She earned a Diploma in Interior Design from Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, and during 7 years on the executive board of the Interior Designers

Institute of British Columbia successfully wrote the National Council for Interior Design Qualification examination out of New York. The artistic foundation built during those years is represented in many aspects of project messaging and aesthetics.

With extensive corporate experience, Karen uses exceptional interpersonal, written and oral communication skills. She brings 24 years spent in home fashion display and advertising coordination, sales management and a decade as Special Event and Promotions Manager for The Bay Vancouver Downtown to the boardroom table. It was while at The Bay that Effective Events first had the opportunity to work with Karen in organizing The Bay Mother-Daughter Walk for The Heart and Stroke Foundation. Karen was an trained and approved HBC spokesperson to the media, and by teaching various aspects of interior design at Kwantlen College and British Columbia Institute of Technology, Karen's honed her multi-media presentations and a knack for planned and impromptu public speaking.

Karen brings a lifelong quest for knowledge and a natural curiosity to learning new things. Professional, honest, respectful and inventive, she is a high-energy, lead-by-example manager with a gift for motivating others. Her enthusiastic, supportive attitude, diplomatic and approach and a good sense of humour pays off in developing cohesive teams of diverse people at all organization levels in a variety of industries.

With a belief in the strength of community, Karen is a current member of the Canadian Special Events Society, The Interior Designers Institute of British Columbia, The Surrey Board of Trade and the Langley Chamber of Commerce. Recent experience with Effective Event Management Ltd. includes project management for colourful street teams in one-on-one marketing of the YellowPages.ca proximity search service in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.