ACADEMIC & COMMUNITY CONFERENCE LEADERSHIP

TURNING COMPLEX PROGRAMS INTO COORDINATED EXPERIENCES

Academic conferences and research events create opportunities to connect scholarship with the people it is intended to serve—alumni, practitioners, researchers, community organizations, students, faculty, and the broader public.

At the KU School of Social Welfare, I led and supported conferences ranging from alumni-focused professional development events to research symposia, multi-university academic gatherings, and community events designed to share research findings and outcomes.

My role extended across the full event lifecycle—from early planning, branding, communications, and registration through speaker coordination, logistics, on-site management, and post-event financial reconciliation.

30+

EVENTS ANNUALLY

15,000+

ATTENDEES ENGAGED

100+

SPEAKERS & PRESENTERS COORDINATED

SOCIAL WORK DAY

Connecting alumni, practitioners and the School

Social Work Day brought together alumni and members of the professional community for a day of learning, networking, and engagement with the School.

I coordinated the interconnected components required to deliver the event, including keynote and workshop speakers, venue management, registration, invoicing, hotel accommodations, parking, transportation, catering, exhibitor and tabling activities, event materials, signage, promotional items, and on-site execution.

I also managed the event's communications and audience-facing experience, including website development, public relations, media coordination, agendas, folders, branding, and promotional materials.

The result was a cohesive experience in which everything—from registration through the final session—supported the event's broader purpose of connecting the School with its alumni and professional community.

RESEARCH & ACADEMIC EVENTS

Bringing research beyond the university

I also managed events designed to highlight ongoing research, convene scholars around important issues, or mark the completion of major research initiatives.

These events provided an opportunity to move research beyond academic settings by bringing together faculty, researchers, community organizations, practitioners, partners, and other stakeholders to discuss findings and their implications.

Events and initiatives included work connected to:

Assets and Education · LGBTQ Research Center · Anti-Bullying Research · Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education (GADE) in Social Work · Research Impact Talks

Depending on the initiative, events involved KU faculty as well as faculty and partners from other universities and affiliated organizations.

CROSS-ORGANIZATIONAL COORDINATION

Creating one experience across many partners

Multi-institution events required an additional layer of coordination.

I worked with internal faculty, external faculty, university partners, affiliated organizations, hotels, venues, speakers, vendors, and other stakeholders to ensure each component supported a unified event.

When materials incorporated multiple university brands, I coordinated with the KU Licensing Office and licensing representatives at partner universities to ensure promotional materials and branded assets met institutional requirements.

FROM STRATEGY TO THE SMALLEST DETAIL

My responsibilities spanned both the big picture and the operational details necessary to deliver it:

Conference strategy &

project management

Venue & hotel

management

Public relations &

media coordination

Speaker & workshop

coordination

Registration & attendee

communications

Branding & event

identity

Internal & external

stakeholder management

Website

development

Agendas, packets,

folders & signage

Catering, snacks &

beverages

Exhibitor & tabling

coordination

Promotional

items

University licensing

coordination

Transportation &

parking

Hotel

accommodations

Vendor billing &

invoicing

After-hours &

supplemental events

On-site setup &

event management

Detailed planning documents, timelines, assignments, and ongoing communication kept internal teams and external partners aligned throughout the process.

Impact