Expert Events, LLC

Sharon McCullough is the president of Expert Events.  She formed the company in 1992 following 12 years of employment at the University of Pennsylvania, where she worked in the special events offices for development (Penn’s 250th Anniversary and a Capital Campaign) and Alumni Relations (Alumni Weekend, Reunions and Homecoming).  In addition she spent many years at the Wharton School editing and producing the Wharton Alumni Magazine and other publications.

Sharon’s primary focus with Expert Events is working with academic and non-profit institutions for their milestone events such as anniversaries, inaugurations, groundbreakings, building openings and campaign launches.  She views event planning as a comprehensive service, working with her clients to assure that goals are set and met and that the events they plan fit in with the overall goals of the organization.  She works with her clients to find innovative event solutions, including the support and collateral materials, and the tie-in with overall marketing, public relations and fundraising goals.

Sharon has been a speaker for programs at Westminster College, Drexel University,  Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, the Association for Fundraising Professionals, the Non-Profit Institute, the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, and the American Bar Association’s Education Division International Conference.  She is an adjunct faculty member of Temple University’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management and trains hospitality student interns on an on-going basis.  She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals where she serves on the Philadelphia chapter’s events committee, Women in Development New York, the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and is on the Alumni Council of Westminster College where she chairs the alumni/student relations committee.  Sharon is active at her church, University Lutheran Church of the Incarnation, where she has served as congregation president and is currently chairing the 40^th anniversary committee.