ABOUT EXPERT EVENTS
“Sharon knows her business and she had the experience to guide us through the gauntlet of nuances that make or break events. Every aspect of our 125th Anniversary kick-off event at Pittsburgh Duquesne Club was a smashing success.”
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.
Based on this experience, Sharon feels strongly about focusing her skills and expertise to service only academic and non-profit institutions. Her primary focus with Expert Events is working with these institutions to help them set goals and develop strategic plans for their events, and find creative and meaningful means of communicating their messages and mission in order to engage their constituents. Primarily Sharon’s focus is on milestone events such as anniversaries, inaugurations, groundbreakings, building openings, and campaign launches offering consulting and hands-on event production services. She brings over 25 years of both on-staff and consulting experience, providing innovative event solutions including the support and collateral materials, and the tie-in with overall marketing, public relations and fundraising goals. She also assists many of her clients with evaluating their in-house event operations in order to help them streamline their efforts with staffing, budgeting and logistical recommendations.
THE EVENT MANAGEMENT TEAM – involved in both planning and on-site event execution
These team members bring a combined 50 years of experience in managing major events and will be assigned based on our client's needs
Permanent Staff Event Staff
Rebekah Bergey John Dougherty Jennifer Fair Victoria Ellington
Jennifer Reynolds
Anna Steel
Clemente Torres
John Zenkowich
Open Air, 2013 Public Art Project in Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering, Annual Holiday Event
Feastival, 2013 Fundraiser in Philadelphia
Africare, Annual Gala in Washington, D.C.
Rutgers business school, 250th anniversary weekend
OUR FREQUENT PARTNERS
Should the clients' needs dictate, Expert Events reaches out to highly qualified and seasoned partners to provide:
VIDEO PRODUCTION
On several occasions, Expert Events has had the opportunity to partner with Rich Tolsma Productions and highly recommend them. The video materials the RTP team produces create lasting impressions on our clients’ donors and have been recognized by CASE. www.richtolsmaproductions.com ››
A/V & TECHNICAL SUPPORT
We highly recommend Take One Production – the AV partner that helps to secure the timing and the extra mile of service that all events require. www.takeoneproduction.net ››
COMMUNICATIONS/ SPEECH WRITING
Expert Events frequently partners with Rand Walton of Walton Strategic Communications who brings nearly three decades of writing experience to benefit our clients. Rand personally engages with our clients to understand their visions and objectives for each event and produces outstanding results. He produces speeches, talking points, and other event communications for academia and non-profit functions. www.waltonstrategic.com ››
PR MEDIA RELATIONS
Expert Events subcontracts to Kris Parsons of Parsons PR. She has spearheaded numerous press events, many of which have garnered national press interest. In addition, through her considerable media contacts, she has secured media sponsorships for many non-profit clients, resulting in promotion, advertising, and media coverage for the event. www.parsons-pr.com ››