Chapter Leadership


ILEA Vancouver Board of Directors 2022-2023



CJm4E3vaT4OX7p5A8v6G_temp-T.jpgGillian’s passion for events stems from her early high school days where she helped plan several proms and homecoming dances (yes, she grew up in the USA). Fast forward a few years and a college degree later, Gillian found her calling helping organize private events and weddings while living the snowboarding life in Whistler. When that stopped being fun, Gillian moved to the beautiful city of Vancouver and she found herself working at a non-profit doing fundraising and stewardship events. After a brief hiatus from the event world, Gillian is back doing what she does best—producing award winning galas.
More about Gillian: Website | LinkedIn

daf95562-5a63-4524-b539-6dfd48f00872.jpgWhile still studying drama and events management, Nora already spent her summers working at music festivals and other live events, mainly to afford the tickets to yet more festivals, theatre and cultural events. After managing a theatre festival in Hamburg for two years, she moved to Berlin and organized galas, corporate events, street markets and supervised dance theatre productions and international concert tours. Her path led her to the Berlin Festival of Lights, where she gained experience in working with light art and large-scale projection mapping. For the Festival of Lights, she organized projection mappings and light festivals in Germany, Romania and Luxembourg. On the side, she started translating and content writing for VRtual X, a company specialized on VR, AR and virtual events and she is still doing this today. When she moved to Vancouver in 2017, Nora spent a fun summer working for the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival before joining Go2 Productions to work with projection mapping once again. When Covid-19 hit the event industry, she moved on to work in communications, marketing and virtual events for a local hybrid distribution agency.    More about Nora: LinkedIn

TM0b4NePTtubsP25Tvug_temp-M.jpgMike is VP of Business Development and Sales at SOS Charging Solutions. He's a family man who believes community is the key to success. Whether it's his neighbourhood, his soccer and softball communities or our community of event professionals, Mike works hard to be an active, contributing member in absurd and wonderfully creative ways. He tends to leverage the fifteen plus years he's spent in events and his career in professional sales, but mostly, it's his contagious energy and genuine excitement for your challenges that creates the long-term relationships he builds with the people around him. He's excited to help with Membership this year and encourages you to reach out, if you haven't already met one another.     
More about Mike:
WebsiteLinkedIn 

RgTcZPwaTvWZ3AvVnlug_temp-T.jpgWith over 15 years of experience as an event professional, Élise has a demonstrated history of working in the entertainment industry, non-profit sector, venue management and currently in event technology. Élise worked at the Vancouver Aquarium as the Conference Services Manager for 10 years, where she managed large 1500 person receptions, weddings, and intimate foodie events. She pursued  a new challenge in event sales and moved on to the Commodore Ballroom as the Special Event Sales Manager, where she increased event bookings and F&B sales by 38% in her first year.  Now as an Account Manager at Eventbase Technologies Inc, Élise manages multiple projects with enterprise companies such as SAP, CISCO, and Amazon. 
Élise is a results-oriented and self-motivated professional with an exceptional work ethic, and a proven track record of extraordinary achievements. She is skilled in working under pressure and in fast-paced environments where excellent organizational and time management abilities are often required.  Creating long lasting connections is a cornerstone of her professional development.

More about Élise: LinkedIn | Website | Instagram 

JosieJosie has been in customer service all of her adult life; she started out in the event industry 25 years ago as an assistant photographer to her husband’s business. 15 years ago, she made the decision to be one of the first people to bring Flipbooks to British Columbia. Her business has expanded over the years to now include Photobooths, Selfie Rings, Social Booths and the 360 Spin Booth. She was the also the first person to introduce the Selfie Ring to BC. Josie is passionate about what she does and prides herself on providing fun & outstanding service. After meeting her husband 33 years ago, she moved from her home country of Ireland and now has four kids who drive her passion to be the best at what she does. Josie joined ILEA to meet like minded people and to help others in the industry.  
More about Josie: Website





EricaErica has been working in events since the start of her career in media production as a video editor, multimedia producer and graphic designer. Starting as a graphic design sponsor for ILEA Vancouver before she was even a member, (!) Erica has been involved with ILEA now for over 4 years and now joins the board on the communications team. Erica joined ILEA primarily to network and attend events, having been on the production side so long. As a result, attending the ILEA Awards, Event Industry Parties and networking events has been not only great for social opportunities and a great source of business connections - being part of ILEA has also provided great intel on integration of my services in live events as a whole.
More about Erica: Website | InstagramVimeoLinkedIn

pI4dYEJNQRiaLAlTyzdv_temp.pngAn experienced Sales and Catering Manager, with 14 years in the Events industry working on an array of events including social affairs, concerts, large Association and Corporate events. Starting her career at the Westin Bayshore, to being the Theatre Sales Manager at the River Rock Casino Resort, to just recently being at the Vancouver Aquarium, she has had the opportunity to work for a diverse group of clients on intimate 25 people events, to large 2000 people events. Her passion for the industry can be credited to her father as he has welcomed and produced Indian Concerts within Vancouver for the last 30 years, through his company KVP Entertainers.  This exposure and mentorship has led to a love for events and a desire for continued learning and connection within the industry. This year she is working towards receiving CSEP certification. Confident the industry has to bounce back she wants to serve on the board to keep the passion alive. More about Riddhima:  LinkedIn

f3914073-d006-4bcd-8bb3-0e3521f06928.jpgAs an experienced Event Manager at BC Children's Hospital Foundation, Kelly produces the incredibly successful Crystal Ball. A fourteen year career has encompassed the development and revitalization of signature events including unforgettable experiences at Cantrav and the Vancouver Aquarium. Kelly thrives on challenge and excels in a fast paced, high pressure environment while maintaining the epitome of calm. Skilled in creative, logistical problem solving, with keen production & design sense and an infectiously enthusiastic attitude. A commitment to ILEA is her way of keeping her finger on the pulse of what’s new and exciting in the industry and the contacts made have been a wealth of information, and a constant source of support.  More about Kelly: WebsiteLinkedIn

VickiWith a passion for storytelling, branding, marketing, and executing unique and memorable events, Vicki lives and breathes communication in all its forms. She is a Langara Journalism graduate with 20+ years of experience in corporate and not-for-profit communications and events. Vicki currently leads a team of four equally engaged superstars at Peace Arch Hospital Foundation in White Rock who share her vision for inspiring philanthropy through innovation, creativity and spirited activations. Vicki oversees the annual Peace Arch Hospital Gala, which consistently raises around $1 million each year for health care in White Rock and South Surrey and has been named Best Themed Gala in the Lower Mainland since 2017. More about Vicki: LinkedIn

AshleighAshleigh is the Senior Events Officer at Peace Arch Hospital Foundation. When she isn’t coordinating fundraising and donor recognition events, she is coordinating the chaos at home. She lives on a farm with her husband, 2 daughters and many animals. She is a highly decorated equestrian and competes throughout North America on her Arabian horses. With just under 10 years in the event planning industry, implementing the re-development of Peace Arch Hospitals largest fundraising event, the annual Gala, has been her focus and highlight; an event that once would only fill half the room is now selling out in days and typically raising just under 1 million annually. She prides herself in creating a new experience each year with innovative and out of the box ideas, so that the guests never know what to expect when they attend one of her events. Ashleigh is very detail oriented, thrives in scenarios of high pressure while remaining calm and collected. She is excited to work with programs and creating exciting experiences for ILEA Vancouver members. More about Ashleigh:LinkedIn


ILEA Vancouver Past Presidents