The upcoming August Spark: Excellence in Business Events features the session “Strategies for Success” in which industry leaders will explore the strategies and best practices that have propelled them to excellence. Attendees will see presentations from award nominees in various categories, such as Event Designer of the Year, Business Events Strategist of the Year, and Digital Experience Strategist of the Year. Let’s meet the speakers!
Kirsten Olean, CAE, CMP, is Senior Director of Meeting Planning & Design at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a position she assumed in August 2019. Kirsten provides strategic leadership for the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference and other meetings and events of the Foundation. She provides oversight and direction to a team that includes program management, logistics, exhibit operations, registration and housing. Kirsten served on the PCMA Board of Directors from 2015-2022 and was Chair in 2021, became a member of the PCMA Foundation’s Legacy Society in 2015, and is the 2016 recipient of PCMA’s prestigious Meeting Professional of the Year Award.
Sara Stehle, CMP, CAE, is an Independent Planner and Owner of Wow Moments Experience & Event Design. She has worked in the meeting and events industry since 2011 and has spent many years volunteering, mentoring, and advocating for her profession. Sara has managed events and conferences from 150 to 25,000 attendees which include live, digital and hybrid events. She has been highlighted in multiple publications including Associations Now Magazine, Meetings and Conventions Magazine, and Smart Meetings Magazine. Sara was a 2024 Nominee for a PCMA Visionary Awards in Digital Events, a 2024 Smart Women in Meetings Awardee in the Entrepreneur Category, and is the incoming vice chair for ASAE’s Meetings and Exposition Council.
Matthew Wales, CMP, CAE, joined the team at the American Trucking Associations (ATA) in August 2022 as the Vice President, Event Services. In his time with ATA, he has realigned the event management process by hiring new personnel and aligning job responsibilities to develop more inclusive, engaging, and fiscally responsible events. Under his guidance, the Event Services team designs and implements eleven annual meetings a year for its various conferences, ranging in size from 500 to 5000 attendees, as well as manages ATA’s Conference Center. Wales is an active member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and has served both as the president of the Potomac Chapter and on several global committees. He is a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, and currently serves on several advisory councils designed to enhance and improve the events industry.
