IF OVERNIGHT JUST ISNT 2-1-2002

Meetings & Conventions: People February 2002

People

By Terence Baker

Christa Salibo is an Irving, Texas-based meeting planner for Accenture, which until January 2001 was known as Andersen Consulting. The small team she is part of plans between 200 and 350 meetings and events per year, ranging in size from 10 to 2,500 people, in the Dallas, Ft. Worth and Austin areas. Salibo has been in the industry for six years.

How did you get into meeting planning? Initially, I worked for a small special-events company in Atlanta, where I was responsible for sales and facilitation. Having a knowledge of both proved invaluable. Then I worked for Andersen Consulting in its human resources department, but I soon realized that I wanted to get back into planning.

Does anything about meeting planning still surprise you? Absolutely especially the abundance of creativity that comes into play. There are just so many ideas out there, and I love incorporating them into the planning of events. Also, a nice surprise was how well the whole industry managed to come together following the terrible events of Sept. 11.

What is your workplace environment like? I really have no office. I’m out at events a lot, and at other times I find myself stuck in a corridor. We work in an area occupied by a finance department. They’re very quiet, and we’re not. I’m sure they think we’re out of our minds most of the time.

What do you do in your spare time? I play the piano and compose music. I perform occasionally, and I used to be in a band with my brother and sister. My style of music is alternative-folk; my favorite musicians are Sarah McLachlan and Natalie Merchant.

PLANNERS

Lani joins Union Bank of California
Lisa Lani, CMP, has joined the Union Bank of California as corporate events manager, heading up the 9,000-employee organization’s newly centralized events management function. Lani, a board member of the Orange County chapter of Meeting Professionals International, is based in Los Angeles.

Nelson-Duerr starts at Harrington
Twana Nelson-Duerr has been appointed meeting planner at Harrington Co., an association management firm based in Minneapolis, where she will manage the Professional Liability Underwriters Society. Prior to this, Nelson-Duerr worked for Stratyc, a dotcom owned by H.B. Fuller Co.