Annette M. Surani, CMP, DES
Business Events Strategist
Annette has been in association management and a meeting professional for 30+ years working with professional societies, trade associations and Boards of Certification. She has a proven track record managing trade shows and annual meetings, exemplary customer service and leadership. Annette is well-respected in the meetings and events industry and has held various positions within volunteer organizations. She served on the Professional Convention Management Association Capital Chapter Board of Directors 2008-2010 and 2012-2015. In 2014 she was the Chapter President where she worked in developing their three year strategic plan. In 2010 she was selected as the PCMA (National) Distinguished Member of the Year, their highest award. She is also active on local committees including Advocacy, Professional Development and Communications were she is a frequent contributor to the PCMA Capital Chatter newsletter. In 2017 she was selected as one of Smart Meetings Smartest Women in Meetings Award. She has dedicated her career to advancing the meetings and association industry through advocacy as well as content development for the associations she has worked.
Michael Romero, CEM
Director of Operations
Michael has over 15 years of association experience. Michael is active member of several meeting and event planning industry association such as the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) and the Society of Government Meeting Professionals. Michael achieved the Certified in Exhibition Management designation from the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) in December of 2008 and is currently working on earning other industry
certifications/designations.
Anne Knox, CMP
Director of Events and Client Engagement
Anne Knox, CMP started a non-profit that raised funds for other organizations through a series of events. Having raised more than $400,000 for local charities, it led to Anne’s first professional experience in meetings and events. Now more than 10 years later, she has organized small intimate meetings for 20, city wide conferences for 5,000, and art festivals with more than 50,000 attendees. Anne earned the designation of Certified Meeting Planner from the Events Industry Council and holds a certificate in Meeting and Event Design from San Diego State University. Anne thrives on building meaningful relationships with our clients. Her focus is on using events to
create communities, tell stories, and solve problems and making the participants’ experiences both personal and meaningful.