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The Planning Dynamics team has demonstrated
incredible success at producing highly successful, multifaceted events
for corporations, government and nonprofit organizations. That success
comes from the breadth and depth of talents we can draw on in orchestrating
each event.
Our team, while representing a diverse set of backgrounds, experiences
and skills, shares the common vision that guides the work we do for
clients, and is supported by a global network of associates.
RUTH
STERGIOU, CMP – Founder and Principal
SUSANN S. THON
– Registrations Director
LILIS BUMGARDNER
– Events Manager
LAURA DECK
– Program Manager
PAULA HERMAN
– Author Liaison
CHRISTINA RODRIGUEZ
– Registrations Manager
LAMBROS D. STERGIOU
– Director of Finance
Ruth A. Stergiou, CMP
Founder and Principal
Ruth Stergiou is Principal Owner of Planning Dynamics. For 19 years
she served as the founding Executive Director of the Professional
Business Women of California (PBWC), designing and building their
two successful annual conferences in San Francisco and Sacramento
to 5,000 and 3,000 attendees respectively. Ruth also produced the
highly-acclaimed California Governor's Conference for Women in Los
Angeles for 17 years, working with four administrations, and building
the conference to more than 10,000 participants. Prior to founding
Planning Dynamics, Ruth produced conferences and special events state
wide to international in scope, including conferences in Europe, the
Near East and South Asia.
In 2006 Ruth co-founded Invent Your Future Enterprises, a training
and development company specializing in the retention, development
and acceleration of women leaders. The company offers talent development
programs; tools and toolkits; online and offline skill-building events;
and organizational consulting. Invent Your Future partners with companies
in all industries to assure the success of their efforts to retain
and develop their women employees.
Ruth serves as a faculty member for San Jose State University's Professional
Development Center and on the Advisory Board of the Anita Borg Institute
for Women and Technology. In 1992, Ruth was recognized by the Northern
California Chapter of Meeting Planners International with the Meeting
Planner of the Year Award. She holds a B.A. (Hons.) degree in Geography
from Leeds University in England. She has been featured in the San
Jose and Silicon Valley Business Journal’s "Who's Who in
Silicon Valley Business." Ruth is a regular guest speaker at
conferences and universities.
Susann Simpson Thon
Director of Registrations
Since 1989, Susann has directed the registration process for some
of Planning Dynamics’ most complex events. Her largest projects
include the California Governor’s Conference and the annual
conferences for the Professional BusinessWomen of California.
Susann is a member of Meeting Planners International (NCCMPI), and
has conducted classes on the Registration Process for the Certified
Meeting Professional training programs sponsored by NCCMPI. She holds
a BA in Education from Ohio State University, Columbus Ohio and an
MA in Comparative Literature from the University of California, San
Diego.
Lilis Bumgardner, CMP
Events Manager
Lilis joined Planning Dynamics in May 2004 and brings a wealth of
professional experience to the team that supports Planning Dynamics
clients.
In this position, Lilis is responsible for the planning and implementation
of major events, on-site operations management, and development of
marketing collateral. Lilis utilizes a diverse background in marketing,
event production, and event management to execute Planning Dynamics’
complex programs including the Professional BusinessWomen of California
Conference and the California Governor’s Conference for Women.
Prior to joining the Planning Dynamics, Lilis worked as a Marketing
Specialist with Kopin Corporation.
At Kopin, she was responsible for corporate events, trade shows, sales
and customer meetings, and product launch events. She also was a key
player in the marketing campaigns for new products and ongoing products.
Lilis holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Southern
New Hampshire University and a certificate in Event and Meeting Planning
from San Jose State University, California. She is a member of Meeting
Professionals International (MPI) and International Special Events
Society (ISES).
Laura Deck
Program Manager
Laura has been with Planning Dynamics, Inc. since July, 2003 and has
helped design programs for the California Governor’s Conferences
for Women, the Professional BusinessWomen of California and the Young
Women’s Health Conferences. Her responsibilities include research,
curriculum design, speaker management, copywriting, editing, and production
of print and online materials.
Prior to Planning Dynamics, Laura was a Senior Manager at Accenture,
LLP, where she provided Human Performance and Change Management consulting
in the utilities, telecommunications, and products industries for
15 years. Her areas of expertise include corporate communications,
training design and development, organizational change, large-scale
project management, software development process improvement, and
marketing. She was actively involved in Accenture’s Women’s
Networking Group as a speaker and mentor.
She has a BA in Social Science from the University of California,
Berkeley and a Master of Science in Educational Psychology from California
State University, Hayward.
Paula Herman
Author Liaison
Paula Herman has sourced speakers for Planning Dynamics since October,
2006. With established relationships with major book publishers in
New York City and throughout the country, Paula has successfully scheduled
and coordinated such speakers as: Carly Fiorina, Arianna Huffington,
Sec. Madeleine Albright, Cokie Roberts, Martha Beck, Christoper Flett,
Rene Syler and more.
Prior to 2006, Paula worked at Book Passage in Corte Madera, where
she ran their author event program for 8 years. She has worked with
authors such as: Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, Al Gore,
Hillary Clinton, Salman Rushdie, Michael Chabon, Isabel Allende, Anthony
Bourdain, and Dave Barry. Paula holds a master's degree in Speech
Therapy from the University of Florida and practiced in Miami. She
moved to California in 1998 where she began a new career in author
event planning.
Christina Rodriquez
Registrations Manager
Since 1990, Cristina has served as registrations manager for events
produced by Planning Dynamics, including the San Francisco and Sacramento
conferences for the Professional BusinessWomen of California, the
Service and Volunteerism Conference, a Health Conference for Stanford
University and the California Governor’s Conference for Women.
Bi-lingual in English and Spanish, she holds an associate degree in
Convention Planning from Skyline Community College.
Lambros D. Stergiou, MBA
Director of Finance
Lambros Stergiou joined Planning Dynamics as a principal owner in
1991. He is responsible for business management, fiscal reporting
and management information systems. In addition, he designs and maintains
the computer network systems. Lambros holds a MBA degree from Golden
Gate University in San Francisco. An engineer by background, he has
extensive experience both in international business and small business
management.
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