Wearing a lot of hats, Carrie Abernathy joins Jack and Ellan from across the pond this week to tell us about her life as an award-winning Events Planner - she is currently the Lead Meeting Planner for Altria in the U.S.- as well as being a well-known blogger (Women with Drive), public speaker on subjects such as “Thought Leadership and Strategy”, mentor and founder of the Association for Women in Events (AWE).
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Originally studying to be a Clinical Psychologist at Virginia Tech., Carrie got bitten by the Events bug early on, resulting in her changing to study Meetings & Events in Australia. Since then, her career has taken her across the world, including a stint in Norway, all over the U.S. and even living on (and working from) a yacht.
When Carrie was only 23 she was putting together shows for the FBI and CIA and by 25 she found herself leading on huge international association events - doing crazy things like filling vast expo centre show halls with fire trucks! She’s become a bit more Rock Star now and gets to work behind the scenes at prestigious event such as The Grammy Awards, The Emmys and the MTV Music Awards.
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She launched The Association for Women in Events and its conference “Elevate”, and works with other similar organisations championing racial and gender equality in the industry - citing persistence and tenacity as two of her greatest strengths.
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When it was first suggested to Carrie the psychology student that she should become an Events Planner all those years ago, her initial response was “That’s not a real job”. Fast forward 20+ years and she proudly declares that it’s her dream job. Her positive mindset has clearly paved the way to where she is today - truly a woman drive!
Full Episode available to download now from