Project Management & Event Planning
Strong, seamless project management is the glue that holds the rest of our work together.
As the daughter of an Organizational Psychologist (thanks, dad), I was raised learning about the motivational impact of effective leadership and project management. It is quite literally baked into my genes.
As a proud anti-capitalist, I am very much a fan of working more efficiently instead of simply working more. My approach to project management reflects this, and it makes project partners excited to work with me.
My approach to project management has four central pillars: collaboration, clear communication, feedback, and flexibility. (CCCFF? Seems too long to be an acronym, but too many repeated letters not to be…)
My all-time favorite project management tool is Asana (I know I am not alone in this), but I'll always be a sucker for a good Google Sheet. But— if there's a tool you prefer, I'm happy to shift!
Project Examples
A Language Guide for Journalists and Communities: Abortion and Reproductive Care
I believe that making a project feel collaborative every step of the way is key to making team members feel invested in its success. When I project managed A Language Guide for Journalists and Communities: Abortion and Reproductive Care in partnership with ARC Southeast, we began with a meeting where I reviewed my initial thoughts and wrapped with a simple question: what needs to change?
I then built out a project plan, with roles, responsibilities, and deadlines all clearly communicated. I ushered the project along with weekly check-ins by email and Zoom, each session starting and ending with an invitation for feedback.
However, we know the rhythms of work under capitalism are often out of sync with the rhythms of life and the world around us. In the weeks leading up to the SCOTUS ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson, our team met and recognized that we were all feeling burnt out. Rather than forcing ourselves to push forward, we had an honest conversation about our priorities and decided the best decision for all involved was to shift the timeline to allow for rest.
Along with other skills, my experience in project management set me up to be naturally savvy at my newest professional passion: event planning.
Event planning is a natural extension of several of my existing skills, making it one of my favorite services to provide!
HoliGays Extravaganza to Benefit Umeshiso
In December 2022, I co-organized and project managed a holiday benefit event with Jackie Nguyen of Cafe Cà Phê, Kansas City’s first Vietnamese-owned coffee shop, on behalf of Umeko Motoyoshi's Umeshiso Coffee Supply. This event had a ton of moving parts, so I began by meticulously laying out a project plan that I used throughout our 6-week planning period to shepherd our project along and make sure both Jackie and I met critical deadlines. This included pitching sponsors, issuing a press release, gathering supplies, creating a glittery signature beverage called The Gaysian, and making sure everyone had the information they needed to succeed.
Building on the relationships I’ve fostered with coffee companies through my 8 years in the coffee industry, I managed to secure sponsorship from 21 sponsors in Q4, which is inarguably the toughest time of the year to pitch sponsorship since most organizations have already spent the majority of their marketing budgets. Using our product donations, I organized a digital raffle and raised over $5000 in less than 72 hours. In total, our event raised nearly $10K to support Umeshiso, a KCMO-based small coffee business.
The culminating event lasted seven hours and brought over 500 people through Cafe Cà Phê’s doors. Our event was featured in a number of local and national publications, including Kansas City Pitch, Sprudge, and Catcall Magazine. It was truly an event for the ages.
Testimonials
Testimonials
"YOU. MUST. WORK. WITH. ARIELLE. TRUST. ME. Working with Arielle has been quite literally LIFE CHANGING. My coffeeshop had the immense pleasure of working with them on a big Holiday event in Kansas City called "The Holigays". I was so impressed by Arielle's professionalism, kind and patient heart, organization skills, and time management that I asked them to be part of my coffeeshop team. Arielle has been an asset to my company in many ways. They've created an amazing beginning foundation for my company, helping me organize and manage my small business. This is going to set me up for so much success, and I attribute this all to Arielle's outstanding work ethic and heart."
—Jackie Nguyen, Owner at Cafe Cà Phê
"My favorite part of working with Arielle is their way to apply their years of experience to elevate our programs to be more accessible and run smoother, all while keeping the fabulous energy alive. From taking photos of over 20 program participants across three days to coordinating social media calendars, they are a skilled chameleon in supporting and running media and events."
—Veronica Pearl, Chief Glitter Officer at Glitter Cat Barista
