Experience Makers: Building Careers That Connect The World

Brandon Peters is the Account Manager in Corporate Engagement for EDUCAUSE. Brandon helps organizations elevate their brand and thought leadership within the higher education technology community. At EDUCAUSE, I work with corporate partners to design sponsorship strategies that increase visibility and engagement with institutional IT leaders. Through conferences and digital programs, he connects organizations with their target audiences shaping the future of higher education technology. My work focuses on building relationships that develop into long-term partnerships between institutions and industry. Brandon is passionate about the power of events to bring people together, share ideas, and drive meaningful connections. He also enjoys supporting students and emerging professionals interested in careers in the events industry.

Skye Richardson is an Event Coordinator at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC). Her role is to collaborate with event planners to plan, organize, and manage meetings, expos, and conferences of various sizes ranging from ballrooms to exhibit halls. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Administration in 2023 and Master's degree in Global Hospitality Management in 2024 at Georgia State University. In college, Skye was the Communications Chair and worked her way up to Vice President of the International Association of Exhibitions & Events (IAEE) Georgia State University Student Chapter. Additionally, she was a recipient of the IAEE Helen Brett Scholarship and selected to intern at the 2022 IAEE convention, Expo! Expo!

Abby Abdala Graham, CEM has worked in the exhibitions and events industry for more than 10 years. She first discovered the industry while attending Johnson & Wales University, where she helped establish the IAEE Student Chapter. Through that chapter, she attended Expo! Expo! and made valuable industry connections that led to her first role after graduation. Abby has served as Associate Director of Exhibits and Sponsorships at the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) for the past eight years, where she focuses on sponsorship development and strategic partnership programs. She also recently joined The Deondo Company, creator of NOOK Event Pods—mobile meeting spaces designed for trade shows and events—as a Sales Consultant helping expand partnerships and market presence. Abby’s focus on sponsorship strategy and strategic planning has helped shape a well-rounded career in the exhibitions industry.   

Jody M. Shaw, CMP, CEM, PMP, MS, Prosci, is the Director of Learning Experiences for the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE). She joined IAEE in June 2025 and she is responsible for educational logistics for webinars and annual conferences. She oversees the IAEE Learning Management System (LMS) and assists with the IAEE Education Committee, Expo! Expo! and the IAEE Leadership Institute, and leads the IAEE's Independent Organizer and IAEE's Emerging Leaders programming. Throughout Jody's career education, events, innovation, and creating a positive impact for non-profits have always been her focus. Jody's experience in events for the last two decades has ranged from overseeing innovative and nimble small events with 60 attendees to large in-person events with up to 25k attendees. Her project management experience has included re-designing Learning Management Systems, creating automated workflows, and large-scale multi-year and multi-Million-Dollar capital improvement projects.