The Leadership Team

Kim joined the tradeshow business in 2001 working at Freeman and then moving on to working at a display house. For her, it was really exciting traveling across the country to various events but she wanted to settle down.

Kim relocated from Washington, DC to Fort Worth in 2018. Edlen’s Fort Worth branch had just opened and she began her Edlen career. Kim was thrilled to be a part of a newly-formed team and looks forward to sharing Edlen’s culture and first class customer service at the Fort Worth Convention Center and Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum.

In her free time, Kim enjoys being outdoors. She hikes, bikes, paddle boards and loves being by the water. The perfect day for her would be on a boat with my dog in Annapolis Harbor. Kim looks forward to exploring Fort Worth more.

Vanessa is a South Florida Native and joined Edlen in 1995. During her Edlen career, she has held the positions of Event Manager, National Sales Manager and Assistant General Manager of Edlen’s Miami office prior to becoming General Manager in 2014. Vanessa has worked with the following events: Miami International Auto Show, Maison and Objet, Florida International Medical Expo, HIMSS, Seatrade Cruise Global, MLB Fan Fest and IDEA. Additionally, Vanessa has managed electrical operations at the Fontainebleau since the November 2008 Grand Opening, including overseeing such events as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, NIKE, Live with Regis and Kelly and many New Year’s Eve Concerts.

When not working, Vanessa enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, snow skiing, snorkeling and just about anything that involves the ocean.

Maritza Argenal works out of Edlen’s Miami office and has been with the company since 2014. Maritza has been in sales and event management for over 20 years. She has worked in broadcast sales, real estate and convention services. She is a native of New Jersey, but has lived in South Florida since 2004. She has a Bachelor of Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, baking and doing arts and crafts with her nieces.

Tom Ballantine began his career in the Convention Center and Events industry more than three decades ago as the first Director of Operations for the Valley Forge Convention Center.

As a senior level executive, Tom’s expertise is convention center and event operations, business planning and strategy, life safety and security, client relations, finances and vertical expansion. As a visionary leader, Tom also owns and operates private convention venues as well as trade and consumer shows throughout the country. His projects foster an environment of creativity and originality. His forte is large scale special events, theme park productions and venue management.

Appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Edlen Electrical Orlando in 2013, Tom brings the client’s perspective to Edlen. Some of Tom’s accomplishments include the formation of Edlen’s international theme park and emergency services divisions.

Barb Billmyer is a veteran of the Las Vegas hospitality industry. She began her career in Casino Marketing in 1997, moving to Hotel Sales in 2001. She worked at a variety of properties both on and off the Las Vegas Strip before joining Edlen in 2015. Through her years of experience, Barb prides herself on identifying clients’ needs and providing successful solutions.

Barb and a small group of friends have matching tattoos. They frequently travel to music festivals together and enjoy spending a lazy day by the pool with a cocktail.

Liz Brostrom has over 20 years of sales and operational experience in both the technology and hospitality sectors. She has developed and managed high-performing teams.

Liz joined Edlen in 2008 as the Assistant General Manager of the Seattle office, and was later promoted to General Manager. Her role is to manage operations and sales in a fast-growing Seattle market. She loves to drive a “value-added” focus to her team and her clients, which leads to high-quality performance and profitable business outcomes.

In her free time, Liz enjoys spending time with her family and friends and loves hiking and gardening.

A 25-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Jaleh Browder has extensive experience in tradeshow & events project management, having previously worked as an Event Sales & Marketing Manager, an Exhibitor Services Manager at GES, Facility & Catering Sales Manager at the San Diego Convention Center and an Operations/Project Manager for Sparks Exhibits. She is a member of the San Diego Chapter of the California Society of Association Executives (CalSAE), MPI, IAEE and PCMA.

In 2019, Jaleh proudly joined Edlen in the position of General Manager to support the San Diego Team with day-to-day operations management. The majority of her duties include managing all aspects of Edlen business in the San Diego branch while overseeing staff and assisting the Team with coordinating temporary utility services for all venue event activity.

Jaleh enjoys volunteering and mentoring youth in the San Diego community. She is involved with Junior Achievement, the Boy Scouts of America and Boys & Girls Club of Greater San Diego, where she serves as a community leader heading up numerous programs. She appreciates family time spent outdoors close to the beach.

Melanie joined Edlen in 2001 as an Event Services Manager on the Mandalay Bay event team, where she worked alongside Liz Henry and helped to oversee the successful installation of events such as JCK, Licensing Expo, Specialty Graphic Imaging Association, Surfaces, MAGIC, GlobalShop and IBM, eventually becoming the Assistant General Manager. In 2018 she was promoted to the role of General Manager of the Las Vegas office, where she manages a diverse team of individuals who are devoted to delivering first class service.

Melanie devotes her free time to her two children, fiancé, and their three dogs. She loves to travel, ski, hike and cook for all of them.

Out of college, Brittany worked at a Media Advertising company for five years. In 2013 she accepted a position as an Event Coordinator at the Long Beach Convention Center. It was there that she fell in love with the event services industry and knew she couldn’t pass up an offer to work for Edlen.

Brittany joined Edlen in 2014 as an Event Services Coordinator and played a key role in transitioning to the new partnership with the Los Angeles Convention Center. Over the next two years she was promoted to Event Manager and then Senior Event Manager. Brittany was promoted to General Manager in 2019 and now manages operations and leads the teams in our Anaheim, Pasadena and Los Angeles Convention Center offices. Brittany has worked on many large events out of the So Cal office including; OFC, Beatles 50th Grammy Salute, Anime Expo and Primetime Emmy Awards Governors Ball.

Brittany has a BA in Business Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She earned a scholarship and played Division I softball as the Gaucho’s starting shortstop. Brittany enjoys spending time with family and friends, including her two beautiful daughters. She’s an avid LA sports fan and travels to the lake/river any chance she gets.

Before joining Edlen, Diane DeBarros worked in the hotel industry, tradeshow management and registration. She joined Edlen in 2010 as the General Manager of Edlen’s Baltimore branch. She oversees all operations in Maryland and manages the Baltimore team. Throughout her tenure, Diane has managed major events held at the Baltimore Convention Center, including, but not limited to, Natural Products Expo East, MANTS, NASCC, and the Baltimore Comic Con.

Mark Galstaun started his career in the trade show industry in 1980, working as an electrician for Rowan Northwest Decorators.

In 1987 Mark became the Electrical Manager of Tradeshow Convention Services in Seattle. During this time, he earned his Washington State Electrical Administrator’s License and in 1992 took over managing the in-house electrical contract at the Washington State Convention Center.

Mark joined Edlen in 1999 after the acquisition of Tradeshow Convention Services by GES. As General Manager, Mark established exclusive contracts with the CenturyLink Field and Event Center, Lynnwood Convention Center, and the Washington State Convention Center.

In 2012 Mark was promoted to Vice President of Northwest Operations to oversee the continued growth of the northwest region.

Before Edlen, Briana worked at an optometrist for 5 years.

She joined Edlen in 2011 as a receptionist and became an Event Services Coordinator in 2013. As an Event Services Coordinator, Briana found her passion and love for the hospitality and events industry. In 2014, she was promoted to Event Services Manager. She got promoted to Assistant General Manager in 2018.

Briana and her husband enjoy spending time in their new house. Briana also loves meeting new people, trying new restaurants, singing and enjoying all that life has to offer.

Prior to Felicia’s career with Edlen, she attended undergrad at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial Science.

Felicia joined Edlen in 2007 in St. Louis as an Event Manager, worked her way up to a Senior Event Manager, was promoted to Assistant General Manager in 2013 and to General Manager in 2018. In her current role, she oversees the St. Louis team and the branch operations. Throughout her time with Edlen, Felicia has had the pleasure of working events such as HIMMS, Cast Expo, FIRST Championship and MLB All-Star FanFest, to name a few.

When Felicia isn’t working, she enjoys fitness, crafting, traveling and spending time with her family and friends.

Elizabeth Henry joined Edlen in 1999 as an Event Services Manager in the Las Vegas office. In 2001, she moved to Mandalay Bay as the property Event Services Manager and became the venue’s Senior Event Manager in 2003. Due to her excellent leadership skills, she became the General Manager at Mandalay Bay. More recently, she was promoted to Director of Events in Las Vegas in 2015.

In her free time, Elizabeth spends a lot of time with her family at the pool and at various concerts. She is a foodie and knows all the best restaurants in Las Vegas.

Yuhi Kim is a Las Vegas native and a graduate of the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at UNLV.

She joined Edlen in 2014 as an Event Services Coordinator at the Mandalay Bay office where she was quickly promoted to Event Services Manager. She later served as the branch’s Senior Event Services Manager and Assistant General Manager. Over the years, she has produced notable events including JCK, Black Hat, VMworld, and she also serviced the 2016 Democratic National Convention. In 2018, Yuhi joined Edlen’s San Francisco team as Assistant General Manager overseeing operations for events in the Bay Area. In 2020, Yuhi was promoted to General Manager of the San Francisco branch.

Yuhi loves world travel and the great outdoors visiting at least one new country every year. She’s a certified scuba diver but doesn’t like the beach. In the winter, if she’s not servicing a show, you can find her on the mountain snowboarding.

Jennifer Maloney worked in the insurance industry for 12 years prior to joining the tradeshow industry. She has over 20 years of experience in customer service, sales and relationship building.

Jennifer has been with Edlen since 2006. She worked at the MGM Grand and the Mirage prior to becoming the General Manager of the Las Vegas branch. In 2018, she became a National Director of Event Services and helped open Edlen’s new Fort Worth office.

Jennifer is a Wyoming native, and has lived Las Vegas since 1990 with her husband and two children. She loves to visit the ocean, listen to music, and, most of all, sing.

Before working for Edlen, Steve Mariakis was a long-time customer in many cities where Edlen does business. Steve eventually joined the Edlen team when the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland opened in 2013. He has been in the trade show business for over 25 years. “I’ve always had a high level of respect for Edlen and the service they provided to my company as an exhibit manager,” Steve says. He has a great staff in Cleveland, ready to serve all the events and shows in our facility.

Steve likes to take advantage of the warm weather months by motorcycling and gardening. In the winter, he skis and assists disabled people in an adaptive ski program called “3 Trackers of Ohio.” He always enjoys having his children and grandchildren over to visit.

Bill is a seasoned professional in the event operations industry. Bill has held management positions with various organizations including Event Operations at Universal Orlando Resort where he coordinated television productions, marquee events, private corporate productions and park-wide events. He also served as Director of Event Operations for a national events management company specializing in non-profit fundraising events and tournaments.

Bill likes football, soccer, fishing and being out on the water.

Shawna came to Edlen family with years of past event management and corporate experience. Prior to Edlen, she was the Corporate Event Manager/Administrator for Minus5 Ice Lounge, handling functions, back-of-house operations and guest relations for the lounge.

She began her career with Edlen in 2015, working her way up to Assistant General Manager in 2018. In her current role, Shawna has the opportunity to utilize all skill sets, from strategic planning for each show that comes in to both internal and external customer service, in diverse and varied settings. She has successfully helped produce some of the largest shows at Mandalay Bay, including IBM Think, ISA Sign Expo and Microsoft.

In her free time, Shawna enjoys relaxing “me” shopping days, dining and the occasional karaoke night. She also loves travel and the ocean.

Tim is from a small town in Indiana where he started in the electrical trade. He began his career with Edlen Orlando in May 1999. For close to 20 years, Tim has been an integral part of powering Universal Studios marquee events like Halloween Horror Nights, Mardi Gras, The Today Show, and Grand Openings of new rides and venues such as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Volcano Bay Water Park.

In his new role as Assistant General Manager, Tim utilizes his many years of field experience to find new ways to streamline operations, as well as supporting his Orlando team with anything they may need.

Tim has three wonderful children and a wife, Joy. His family has been his support group for the “fun, crazy, interesting, and stressful events” that he has had the pleasure of working on for the past 20 years.

Julie Pazina joined Edlen in 2006 and is the company’s National Director of Sales, overseeing sales in the Las Vegas market, as well as regional and national sales efforts. She served on the Board of the Las Vegas Hospitality Association for six years, including her tenure as President in 2013. Julie is also a member of the Junior League of Las Vegas, is an active community volunteer and is a member of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, which named her its 2011 Young Professional of the Year.

Julie and her husband Joel live in Henderson with their golden retrievers, Midas and Molly.

Daniel Pete has over ten years of event production/management experience, spending time managing promotional events for NBC affiliate KSL5 News in Salt Lake City. He spent five years producing 5K running events all over the US, Canada and Australia, travelling to events almost every weekend throughout the year. He was the Marketing and Events Manager for the Cache County Event Center, and served as an Event Sales Manager for the Kansas City Chiefs.

At Edlen, Daniel oversees all day-to-day operations of the San Antonio branch.

In his free time, Daniel enjoys being with his kids, hiking and camping. He has visited 48 states, with only North Dakota and Maine left to go.

Prior to joining Edlen, Rae Podrebarac ran conventions and events across the country as both an event manager and a booth manager. She also did a stint in corporate training for an international game company.

In 2010 Rae joined the Edlen team as an Event Manager, and has been promoted three times to end up in her current position as an Assistant General Manager for the Seattle branch. In 2015 the Washington State Convention Center asked her to spearhead the new Exhibitor Services Department, and she still manages three full-time team members in that department in addition to leading local training and development initiatives.

When she’s not on the job, Rae enjoys playing video games, spending time with her husband and greyhounds, reading Japanese comics, and traveling the world in search of new adventures.

Kelly Putich started her career in the convention industry in 1983, when she joined Expo Tech Electrical and Plumbing Services. During her time with Expo Tech, she worked on some of the largest trade shows and special events in every convention center, including the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Kelly joined Edlen in 1995, where she wore many hats, from Event Services Manager and Director of Operations to General Manager. In 2016, she was promoted to National Director of Event Services. She has worked on almost every large event across the country such as the 1996 and 2000 Republican National Conventions, HIMSS Chicago 2015, the Democratic National Convention in 2016, IPC-APEX, and OFC. She assisted in the opening of our Baltimore office in 2010, and played a key role in transitioning the new partnership with the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2013 as the preferred electrical and plumbing contractor for the building.

When she’s not at work, Kelly enjoys going on adventures with her family, spending time with her grandbabies and watching the LA Dodgers and USC Trojans.

Matt joined Edlen in 2017 as General Manager of the Chicago branch office. With over 25 years of experience in the Chicago events industry, Matt brings keen business acumen and strategic orientation to Edlen’s management team.

Prior to joining Edlen, Matt served as Director of Meetings and Events for Shop Environments Association, a non-profit trade association representing more than 2,000-member companies worldwide.

As General Manager of the Lake County Fairgrounds and Event Center, Matt provided the hands-on leadership to drive the financial success of the enterprise, with P&L responsibility for venue marketing and rental, event services, food and beverage concessions, facility maintenance, public safety, budgeting and financial reporting.

As Vice President, Operations for River West Meeting Associates, Matt played a leadership role in the startup and daily management of the agency, providing a high level of consultative expertise to Fortune 500 clients.

Matt is an avid Cubs and Bears fan and knows all the best restaurants in Chicago.

Dolores Schreiver joined Edlen in 2017 in the position of National Sales Manager. Prior to joining Edlen, she held positions in the hospitality industry ranging from Sales Manager to Assistant VP Regional Marketing at MGM and Caesars properties for casino customers. Besides the “high rollers”, opportunities afforded her to meet people from Mike Tyson to Elton John.

Her responsibilities in the San Francisco Branch are to nurture and strengthen relationships with the San Jose Convention Center, Santa Clara Convention Center, San Mateo Event Center, and Fort Mason, as well as work with their clients and seek out new venue opportunities.

Dolores, better known to friends/colleagues as “Dee”, enjoys traveling, wine tasting, and doing volunteer opportunities with her golden retriever, Harley, a rescue from Taiwan, who is trained as a therapy dog.

Bob joined Edlen as Director of Sales of the Anaheim office in 2017. Bob has extensive knowledge of the hospitality industry, including Hotel and Resort sales and marketing, destination marketing and meeting and event services. Prior to joining Edlen he was an independent contractor for the meeting planning and event management company, Experient.

Bob also served as Vice President of Sales & Marketing and COO of The Huntington Beach Marketing and Visitors Bureau in Huntington Beach, California. Prior, he spent almost 30 years working for Hyatt Hotels Corporation in the fields of sales, marketing and public relations. His most recent roles include Director of Worldwide Sales for Asia-Pacific, Director of Sales and Marketing for Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa and Hyatt Regency Long Beach. Bob is a current Board member and Past President of the Southwest & Pacific Chapter of PCMA and a member of IAEE.

When he’s not at work, Bob enjoys traveling, working out, cooking and spending time with his black lab.

Zach Wetterling is a former attorney that received his Juris Doctorate from the William S. Boyd School of Law and his Master of Business Administration from Lee Business School in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prior to his studies at UNLV, Zach earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a Minor in Biological Sciences from the University of California – Davis.

Zach has a history of part-time work with Edlen but started back with Edlen full-time in 2018 as an Event Manager. He is now one of the Assistant General Managers at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. At Mandalay Bay, he has had the opportunity to work on and produce many large events such as Super Zoo, International Surfaces Event, WPPI, MAGIC, Oracle MCX/MBX, and Microsoft Inspire + Ready. He has also played a part in producing large events in other offices such as IBM Think in San Francisco.

Zach was born in Miami, Florida but grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. Zach is an avid sports fan and enjoys spending time with his family and friends outside of work.

Mike joined Edlen in early 2003, bringing with him over 20 years of customer service experience, as well as more than 15 years of management experience. Mike oversees all of Edlen’s St. Louis operations. Primarily, he ensures the successful, continuing support of the Americas Center and the Dome at America’s Center, as well as supporting outdoor distribution and generator hook-ups. Mike credits his teams’ abilities for his overall success.

Prior to joining Edlen, Mike Wickens worked for ADT Security Services for 13 years, and most recently as a Field Operations Manager for Kaemmerlen Electric and Communications in St. Louis. Notable events that Mike has serviced include but are not limited to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, HIMSS in 2014, NATO in 2012 and Election Night for President Obama, 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, 2005 NCAA Men’s Final Four, 2005 CAST Expo, the Annual Auto Show in St. Louis, Annual Home Builders Association Show, Annual Boat Show and many other successful events.

Mike graduated from Webster University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2009. He was honorably discharged from the USAF after six years of service and is a disabled American Veteran.

Donica joined Edlen in 2016 and she has been in the event industry for 28 years. Prior to joining Edlen, she worked for a GSC as an event manager and sales manager. She has produced events both nationally and internationally during her career.

Donica is currently on the Pacific NW PCMA board.

In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, sports, being outdoors, and spending time with family.