Our Team
Managing Director:
Susan Roberts has been involved as a PCO for over 20 years. When she started working with Venue West Conference Services, it was the only PCO company in Canada. After 12 years of working as a PCO, Susan moved into the Association Market, organizing and managing the association business for the College of Family Physicians of Canada, Canadian Association of Aesthetic Medicine and the BC Association of Geriatric Care Physicians, among other projects, with primary capacities in organizing and developing medical education. Susan was President of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Canada West Chapter for two years and for many years was involved on the board level. Susan was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of Tourism Vancouver.
Project Manager:
Natalie Lamppu has been involved in the meetings industry for over 4 years, having worked at a leading PCO company in Vancouver from 2002-2003. She then moved into the association management field, joining the BC College of Family Physicians managing membership for over 2200 members and working with the Board of Directors on a day to day basis. Natalie joined CongressWorld in 2006 managing the Association business and taking a lead on conference management.
International Sales Development:
Ken Evans has been involved in the hospitality industry for over 40 years. Ken started his career, starting in the hotel industry in Sales Development, first with Westin Hotels for 13 years and then with the Hotel Georgia for 10 years, a local Vancouver hotel. Ken then took his valuable skills to Tourism Vancouver (Formerly the Convention Bureau) as Director of Sales to develop the local and international markets for Vancouver. Upon completion of the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, Ken moved to the VCEC to assist in developing the awareness of Vancouver and the VCEC on the International stage.
Finance:
Patty Cameron has over 30 years of accounting experience, working with numerous companies and has worked with CongressWorld Conferences Inc. since 2006. Patty is responsible for budget control, forecasting, financial management of all congresses and the day to day business of CongressWorld Conferences Inc. Patty also works closely with Steele & Company, the contracted accounting firm of CongressWorld Conferences Inc.
Project Manager:
Laura Smeltzer has a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honours in Sociology and Environmental Sciences from Queen’s University and a Masters of Environmental Studies degree from York University. She joined CongressWorld in late 2008 after being involved in event organization and project management of several NGO groups (OPIRG), organizations such as GATA, and involvement in academic conference organization ie; Nature Matters: Materiality and the More-than-Human and An Environmental Affair: Greening the Everyday. Laura has worked in all aspects of project management from proposal writing to legal and finance responsibilities.
Office Administration:
Felicitas Chaves has worked in the hospitality industry for 4 years, beginning in the airline industry in Buenos Aires, and then working with Congresos Internacionales, our partner in Argentina. Felicitas worked as a registration coordinator prior and during the World Congress of Cardiology 2008, which hosted over 15,000 physicians and exhibitors to Buenos Aires. She is fluent in English and Spanish.
