Speakers
Sami Brar
Sami Brar has a BA from the University of Alberta and an MBA from Cape Breton University. She has extensive experience working with volunteers and community groups nationally and internationally. She has a strong background in using data analysis to direct strategy. She is known for starting novel and cutting-edge programming within the parameters of the institution’s objectives.
Julia Casbarro
Julia is the Associate Director of Advancement Events. She is 2009 graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in Marketing. During her studies at Ohio State, Julia joined the Alumni Association events team as a student employee and was offered a full time position upon her graduation which launched her career in events. She has been planning events at Ohio State ever since!
In 2014 Julia transitioned to the Advancement Events office. The Office of Advancement Events is a service and support team of 13 who work with Advancement and other university partners to design and execute positive experiences for their constituents for the purpose of expanding awareness of, advocacy for, engagement in and giving to Ohio State.
During Julia’s past 12 years with Ohio State she has been lucky enough to execute events all over the country. Most recently her team has led Ohio State in over 150 virtual event experiences since April.
Lance Connolly
Born in Rushville, Indiana, and raised to be a Hoosier fan—but realizing that Purdue University offered one of the best Hospitality and Tourism Management schools in the country—Lance Connolly earned his Bachelor of Science, becoming a lifelong Boilermaker in 2009.
As the Assistant Vice President for Special Events with the Purdue for Life Foundation, Lance manages a team of 17 event professionals focused on development, engagement and signature university events. The Office of Special events portfolio exceeds 200 events annually, ranging from intimate dinners for 10 to campus wide events for thousands.
Known for his out-of-the-box ideas and keen design sense, Lance has placed Purdue in a spotlight all its own. In 2017–19 he took on additional responsibility as the Executive Producer for Purdue’s yearlong sesquicentennial: 150 Years of Giant Leaps. This additional role afforded him opportunities to produce international events and bring publicity to the University on a global level, including successfully orchestrating a Giant Leaps event in Mumbai, India. In 2020 when the Purdue for Life Foundation was created, Lance led the vision for a centralized Office of Special Events for all development and engagement events.
Lance serves on the Advisory Board for the Academic Event Professionals (AEP) and is frequently called upon to speak to the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP) and at national conferences such as The Special Event Conference.
Before joining the University Development Office in 2014 as the Director of Special Events, Lance, a former Varsity Glee Club Member, was Director of Donor Relations and Events with Purdue Musical Organizations holding various positions from 2009-2014, where he led performance tours to Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France along with countless domestic tours.
Lance currently resides in the Greater Lafayette community with his husband and two daughters. When not working around campus and beyond, Lance enjoys traveling to new places and entertaining friends and family. “Life is all about experiences” he says, and he intends to partake in as many as he can.
Jennifer Jenkins
Within the 11 years Jennifer has worked as an alumni engagement professional she has gone from planning large scale formal events to facilitating volunteers to plan their own meaningful programs that connect back to the school. In the last few years, Jennifer has successfully worked toward creating more personalized connections back to the University of Alberta. The area where she's had the most success is increased program participation of young people, discovering mentorship opportunities, and making profound connections between grads, their school and each other!
Elizabeth Muse
Working at the University of Virginia, Elizabeth Muse is the Senior Director for Global Engagement and UVA Clubs in Office of Engagement. Elizabeth works with a team that manages more than 100 UVA Clubs to engage alumni, parents, students, and friends in the life of the university. In collaboration with 750 volunteers around the world, UVA Clubs host 1,200 in-person events each year for more than 20,000 alumni and friends of UVA. Before joining the University of Virginia in 2011, she was the Managing Director at Ignite PR, a public relations firm specializing in launching start-up companies. Prior to that, Elizabeth was the Development Director for the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics in San Francisco.