Speakers

Global hospitality industry veteran turned her personal passion into her purpose.  It was through her many years organizing corporate meetings, association conferences/trade shows and special events that she witnessed firsthand the unnecessary amounts of waste and harm being caused to the planet.  She then made it her mission to put people, planet and profits into a sustainable model that would support the environment in a positive way. Meetings & Events no longer need to be wasteful. They can be sustainable and have little to no impact on the planet.

Prior to her current role as Director of Meeting and Convention Services at the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau she had her own business What’s Your Purpose for 7 years. She worked in such roles as: Project Manager for a wide variety of special events to name a few; Inaugural of NCL Encore, Summit of the Americas, 2016 Olympics in Rio, Alibaba Corporate Sales launch in China and music festivals in Singapore. Marianne has also worked for Maritz Travel and Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Marianne has given back to the industry she loves by being a member of; Green Meetings Industry Council (now committee within Events Industry Council), 6 years on the Meeting Professional International South Florida Board (MPISFL) holding roles as: Director of Events, Vice President of Finance, President Elect, President and Past President. In 2023 MPISFL awarded her with the Norma Bondi Lifetime Achievement award and in 2018 MPISFL recognized her with the Industry Influencer award. She taught a certification course in Meeting & Event Management at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) for nine years and her newest volunteer role is President for Sustainable Events Network Florida Caribbean chapter (SENFC).

In December 2021 Marianne became the first group of Blue Consultants through Oceanic Global to help companies implement Oceanic Global’s Blue Standard, which helps businesses and industries reduce single-use plastics, improve the sustainability of their operations, and achieve a measurable impact that protects our blue planet.