Ginger Donnan Events LLC provides event planning services to the corporate and non-profit industries using the systems and techniques developed by Ginger (Donnan) Berman, who has managed more than 250 goal-achieving events in the New York area, across the U.S. and internationally.

Ginger Berman

As President of Ginger Donnan Events LLC, Ginger has developed, maintained, and implemented master event plans for twelve of Public Interest Projects’ national grantee meetings, including budgets, venue selections, food and beverage, audio-visual and tracking attendee travel and accommodations. She organized the logistics for five simultaneous Light The Night Walks attended by 12,000 people in total for the NJ chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, including vendor contracts and communications, volunteer responsibilities and materials identification, as well as providing on-site management with the help of the Ginger Donnan Events team. She has stepped in to lead events and event departments of prominent New York law firms during times of transition, including organizing one firm’s first annual Privacy Conference and third annual Women’s Law Forum.

As Special Projects Manager/Consultant to the co-founders of the $55 million organization Autism Speaks, she designed and executed events from concept to completion, ensuring they went off without a hitch and met their awareness-building and fundraising potential. High-profile events included the first chefs’ tasting in NYC to offer table-side cooking to over 370 people, which raised over $1.1 million, and the $1.8 million Concert for Autism Speaks featuring Lionel Richie.

Prior to joining Autism Speaks, Ginger created the position of Marketing Manager, Conference and Event Planning at the New York headquarters office of White & Case, one of the largest and most prestigious law firms in the world. She managed client-facing retreats, educational seminars and other special events for the firm. In 2007, she returned to the firm as a consultant, organizing six days of events in three months time, including registration, hotel, airport transfers, two receptions, an all-day meeting and a black tie dinner dance for more than 550 people.

Ginger earned her B.S., magna cum laude, in Mass Communications from Towson University and also attended American University of Rome in Italy. She is based in New Jersey.

Jo Beyersdorfer

Jo Beyersdorfer is an experienced event producer who provides advance planning and on-site event management services. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Jo arrived in Los Angeles, California in 2003 to began her career at Sony Pictures International Publicity and went on to work for several PR and event firms in Southern California with clients such as Motorola, Juicy Couture, The Gap, and Grey Goose Vodka. Jo was the head of production and events for the Southern California Honda Helpful Campaign in 2006-2007 and in recent years has produced Back Stage’s Actorfest LA and the Annual Dirty Dancing Festival via her company JNB Marketing & Events and has provided on-site support for Public Interest Projects and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with Ginger Donnan Events.

Amy Ferrone

After a six-year hiatus from the paid workforce to raise her three sons, Amy Ferrone brought her communication and organizational skills to Ginger Donnan Events in 2011 as part-time Event Planning Assistant. Now an Event Coordinator, Amy has participated in the event planning and on-site management for a New York law firm, the Leukemia &Lymphoma Society, Autism Speaks, and Public Interest Projects. Previously, Amy and her sisters ran the George McDermott Memorial, an annual golf and softball outing and picnic that raised a total of $85,000 in her father’s name for the John Wayne Cancer Institute. While raising Mac, Owen, and Sean, Amy has been active in her boys’ elementary school PTA: as Treasurer, she oversees a $50,000 annual budget and she is the Volunteer Coordinator for dozens of events throughout the year. Prior to becoming a full-time mom, Amy worked on Wall Street, most recently at AIG Global Investment Group as an Operations Manager and Consultant, supervising the Trade Settlement process for global and domestic accounts. Amy graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a degree in Chemistry; the Jesuits’ focus on Liberal Arts gave her a well-rounded education and desire to volunteer and serve others.

Chelsea Gross

A passion for geography and a desire for organization led Chelsea Gross, to the Ginger Donnan Events team. During her undergraduate studies at Hunter College, Chelsea was the sole NYC staff member at Roots & Shoots, the non-profit organization founded by Dr. Jane Goodall that inspires youth to identify issues in their communities and make a difference.

In addition to creating site maps for the five 2010 New Jersey Light the Night Walks for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Chelsea assists with administrative tasks and provides on-site support at various events. Chelsea currently attends Hunter College’s graduate program for a certification in geographic information systems and mapping. To learn more about Chelsea’s cartography skills, visit chelseathecartographer.tumblr.com.

Kathleen Maiorana

With over ten years of event planning experience in varied industries, Kathleen provides superior client communication and project leadership. Her extensive knowledge in project management, budgeting, logistics, creative development and conference management has made her an invaluable member of the Ginger Donnan Events team on projects for Autism Speaks, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Public Interest Projects.

Previously, Kathleen was a part of Proskauer’s Business Development Department. As the law firm’s Events Manager she oversaw more than 200 annual sponsorships, dinners, seminars and retreats. From 2005-2008, Kathleen was Event Producer at Baltimore’s premier event production company, Feats, Inc., managing complex, multi-faceted productions across the country for a variety of corporate and non-profit organizations. Kathleen began her career in New York’s fast-paced financial industry, at Deutsche Bank, where she gained global experience running conferences, seminars and training retreats for a variety of audiences. Kathleen earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Towson University.

Tracy Pugh

Tracy Pugh is an event planner with over eight years of experience in the non-profit, film, fashion, sports and corporate sectors. Moving to NYC immediately following graduation from UC, San Diego, Tracy spent four years at the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, where as the Events Manager and later the Events Director, she oversaw high-profile charitable events such as Super Saturday and The L’Oreal Legends Gala.

In 2007 Tracy’s ever-present need for adventure and travel prompted a dramatic life-change and move to Sydney, Australia. It was in Sydney that Tracy established her roots as a freelance event planner, working on an array of projects, including meetings and conferences for Luxottica, runway shows for Australia’s leading department store, David Jones and halftime entertainment productions for The National Rugby League. In 2010 Tracy returned to New York where she has continued to work as a freelance planner, including managing all private sponsor events for the 2011 TriBeCa Film Festival. She has worked with Ginger Donnan Events on events for Public Interest Projects and Autism Speaks.

Although Ginger Donnan Events is not hiring at this time, we are always in need of volunteers for our non-profit events. To be added to our volunteer list, sign up here.