Posts Tagged ‘Denver’

Education Reform Convenings

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

May 20-24, 2011 in Alexandria, Virginia
May 20-24, 2010 in Denver, Colorado
May 28-June 1, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
April 3-5, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois

Ginger Donnan Events organizes the logistics for Public Interest Projects’ National Communities for Public Education Reform Convenings. Three hundred parents, students, education organizers, advocates and allies to deepen relationships among those committed to advancing education justice and to strategize about opportunities to link education justice policy reforms and campaigns. We handle the online registration, individual attendee communications, rooming and travel arrangements, meeting needs, airport transfers, and all vendor relations.

Learning Circle

Small Group Work

Highlights of the convenings include local site visits:

Site Visit to Capitol

Site Visit with Mike Kromrey (Smaller)

and performances by local entertainers:

Cafe Cultura

Debajo del Agua

Feedback

Link to a blog post by 2011 attendee Tina Dove, National Director of the Opportunity to Learn Campaign

From Melinda Fine, Director, Communities for Public Education Reform, Public Interest Projects, May 2011:
Ginger Donnan Events is an event planning firm extraordinaire.  Since 2008, Ginger has masterfully managed the planning process for the annual conference of Communities for Public Education Reform, a thirty million dollar funding initiative that annually convenes some 300 national education leaders, community groups, and funders from around the country.  In the months leading up to our recent conference, we relied on Ginger to manage every possible logistical element (venue identification, participant registration, travel and hotel accommodations, entertainment and food selection, room set-up, budget planning and tracking); we were thrilled with the results.  On site, she and her team were unflappable and resourceful in solving any problems that arose, allowing our staff to focus our attention where it needed to be. Ginger is terrifically well-organized, thorough, attentive to every last detail, and on top of it all, an absolute pleasure to work with.  We look forward to having her plan our conference next year, knowing we’ll be in exceptionally good hands.

From Julie Kohler, Director of Education & Civic Engagement, Public Interest Projects, 2008-2010:
Ginger Donnan’s handling of these events is nothing less than stunning. Not only does she attend to every detail flawlessly, but she also makes all of our participants feel so important and respected. The professionalism she brings to these events is an important validation of their work, and the fact that she has become, to many of our grantees, an extension of our staff team, is a testament to her warmth and compassion.Julie Kohler, Director of Education & Civic Engagement, Public Interest Projects, 2008-2010


Photo credit: Cara Fandel

Rocky Mountain Higher

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Last week we had the opportunity to return to a favorite city to hold events – Denver, Colorado. This is our third trip there in the past year and we’ll be headed back in May 2010 for a non-profit client’s annual conference that has grown from 175 to 250 in the last three years. Some of the latest happenings:
Freaky weather: 50 degrees the last week of July while Seattle was blistering. Have no fear, though, it’s back to normal: 80 degrees with a chance of snow.

2009 deals: hotels are booking 2010 like crazy but this year still has plenty of availability.$100 million goes a long way: the downtown Sheraton (previously Adam’s Mark) has undergone some incredible changes and many are still to come, including a 6,000 sq. ft. fitness center.

Closures: Sadly, we learned that our dine-around won’t include Alto, a wonderful Larimer Square restaurant that recently shuttered its doors.

It was great to experience old favorites, like the free 16th Street Shuttle and Enstrom’s Almond Toffee, and take up a friend on some recommendations (8 Rivers on Blake Street and a Max Evans at the Celtic, where all the decor – from the stained glass to the street signs – comes from Ireland).

We’ll be back before the event next year so stay tuned for more Denver developments!