Alaina Pattillo

Portfolio · Event & Experiential Marketing

Alaina Pattillo

Strategic event and experiential marketing leader with 15+ years building and scaling conferences, executive programs, and brand activations — so a 400-person show reads, from the front row, as effortless.

alaina.pattillo@gmail.com609-204-3433LinkedInRogers, AR
01 / Summary

Calm is a design decision, not a coincidence.

I lead cross-functional initiatives and event portfolios with budgets exceeding $100K, delivering measurable business outcomes across Fortune 500 corporations, startups, and nonprofit organizations. The work spans event strategy, stakeholder engagement, operational excellence, vendor management, executive hospitality, and team leadership.

400
Attendees at Walmart's inaugural Innovation Day
51%
Cost reduction on the annual Supply Chain Expo
$800K
Influenced pipeline from ~$100K in events
$25K
Annual sponsorship revenue for Women+ in Tech
02 / Experience

Fifteen years, run show by show.

Selected roles and the quiet numbers behind them. No theatrics — just what the room needed and what the budget held.

  1. November 2025 — Present

    Partner Success Manager

    Plug and Play Tech Center

    • Executive relationship lead for two Fortune 500 partners, overseeing innovation initiatives valued at $500K annually.
    • Translate partner priorities into curated startup engagements and pilots — 50+ engagements and $500K in growth opportunities.
  2. November 2022 — Present

    Senior Program Manager

    Plug and Play Tech Center

    • Own strategy and execution for flagship innovation events, executive programs, and startup showcases.
    • Manage ~$100K in annual event budgets, contributing to $800K in pipeline influence, sponsorship revenue, and partner retention.
    • Supervise and mentor direct reports while building scalable event processes across Sales, Ventures, and Marketing.
  3. February 2023 — Present

    Events & Logistics Lead | Board Member

    Women+ in Tech

    • Lead the annual conference and fundraising gala end to end, overseeing $30K+ in annual budgets and 200+ attendees.
  4. August 2022 — November 2022

    Event Logistics Contractor

    Greater Bentonville Chamber / NWA Tech Summit

    • Supported a regional technology conference serving 800+ attendees across 5 venues — logistics, vendors, speakers, and volunteers.
  5. July 2019 — July 2020

    Founder & CEO

    TerraGood

    • Founded and led TerraGood — community engagement initiatives, partnerships, operational strategy, and event execution.
    • Closed the company due to pandemic operating restrictions.
  6. January 2017 — July 2019

    Senior Operations Director & Event Lead

    Brainerd Communications

    • Built an event production organization serving associations, nonprofits, and corporate partners across multiple states.
    • Executed annual calendars of 50+ events serving 1,000+ attendees.
04 / Testimonials

What the room said afterward.

“Congrats on a great conf. Production value was high, as was the signal to noise ratio for most folks attending. I had really strong planned and serendipitous meetings. These things are always chaotic behind the scenes, but it came off quite well.”
Conor Godfrey
CEO, Dockware
“I’ve been to a lot of conferences over my 58 years in business, and yesterday’s conference was one of the best ones I have attended in a long, long time. Specifically, the arrangements and support from the time you walked through the door to when you left was first class.”
Tom Muccio
Founder & CEO, Muccio Consulting
“Alaina is calm, cool, and collected no matter what obstacles are thrown her way (which can be a lot when it comes to the program). The broader team looks to her for advice and counsel. She has picked up health as NWA is exploring that vertical and has done a great job collaborating across teams! She's always going out of her way to assist other PMs as needed and is the first to roll up her sleeves to help with any task.”
Josh Saffran
Director, Plug and Play
05 / Clients & partners

Organizations whose rooms, budgets, and audiences I've been trusted with.

  • Walmart
  • University of Arkansas
  • Women in Tech NWA
  • Plug and Play Tech Center
06 / Speaking & panels

Stages, panels, and workshops — moderated, hosted, or led.

  • Women in Innovation

    Plug and Play Winter Summit · November 2025

    Moderated a breakout session with Tiffany Benitez, Head of Data & AI Governance at Compass Group, and Jennifer Mitchell, Director of Marketing and Innovation Acceleration at Hill's Pet Nutrition.

  • Main Stage Host

    NWA Tech Summit

    Hosted the morning sessions on the main stage, guiding attendees through keynotes and opening programming.

07 / Core competencies
Event Strategy & Portfolio

Brief-to-teardown planning across conferences, executive programs, and showcases that keeps the room and the budget in alignment.

Executive Stakeholder Management

Discovery, workshops, and hospitality that keep Fortune 500 executives engaged well past the closing session.

Budget & Financial Planning

Ownership of six-figure portfolios, with cost reductions that never touch the attendee experience.

Vendor & Agency Management

Venue negotiations, AV production, stage design, signage, and the vendor-of-the-vendor no one else tracks.

Leadership & Development

Supervising and mentoring direct reports while holding cross-functional teams to a single run-of-show.

Process Development & Scalability

Planning frameworks and operational standards that turn a one-off into a recurring flagship.

08 / Education
M.S., Product Innovation

University of Arkansas · Expected May 2028

B.S., Mass Communication — Public Relations

Towson University · 2005–2009

Alaina Pattillo
09 / Contact

Let's run the next one together.

Email Alaina609-204-3433Download resume