Allyson Leff, 30, is the director of conference operations for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Leff and the advocacy group she works for are based in Washington, D.C.
Why I love my job:
My day is filled with collaboration between meetings with our internal program teams, which function as our clients on each event, as well as logistics calls with our vendors and external partners. I love that I get to wear multiple hats throughout the day, switching between design meetings, very logistics-driven conversations, contract negotiations, and both short-term, in-the-weeds, tactical planning and high-level strategy conversations too.
My career journey:
I began my events career as a sponsorship and hospitality intern before working my way up to event director at the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS). I have been a horseback rider all my life, and during my undergraduate studies at American University I found my way to events.
I learned from the ground up what it takes to stage and manage a world-class sporting event in the heart of the nation’s capital. During my time there [at WIHS], the event took place at Capital One Arena—formerly the Verizon Center, a hockey arena in downtown D.C.—and I learned everything from permitting to VIP hospitality management to working with every kind of vendor imaginable. I learned how to manage an event timeline and run-of-show down to the minute.
Here’s a cool video of how we turned the hockey arena into a horse show:
From there I joined the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) as the manager of meetings and event services, where I learned about the association space. I worked on IPW, the leading international inbound travel trade show, where I led sponsorship activation and fulfillment across IPW and several other events throughout the year. From U.S. Travel I joined NAM, where I get to pair my logistics background from WIHS with my association knowledge from USTA. In my current role, I lead events ranging from thought leadership conferences and intimate C-suite summits to award galas in destinations all across the U.S.
My proudest career moment:
The event I am most proud of is the 2022 STEP Awards Gala and Leadership Program. This was the 10th anniversary of the awards program, which recognizes women in science, technology, engineering, and production careers who exemplify leadership within their companies in the manufacturing industry. Honoring 100 women and 30 Emerging Leaders—a category to honor women under the age of 30 who have achieved unique accomplishments at the start of their careers—this national honor identifies top talent in the manufacturing industry and further encourages award winners to mentor and support the next generation of female talent to pursue modern manufacturing careers.
Taking it to the next level for the program's 10th anniversary meant inviting back all past alumnae to the event by creating a unique leadership program track just for them. We also secured Rachel Platten to perform at the gala, where she sang "Fight Song," "Broken Glass," and even debuted a new song she had written for her daughters. It tied in perfectly to the evening's theme of shattering glass ceilings. At the 2022 gala, we also launched the 35x30 initiative—a program designed to close the skills and talent gap in manufacturing by adding half a million women workers to the industry, increasing women’s representation in manufacturing from 29% today to 35% by 2030.
Each year this event holds a special place in my heart, and I am so grateful that I get to work on an event with such an impactful purpose. In 2022, everything aligned to create such a special experience for the honorees, and at the end of the day that's the heart of why I love what I do.
The 2022 STEP Awards Gala took on the theme of shattering glass ceilings. "Each year this event holds a special place in my heart, and I am so grateful that I get to work on an event with such an impactful purpose," Leff said.Photo: David Bohrer/National Association of Manufacturers
Some impressive stats I’m responsible for:
I managed a team that raised more than $1.5 million in personal and corporate sponsorship for a world-renowned nonprofit event at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington D.C. that had an overall event budget of $4 million.
I also owned sponsorship fulfillment relationships for IPW (which had more than 6,000 attendees), including 90-plus sponsors leading to record renewal/increase rates throughout my tenure.
And I was the lead event planner for the annual Women MAKE Awards Gala (formerly the STEP Awards), with more than 800 guests at the National Building Museum.
Leff said her proudest career moment was producing the 10th annual STEP Awards Gala and Leadership Program (pictured) in 2022. "We also secured secured Rachel Platten to perform at the gala, where she sang 'Fight Song,' 'Broken Glass,' and even debuted a new song she had written for her daughters," Leff explained of a stand-out moment.Photo: David Bohrer/National Association of Manufacturers
You are as strong as the relationships you build. Cultivating good relationships—not just internally in your organization, but with vendors and partners externally—will help you beyond just your current position. Being great at your job is important, but those relationships are often there for you in the most unexpected ways.
What inspires me:
I am a logistics girl at heart. While I enjoy flexing my design muscles, I am excited by logistically complex challenges.
A time I averted a complete event disaster:
Earlier in my career, I was responsible for a three-day seated lunch for 6,000 guests with tables assigned by the company. Each company had invited other guests to its table based on the table number assignments I had previously distributed. Despite the floor plan being previously approved by the fire marshal, once we were on-site for load in, the fire marshal requested we remove three rows of tables from our VIP section, reallocating them to the back of the room.
I had to act quickly, and re-assign those three rows of tables—on all three days—while keeping them within VIP seating and communicating the new assignments to each company. To accommodate for the table changes, I personally had my team greet the table guests and walk them to their new table number.
I think all events come with a certain level of stress, and often it's positive stress because we are doing all the prep work leading up to the event so that once we’re on-site, everything runs smoothly. When pop-up challenges arise, we are able to problem solve them in the moment because of all the in-advance prep work we've done. Generally, I handle stress by dealing with the acute challenge in the moment, solving the problem, and then offsetting that stress post-event with a little retail therapy and maybe a spa day.
My ideal day OOO:
A vacation trip would look much different, but my ideal day home in D.C. would start with breakfast at YELLOW in Georgetown, followed by a long walk with my dog at the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens (on my perfect day it's peak bloom season in the summer).
I'd spend my afternoon tidying up my garden at home with a podcast playing, then I'd meet up with some friends at St. Vincent Wine just in time for sunset. I'd end the night back at home making homemade pizza with my boyfriend.
BizBash's 2023 40 Under 40 list is sponsored by VDA, a Massachusetts-based experiential marketing and event design agency that specializes in custom live, hybrid, and virtual experiences designed to drive business growth through client collaboration and creative thinking.
