The Big Move: Last year held quite a bit of change for Adrienne Levey. In April 2007, she left a two-year stint as senior development officer for special events at AIDS Project Los Angeles and returned to Washington, relaunching her event management company, Spellbound Creative Concepts. Levey began her career in D.C., writing articles and assisting with events for Madeleine Albright at the Center for National Policy from 1989 to 1991, and had set her sights on coming back for some time.
 
California Boom: Levey had started an early incarnation of Spellbound in L.A., in anticipation of the August 2000 Democratic National Convention. “We did something like 21 events in six days,” she says, including a private party for former President Bill Clinton at the Petersen Automotive Museum, hosted by the then U.A.W.-DaimlerChrysler automotive group. For a 2,500-person affair for Blue Dog Democrats at the Santa Monica Pier, she had the parking lot covered in blue AstroTurf and created a huge doghouse entrance.

“Adrienne is good at seeing the potential of blank spaces,” says Jake Jones, vice president of external affairs and public policy for Daimler. “In honor of the international delegation brought together by the National Democratic Institute [in 2004], she helped us transform a gray slate museum pier in Boston into a beautiful hall of nations, complete with hanging flags and coordinated table linens.” For the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Denver this August, Levey is working on a reception for Daimler as well as several functions for the American Gas Association.

Intelligent Design: “My style is one of total immersion,” Levey says. “I try not to look at the event in isolation, but consider all the elements, such as the context in which it is being held, the purpose behind it, the client’s goals, and what their competitors have done or are currently planning.” She adds that her master’s degree in political science (from San Francisco State University) has helped her bring a more informed perspective than other planners.

Levey says it’s the end product that thrills her, after the months of planning and the inevitable chaos culminate in a successful event. “This is what gives me the motivation to want to do it all over again,” she says. “It’s like a successful theatrical opening. It’s an art.”