As the director of special events at the University of Chicago for the last eight years, Daniela Butler-Ludwig plans 50 institution events annually, including convocation and meetings for the board of trustees. She is currently organizing an on-campus donor recognition ceremony, “Chicago Convenes,” which is set for May 2.

Catering: “For catering, my favorite is Food for Thought, especially one sales rep in particular, Brian Kiefer. He is the best contact to have at a catering company because he never gets tired. I call or email him 20 times a day before a big event, and he is always on top things. I never have to worry, and the food is outstanding.”


Decor: “Nikki Lee of Heffernan Morgan used to work for Botanicals Florist, and I love working with her; I have for years, because she works with your budget and she tries to really understand the event and our constituents.”

Venues: “Union Station—the history of it adds to it and the staff is very helpful. You can really transform the venue; it’s a fun place. I also like the Adler Planetarium. The view of the skyline is great, and their exclusive caterer is Food for Thought, so that helps.”

Entertainment: “I have used the band Lynne Jordan and the Shivers twice because they perform good dance music, and they are popular with our group of middle-aged donors.”

Audiovisual Production:  “Frost Lighting, they’re all over the place. For our reunion event they transformed the gym into a real party space. Also Lime Green, is helping with the event coming up in May to transform Rockefeller chapel into a dinner space, and they helped us in the past with a tricky live presentation—almost like a play production, in which the lights go down and come up for speakers, and they’ve done promotional videos for us.”