Jim Curtis, CFEE is originally from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, which is the home to Arnold Palmer, Mister Rogers, Rolling Rock Beer, the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp and the very first Banana Split. He has been involved in many special events including concerts, major golf tournaments and festivals. He currently is the Community Services Manager for the City of Indio and has been with the City for more than 20 years. His duties include overseeing Youth Services, Senior Services, The Lights at Indio Golf Course, The Indio Performing Arts Center and all Special Events, including the Indio International Tamale Festival, the Coachella Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach: California’s Country Music Festival.

S. David Ramirez, CFEE is an award-winning marketer, speaker, and technologist from San Antonio. His agency, SDMRamirez, helps events, entrepreneurs, and economic development organizations grow. David has delivered more than 200 main stage presentations and breakout sessions at conferences nationwide. David teaches in multiple event certification programs including the IFEA/NRPA Event Management School and the Texas Event Management Institute.

David serves on the board of the International Festivals and Events Association Foundation. He is a columnist for ie magazine: The Business of International Events, where he writes about technology and trends shaping the future of events and tourism.

Mostly, he’s a nerd. Talk to him about anime, craft beer, and science fiction.

With more than 25 years in event production, Jen Marhenke brings deep operational expertise and a practical, hands-on approach to sustainability in sports and live events. Over the past decade, she has led initiatives to reduce waste, conserve resources, and help organizations meet their sustainability goals. As Sustainability Program Manager at Rico Solutions and an Event Verifier for the Council for Responsible Sport, Jen collaborates with event producers, vendors, and community partners to design and implement programs that deliver measurable impact. Known for her collaborative style and commitment to continuous learning, she believes progress comes from shared purpose, practical solutions, and doing the work—together.

Stephen King, CFEE has spent his life engaged with the arts. Originally from Houston, Texas, Stephen spent his early professional career acting, directing, and managing live theatre productions in and around Houston. He turned this passion toward non-profit arts administration and the festival and event industry in 1995 and has since produced hundreds of arts and live music events and cultural festivals. Projects throughout his career in festivals and events have garnered more than 375 industry awards from organizations like the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA), Texas Festivals and Events Association, and the International Downtown Association. Before turning his full attention in July of 2011 to the Des Moines Arts Festival®, Stephen led the Downtown Events Group from 2006-2011, producing the World Food Festival, Holiday Lights Des Moines, Skywalk Golf, and ImaginEve! Before arriving in Des Moines, King served as president/CEO of Celebrate Fairfax, Inc. in northern Virginia. Prior to that, he was the director of the festivals and events division of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas, where he produced the MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival. Stephen is an active member of the global festivals and events industry. He is a director of the IFEA World Board, the organization he proudly chaired in 2017. He also serves his local community as a past director of Bravo Greater Des Moines and post-pandemic chaired the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Arts & Culture Reopening Festivals and Live Music Venues Task Force. Stephen is a past director of the National Association of Independent Artists, IFEA Foundation Board of Directors, and is a founding member of ZAPPlication™, the art fair industry’s universal online application system. Stephen is a regular speaker and contributor to various festival, marketing and sponsorship conferences and conventions, and a former faculty member of the IFEA/NRPA Event Management School. Stephen holds a BFA in Theatre from Sam Houston State University, an MA in Directing from the University of New Mexico, and is a graduate of the Certified Festival and Event Management program at Purdue University. Stephen is Executive Director of Des Moines Arts Festival and ARTSwork.

Jessica Bybee-Dziedzic’s background is rooted in online marketing, websites, event admissions and ticketing operations. In 2007, she joined Wright Strategies, managing global e-commerce projects and strategy for clients including KEEN Footwear, Nike and Frito Lay. In 2009, Jessica helped Wright Strategies create Saffire, providing events, venues and destinations with ticketing and websites in a simple integrated platform. She is a member of Saffire’s Leadership Team and has been with Saffire for over 18 years. Her experiences working directly with fairs, festivals, venues, carnival operators and food and beverage vendors has given her the reputation as the “Go To” for strategic execution of major events. Jessica is a Past Chair of the Texas Festivals & Events Association and serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Travel Alliance. In her spare time Jessica and her husband, Jim, own and operate the Austin Revolution Film Festival and travel the nation producing a web series, “Ballpark Nation,” that covers baseball from sea to shining sea. Their happy place is at a game with their daughter, Jourdan; son-in-law, Max; and grandkids, Braxton & Kennedy.

Steven A. Adelman is the head of Adelman Law Group, PLLC. He was a Founder and long-time Vice President of the Event Safety Alliance. He creates safety plans, provides crowd manager training, and serves as an event safety standard of care expert in significant lawsuits, including the cases arising from the 2011 Indiana State Fair stage roof collapse, the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas, and the 2021 Astroworld festival crowd crush. Mr. Adelman led the task groups that created American National Standards for three related aspects of event safety: ANSI ES1.9-2020, Crowd Management; ANSI ES1.40-2023, Event Security; and ANSI ES1.42-2025, Parade Safety.