Marty MacKay, President

mmackay@gepwashington.com

Marty joined GEP in 2001 bringing with her more than ten years of meeting planning experience from MCI/WorldCom. She has senior management experience in all aspects of the event industry, including incentive and recognition programs; company-wide sales meetings, and international meetings. In her current position, Marty is responsible for the sales, marketing and operations of the GEP Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia offices. Marty also sits on the Global Events Partners Domestic Advisory Board and is Chair for the In-Kind Marketing Committee for the Washington, DC’s Heart’s Delight Wine Tasting & Auction, raising money for the American Heart Association. She resides in Virginia with her husband and two children.

Carrie Heiden, Director of Sales

cheiden@gepwashington.com

Carrie Heiden has more than 15 years of experience in the meeting and event management industry, along with great knowledge of the metropolitan area and DC venues. She spent many years with a leading meeting management company creating special events, developing and managing international meetings, and planning other corporate meetings. As an experienced customer service and client satisfaction professional, Carrie has also worked in the software industry as the lead event manager planning customer appreciation events, customer councils, product launches, annual conferences and incentive reward programs. Carrie holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Art History from Randolph Macon College. She is a native Washingtonian and currently resides in Old Town.

Lauren Beegal, Director of Operations

lbeegal@gepwashington.com

As Director of Operations, Lauren manages the operations departments for the GEP Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia offices. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Lauren has spent the past 10 years residing and working in Washington, DC. She is a graduate from The George Washington University with her Masters in Tourism Administration, specifically concentrating her studies in Event Management and Sport Administration. Upon joining the GEP team, Lauren was dedicated to designing creative and logistically sound event proposals for the Baltimore and Washington, DC offices. Over the past four years, Lauren has held a range of management positions in the Operations and Creative Services departments. She demonstrates a strong commitment to client services, which has provided tangible results for the company. Her dedication, logistical aptitude, and business expertise has proven to be a valuable asset to the GEP team.

Marie Rauschenbach, Director of Operations

mrauschenbach@gepwashington.com

Marie has spent the past seven years in the events industry developing her reputation for attention to detail and big-picture, results-oriented planning and execution. Before joining the GEP Washington Team in 2006, Marie worked in social events, growing with a boutique wedding planning company in Charlottesville, VA. Following that valuable introduction to events, Marie spent the next two years working with a D.C. catering company as a Catering Sales and Event Manager. There, she gained valuable knowledge in the art of catering as well as learning the ins and outs of Washington venues. Marie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics from the University of Virginia.

Bret Lehnhof, Senior Manager of Creative Services

blehnhof@gepwashington.com

As Senior Manager of Creative Services, Bret oversees the creative services departments for the GEP Washington and GEP Baltimore offices. A native of Salt Lake City and a graduate from Brigham Young University, Bret first developed his creative touch by traveling the country with a premier event and decor company. This experience allowed Bret to transition naturally and thrive in the destination management industry. Prior to joining GEP Washington, Bret worked in several management capacities with GEP Utah. Coupling his professional demeanor and imaginative eye, Bret has successfully managed over 100 events and has dedicated himself to exceeding expectations. His strong operational background has prepared him to manage the creative services department, where he firmly believes in adding personalized creative touches to each proposal GEP presents.

Nicole Hendrix, Senior Account Executive

nyoung@gepwashington.com

As Senior Account Executive, Nicole Hendrix diligently works with her clients to determine the best approach to achieving their desired event management goals. Nicole brings with her an extensive background in catering, private dining and restaurant management to GEP Washington. Living and working in Washington, D.C. for over 11 years has allowed Nicole to develop an unsurpassed knowledge of the city’s venues, vendors and general operations.

Prior to joining GEP Washington, Nicole was the Area Director of Sales at Guerlain Spa at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, where she developed the sales and marketing strategies for a $20 million program. Previous to that Nicole served as the Director of Sales, Catering at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. where she more than quadrupled the revenue of the catering department. Nicole has also worked in many capacities at the Hilton McLean, the JW Marriott and the Capital Hilton hotels in the District of Columbia and its surrounding communities.

Nicole’s optimistic attitude, creative outlook and leadership skills are a great benefit to GEP Washington and its clientele.

Megan Shannon, CMP, Account Executive

mshannon@gepwashington.com

As an Account Executive, Megan Shannon relies on her background as a Meeting Planner to step into the shoes of her clients and understand their needs and how to best work with their event goals in mind.  With over seven years of proven performance in the meetings and events industry in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, Megan certainly knows her way around Washington. Having most recently worked in the association market, she managed city-wide conventions and many VIP meetings and events.  Megan has resided in the D.C. area for the past seven years and is extremely active in the local chapter of Meetings Professional International (MPI).  Serving on the Board of Directors for the Potomac Chapter of MPI for the past five years, Megan has received several awards for her professional accomplishments.