Biography - Kimberly D Roberts

Kimberly D. Roberts, CMP, CSEP
Background

Kimberly Roberts, CMP, CSEP embarked on planning and producing events at age eleven. She was a Youth Representative for the Vacation Bible School at Southlawn United Methodist Church. In this role, she helped to select and purchase the food for the program under the guidance and direction of the coordinator. In High School, she was chosen to be the Chairperson of the Prom Committee and a member of the Graduation Steering Committee. She directed the Prom Committee in various aspects of event production including selecting the theme, venue, menu, publicity, photographer, and music for the occasion.

As a member of the Graduation Committee, Kimberly helped define the responsibilities of five to ten students as part of her duties. She also accepted the honor of introducing the graduation speaker, Linda Johnson Rice of Johnson Publishing Company. All of these early experiences equipped Kimberly with the necessary organizational, communication, leadership, administrative, and human relation skills needed to effectively plan and produce events.

In 1996, Kimberly graduated Cum Laud from Clark Atlanta University (CAU) in Atlanta, Georgia, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. While at CAU, she served as Junior and Senior Business Managers of the university’s gospel choir, The Inspirational Voices of Faith. In these capacities, Kimberly’s responsibilities included coordinating local outreach engagements and the annual Spring Outreach Tour. She also assisted in planning the Annual Spring Banquet for the Choir. Kimberly also spent a summer as a White House Intern in the Office of General Council to the President. Some of her duties included assisting with the Americans with Disabilities Act Celebration on the White House Lawn. These collegiate experiences aided Kimberly with greater knowledge of event production on a larger scale.

After graduating from college, Kimberly freelanced as an event planner and consultant. She planned a variety of events including dinners, a theater café, graduation, and birthday parties. She also consulted on and planned church meetings and functions. Since the inception of PTTP, Inc., the company has planned and consulted on a myriad of events including silent auctions, fund raising events, baby showers, parties, receptions, and sales meetings. She also assisted in implementing the media relations for Evander Holyfield’s 1999 Main Event Foundation Weekend.

Kimberly founded Pieces to the Puzzle, Inc., The Upscale Event Planning Company in 2000 to address the event planning needs of the corporate, non-profit, and private sectors. Pieces to the Puzzle, Inc. (PTTP, Inc.) provides a service that frees corporations and individuals from the responsibilities that are involved in planning successful and rewarding events.

Kimberly also became a member of the International Special Events Society (ISES) in 2000 to further enhance her knowledge of the special events industry. She is an active and dedicated member of the chapter and participates on the chapter’s Event Resource Expo committee and fundraising committees. She is also an ISES Helping Hands volunteer and an ISES representative for the Meetings Industry Council. She studied for and achieved the Certified Special Event Professional (CSEP) designation in October 2001. She was featured as a CSEP recipient in the March 2002 edition of Special Events Magazine. She was asked to join the Board for the Greater Atlanta Chapter of ISES in January 2002 and sat on the board for three years as the Community Relations Chairperson.

Additional organizations that Kimberly is affiliated with include The Junior League of Dekalb County, Meeting Planners International, and the American Marketing Association, Atlanta Chapter. In September 2002, Kimberly was nominated and approved to join the Board of Artemis, the young professional guild of Fernbank Museum. As a board member, Kimberly worked on programs to heighten the awareness of Artemis and to raise capital for children’s programs at the museum.

In January 2003, Kimberly joined the faculty of Georgia Perimeter College as an Adjunct Professor in the Continuing Education School teaching Event Planning. She also graduated with honors in 2006 with a Masters of Business Administration in Marketing from Strayer University. In 2008, she began teaching online with Devry University in their Hospitality Management program and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in their Culinary Management division.

Kimberly has worked with a variety of organizations including the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and Troutman Sanders, LLP, the third largest law firm in the City of Atlanta. As Hospitality Manager for the firm, Kimberly managed the meeting and event logistics for 52 conference rooms. She and her staff supported the meetings and events for over 600 attorneys and staff members at the firm.

In 2008, Kimberly joined a co-op of food distributors as Manager of Meetings and Conventions. In this capacity she worked to produce events and meetings nationally and internationally. In 2010, Kimberly left this company to pursue her love of event planning and management training. Because she enjoys helping others and sharing her experience with those seeking specific skills about the industry she has developed a learning institute geared specifically toward event education. Her forthcoming book, The Anatomy of an Event, will be published in the spring of 2012. Currently, Kimberly Works as a Meeting and Event Manager for a meeting planning company planning events for fortune 500 companies.

In her spare time, Kimberly enjoys traveling, reading and mentoring others who have an interest in entering the event planning industry. She also participates in several community service projects with the Big Brother Big Sister of Metropolitan Atlanta, Junior League of DeKalb County, Mary Hall Freedom House, and Hands on Atlanta.