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Jodi Collen quoted on event planning

Jodi Collen, director of event and conference planning at Augsburg College, recently was quoted by the Associated Press in an article that also was published by ABC News and the Boston Herald. Collen’s input and expertise was sought due to her role as the president of the International Special Events Society, a professional organization for event planners. The article discusses the trend of using live animals at holiday events, an initiative that makes sense from an event planning perspective, according to Collen.

Jodi Collen writes quick-tips column for Twin Cities Business

twin-cities-businessJodi Collen, Augsburg College’s director of Event and Conference Planning, wrote a quick-tips column for event planners that was published by Twin Cities Business. Collen offered suggestions for people who will host a tailgating event for teams, customers, or clients this fall. Her advice ranged from venue considerations to food safety.

Collen is the current international president of the International Special Events Society and is a past president of the ISES Minneapolis-St. Paul chapter. Visit the Twin Cities Business website to read, “ISES Quick Tips For Event Planners: September.”

Jodi Collen elected event society’s new international president

The International Special Events Society has elected Jodi Collen as its new international president for the 2015-16 year.

Collen, director of Event & Conference Planning at Augsburg, is a previous president of the International Special Events Society’s Minneapolis-St. Paul chapter and has been a member of the International Board of Governors for the past five years. She was inaugurated at the association’s Annual General Meeting, which took place in New Orleans.

Collen’s achievement was recognized by the following organizations:

  • Incentive Travel & Corporate Meetings
  • Exhibition World
  • Conference News
  • BizBash
  • Event Planner Spain

Jodi Collen Achieves International Excellence with ISES

jodiJodi Collen, CSEP, Augsburg’s Director of Events and Conferences, was part of the team that helped the Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter of the International Special Events Society (ISES) earn the “Spirit of Excellence – Chapter of the Year” award for the second year in a row. None of the 40 other ISES chapters has ever won this award two years running.

Jodi, who is now the Midwest Regional Vice President for ISES after serving as president of the local chapter in 2005, spoke at the ISES International Education Conference in Montreal, Quebec, in August of this year. She represented seven chapters in the Midwest, including Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Columbus.

The Spirit of Excellence award recognizes chapters that are excelling in the areas of communications, membership, programming and education, and special projects. Jodi also won an “ISES Esprit” award for “Best Team Effort” with a team of 11 other event professionals from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The award was given for the “ISES Minnesota Star Awards,” a local awards ceremony Jodi started three years ago for ISES members.  Continue reading “Jodi Collen Achieves International Excellence with ISES”

Augsburg Hosts AFS Students

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Christine Wagner and Juliane Moog (both Germanhigh school) try to put a banana back together during a exercise on family cohesiveness at the AFS workshop held on campus last week.

Last week, Augsburg hosted 182 high school students from 55 foreign countries as they began their yearlong stays in the Midwest through AFS Intercultural Programs.

“We’re basically the first stop on their adventure,” says Jodi Collen, Director of Events & Conferences at Augsburg.

Most students flew from their home countries to Chicago and were then bused directly to Augsburg, where they checked in and stayed overnight in Urness Hall. The exchange students arrive in groups from Wednesday through Saturday. Their daylong orientation includes lessons in American currency, budgeting money, family life, technology, being an ambassador, and understanding the culture of American high schools. Continue reading “Augsburg Hosts AFS Students”