Born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, Melissa settled in Austin, Texas in May of 2015 after living in Atlanta, Georgia for almost 10 years. After graduating with a Business Management degree from Kennesaw State University in 2008 during a terrible economy, she stumbled upon a job opportunity waiting tables at an established and nationally ranked private country club. Although the goal was to network with the rich and successful to find a more permanent job, her goals quickly shifted to wanting to move up the country club ladder. Within a two year timespan, she went from waiting tables to managing private events as a banquet captain, to the catering office where she hasn’t left since.

Over the past ten years, Melissa has planned and executed events for the likes of former US President George W. Bush, Jon Bon Jovi, Arthur Blank, Ryan Seacrest, Tyler Perry, and many more all through the private country club industry – all of which could not have been done so well without the help of her industry friends. She knew when moving to Austin over 3 years ago that her first plan of action was to sign up for a membership with ILEA, especially since she was new to the city as a whole. She has not regretted this decision one bit since and has formed some of her closest friendships and business relationships all from being a part of such a great and supportive organization as ILEA.

Melissa is a proud “dog mom” to her 4-year-old black lab, Noodles, in which you can find them both enjoying the beautiful Texas weather on the weekends at the local dog park or greenbelt. In her spare time, she enjoys wake surfing, cycling, paddle boarding, traveling, and drinking rosé.

LUIS BARRAZA
Vice President of Communications

Red Velvet Events

Hailing from Denton, TX, Luis originally moved to Austin to attend the McCombs Business School at The University of Texas. He fell in love with Austin and decided to make the permanent move upon graduation. During his time at UT, he was the lead planner for the largest festival on campus and the largest talent show, and he acted as the coordinator for orientation programs. Due to Luis’s great interest in events, he started a career with top creative events agency, Red Velvet Events.

When Luis was new to the events industry, his main goal was to explore whether or not event planning was a true passion for him. The insights and stories openly shared with him by ILEA members helped solidify his love for events, so the decision to pursue it as a career was easy.

Fast forward to today, and as a creative event professional, Luis looks to ILEA to create and develop relationships with event partners, and to further his industry education. Receiving the ILEA Rising Star award for 2017-2018 was the affirmation Luis needed that he is in the right industry.

You can catch Luis riding his bike on the trails or checking out the newest dessert spot, but let’s be honest, you’ll more likely find him lounging on the couch watching Netflix and Disney movies. 

SARA ABRAMS
Vice President of Programs & Education

Texas Executive Education 

Austin’s very own Texas-Ex and a former member of the talented Texas Belles Event Planning Organization, Sara, has interned and assisted with many of the best Austin event companies and has worked in many of the most popular wedding venues in town. Each apprenticeship provided her valuable experiences and lead to many friendships with local industry professionals. Sara currently works full time on corporate educational programs with Texas Executive Education.

Outside of the event industry, Sara is a work-out enthusiast, who spends all of her mornings at Dane’s Body Shop doing circuit training & Olympic weight lifting. Sara is a new dog mom to a maltipoo named Pete and you can find her most weekends at the dog park.