Working in a collaborative environment is what keeps Cerbelli Creative motivated & challenged. Each of our team members bring a fresh perspective to planning, coming together to bring you elevated, one-of-a-kind events.
michael cerbelli
FOUNDER, CEO / PRESIDENT
Hometown: Canarsie, Brooklyn, NY
Favorite Part of Event Planning: The idea from “doodle on a napkin” to event reality.
Favorite Venue: Cipriani 42nd Street, NYC
Favorite Place to Travel: Anywhere in Italy.
Biggest Professional Achievement: Having past team members that have moved on to prestigious careers, looking back at their time & training with us as going to the “School of Cerbelli.”
Special Skill(s): Attention to detail.
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Chelsea: Creative. Artist. Evolving.
Favorite NYC Food: Pizza, Pasta, and a side of Bagel.
robert allan severini
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Hometown: All Over, New York (literally)
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Watching the faces of the guests as they experience the fruits of our labor.
Favorite Venue: Brooklyn Paramount and Central Park Zoo (too close to call)
Favorite Place to Travel: Anywhere that grows and produces great wine!
Biggest Professional Achievement: Getting here is very important to me, but knowing all that I was able to do for others along the way is just as important.
Special Skill(s): Cooking, LinkedIn, Educating Others, Venue Sourcing, Networking, Restaurant Recommendations
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Peter Cooper Village
Favorite NYC Food: Minetta Tavern Burger, Hawksmoor Steaks & Tartare, Hillstone Salad, Murray's Bagels, Pietro's Veal Chop Parmesan, Momoya Sushi, and the list goes on and on, and on....(I promise I cook a lot!)
jasmine brito
DIRECTOR OF EVENTS
Hometown: New York, NY
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Watching people engage with the event and feel the excitement or emotion you’ve worked hard to create is incredibly rewarding. That moment when everything aligns, and the event runs seamlessly, makes all the hard work worth it!
Favorite Venue: One World Observatory. unparalleled 360-degree views of New York City, including iconic landmarks like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and Brooklyn Bridge. The venue symbolizes resilience and hope, giving events an added layer of meaning that can resonate with attendees.
Favorite Place to Travel: Hawaii, Aruba, Jamaica, Cartagena.... but wait... There's more! London, Chicago - each destination calling me with its own rhythm. I want to immerse myself in the rich, vibrant cultures, where the sounds of local music flow through the streets and every meal is an unforgettable experience.
Biggest Professional Achievement: Working with the talented Jamaican singer-songwriter Skip Marley—grandson of the legendary reggae icon Bob Marley and son of Cedella Marley—has been one of my most cherished experiences. Skip’s exceptional talent is complemented by his commitment to using his platform for positive change. A standout moment for me was his performance of Bob Marley’s "Get Up, Stand Up" alongside a stellar lineup that included Jon Batiste, Chris Martin, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Porter, Alessia Cara, We Are KING, and Esther Chungu at the Global Citizen event.
Special Skill(s): Resourceful, Focused Juggler, Problem Solver, Stress Management, Collaboration & Teamwork
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Upper West Side
Favorite NYC Food: New York-Style Pizza, Shrimp Boa Buns, Pasta
blair lenz
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, EVENTS & BRAND STRATEGY
Hometown: Madison, WI
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Getting to be creative, researching new event venues & trends, designing proposals from scratch.
Favorite Venue: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
Favorite Place to Travel: Paris, France or Warsaw, Poland
Biggest Professional Achievement: Being Lead Project Manager on an event that won the “Special Events Gala Award for Best Event Produced for a Corporation or Association” at Catersource + The Special Event 2023.
Special Skill(s): Je parle français.
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Upper West Side
Favorite NYC Food: Black-and-White cookies
mayesha ahmed
PROJECT MANAGER
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Watching it all come together on event days!
Favorite Venue: Still discovering venues in the city, so this spot is still open.
Favorite Place to Travel: It changes after every trip but LA, since I went the most recently.
Biggest Professional Achievement: Planning a VIP Montauk birthday weekend from start to finish.
Special Skill(s): I love the decor/design elements that come with event planning as well as the finance/budgeting since I'm good at math.
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Lower East Side
Favorite NYC Food: Cheesecake
john “tex” lechner
PROJECT COORDINATOR
Hometown: Stavanger, Norway & Katy, Texas
Favorite Part of Event Planning: The load-in and setup, when I can see our event concept finally coming to life.
Favorite Venue: King's Theater, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center
Favorite Place to Travel: South Africa - I need to explore there more!
Biggest Professional Achievement: Planning and executing my company's entire event strategy plan for six individual conventions/trade shows (and attended five of the six), all held within 50 days of one another across six different states!
Special Skill(s): Trivia, music knowledge, rugby, bicycling in NYC.
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? The East Village
Favorite NYC Food: Bagels, pizza, halal carts - too many to list!
kaela hamilton
ENTERTAINMENT MANAGER
Hometown: Orlando, FL
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Seeing crazy ideas come to life.
Favorite Venue: Ca d'Zan, Sarasota, FL
Favorite Place to Travel: Croatia
Biggest Professional Achievement: I was the first female Video Technician on Broadway.
Special Skill(s): High Wire Walking, Hand Salmon Fishing, I can make you almost anything.
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? East Village
Favorite NYC Food: Drunken Monkey Indian
matthew phillips
ENTERTAINMENT COORDINATOR
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Staying one step ahead on the day of, solving problems before they happen, and thinking on my feet.
Favorite Venue: The Cloisters Museum
Favorite Place to Travel: Greece
Biggest Professional Achievement: Cultivating a network of groundbreaking performers all over the world.
Special Skill(s): Fire Breathing, and some light aerial skills.
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Bushwick. Artsy, Bizarre, and full of secrets.
Favorite NYC Food: Steamed buns in china town.
olivia casabianca
SENIOR GRAPHICS & DIGITAL CREATIVE DESIGNER
Hometown: Hudson Valley, NY
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Getting to work on on a wide variety of projects, the fast paced environment, being creative & collaborative.
Favorite Venue: Fotografiska Museum, NYC
Favorite Place to Travel: Sicily, Italy
Biggest Professional Achievement: Creating, managing & executing all creative assets for multiple in house brands & clients.
Special Skill(s): Being able to learn any creative platform super fast!
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Tribeca
Favorite NYC Food: Chinese takeout!
lovette mai sañez
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
Hometown: McAllen, TX
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Making your thoughts become a reality and watching all the hard work pay off.
Favorite Venue: Beacon Theatre
Favorite Place to Travel: Anywhere in Asia, I always go once a year <3 Food and fashion are impeccable. The minute I leave, I'm already planning my next trip back.
Biggest Professional Achievement: Creative directed, styled, and casted models for my hometown’s first fashion show. Later designed and sold multiple copies of my first zine.
Special Skill(s): Musically-inclined, food fanatic, and fashion enthusiast.
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Lower East Side, ofc!
Favorite NYC Food:I fear there are too many good things to just choose one..
christian caurla
GRAPHIC & MULTI-MEDIA DESIGNER
Hometown: Spiazzi, Verona (Italy)
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Watching our videos as they finally play on huge screens during the event.
Favorite Venue: Keglerheim in Berlin. It's a huge old sports bar that hosts edgy events and attracts a very diverse crowd, from octogenarian German smokers to drag queens and families.
Favorite Place to Travel: Sicily
Biggest Professional Achievement: Having been part of the Cerbelli Team from the start and and supporting countless mesmerizing events.
Special Skill(s): Turning a theme into a visually appealing package.
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? I live in Berlin XD
Favorite NYC Food: I am Italian, so I would say Pizza. But Italy's is better ;)
denise tavarez-cerbelli
DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Hometown: Queens, NY
Favorite Part of Event Planning: The smile on the client’s face.
Favorite Venue: The Liberty Warehouse, NYC
Favorite Place to Travel: Italy
Biggest Professional Achievement: Completing a project that required me to work with a new team and take on responsibilities of the previous team lead. This helped the company improve efficiency and save time while helping me get recognition, learned teamwork skills and also test my abilities.
Special Skill(s): Savvy and resourceful
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Manhattan
Favorite NYC Food: Pizza
jo milan
VENUE & SALES COORDINATOR
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Favorite Part of Event Planning: What I enjoy most about event planning is collaborating with clients to identify solutions that meet their objectives and working with teams to turn those visions into reality.
Favorite Venue: Wave Hill in the Bronx
Favorite Place to Travel: Phillippines
Biggest Professional Achievement: Creating a customized activation focused on DE&I in the workplace that developed into an annual event during my time at Marvel Entertainment.
Special Skill(s): Building partnerships
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Upper West Side
Favorite NYC Food: All Asian Food
baci
VP (VICE POOCH)
Hometown: Barklyn
Favorite Part of Event Planning: The pawsitively fetching decor!
Favorite Venue: Museum of the Dog. Yes, that’s a real New Bark City place!
Favorite Place to Travel: Howl-olulu
Biggest Professional Achievement: Best in Show Planner Award
Special Skill(s): Napping, eating, and looking cute.
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Furry Hill
Favorite NYC Food: Pup-eria tacos. Bone Appétit!