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!)
meagan shipley, cmp
DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Hometown: Solon, OH
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Carrying a clipboard and bossing people around. Making quick decisions.
Favorite Venue: Cannon Green, Charleston, SC
Favorite Place to Travel: NA
Biggest Professional Achievement: Executing seven simultaneous Football Hall of Fame Inductee celebrations in Canton, OH. Two week load-in and build-out of seven tented venues, each with air conditioning, rigging, lighting, carpeting and a unique event design.
Special Skill(s): Problem solving. Excel documents. The macarena.
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Park Slope!
Favorite NYC Food: Everything bagel with scallion cream cheese.
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
anneliese glaubitz, csep
PROJECT MANAGER
Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Telling stories and creating memories- being able to see the joy that events bring to others!
Favorite Venue: Alila Ventana Big Sur
Favorite Place to Travel: Copenhagen
Biggest Professional Achievement: Leading and producing a company event with 12 caterers, 3 bars, over 30 entertainment vendors, and staff + volunteers- tied together with a creative theme and 1,000 happy guests!
Special Skill(s): Keeping calm under pressure- Taking candid photos- Cartwheels
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? Tribeca
Favorite NYC Food: Van Leeuwen Ice Cream!
kayla jaffy
PROJECT COORDINATOR
Hometown: Boca Raton, FL
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Getting to work with creative like-minded team members where no idea is too big or too small. I believe in the event industry there is always endless room for creativity and new ideas.
Favorite Venue: Radio City Music Hall, NYC
Favorite Place to Travel: Barcelona, Spain
Biggest Professional Achievement: Coordinating and producing my first ever national volunteer event in 5 different cities across the US working with 10 different nonprofit partners raising over $75,000 in donations.
Special Skill(s): Being detail oriented and extremely organized because life is all about the details.
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? West Village
Favorite NYC Food: Levain Bakery cookies
mayesha ahmed
PROJECT COORDINATOR
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
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
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
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
tyler lindsay
VENUE & SPECIAL EVENTS MANAGER
Hometown: Connersville, IN
Favorite Part of Event Planning: Seeing how pleased a client is during their event.
Favorite Venue: TwoFortyThirty!
Favorite Place to Travel: Anywhere with warm turquoise water and a nice beach.
Biggest Professional Achievement: Re-planning a wedding in less than 24 hours after a venue cancelled.
Special Skill(s): Remaining calm and cool in chaotic situations.
If you were an NYC neighborhood, which one would you be? West Village
Favorite NYC Food: Pizza