Wild Elm Events

Virtual Event Planning & Consultation

Client Work

DSOA Inner Circle Retreats

Number of Events Planned: 12 In-Person (various locations), 14 Virtual, 2 Hybrid

Dance Studio Owners Association (DSOA) is a business coaching program that hosts four annual events for their Inner Circle, a membership program with a mission to help dance studio owners grow their studios and reclaim their lives.

Since partnering with Wild Elm in 2018, DSOA’s event strategy has evolved to meet their community’s needs. What began as four in-person events with under 60 attendees has grown into a dynamic hybrid model: two in-person retreats and two virtual events each year, developed in response to changing circumstances and member feedback. The program has also expanded from zero sponsors to 15 sponsors per event, creating valuable partnerships that enhance the member experience and generate additional event revenue.

The Inner Circle Retreats span three full days of focused learning and strategy sessions, with evenings designed for connection and exploration. Past evening experiences have included an 80s-themed harbor cruise, a poolside celebration, and a country dancing night—creating the perfect balance of professional development and community building.

Wild Elm has helped curate compelling programming for these events, including booking over 70 high-caliber speakers who deliver meaningful value to the dance studio CEO audience. Additionally, Wild Elm coordinated across teams to capture and repurpose content assets from the events, extending their reach and value beyond the live experience.

Client Testimonial
Emily Murnen brings unparalleled value to corporate events. Her expertise in researching venues, securing the best rates, and ensuring every event aligns perfectly with a company’s vision makes her an invaluable asset.
Emily has a keen ability to understand event goals and translate them into well-curated experiences. She goes above and beyond, ensuring every detail—from location to programming—aligns with the desired outcome. What truly sets Emily apart is her dedication to clients. She takes the stress out of event planning, anticipating needs before they arise and proactively solving challenges before they become issues.
Emily has been planning our events for 8 years and I simply could not imagine doing any event without her.

Lisa DeMaio

Inner Circle Program Director, Dance Studio Owners Association (DSOA)

Services Provided

  • Strategic Consulting
  • Site Selection
  • Contract Negotiation
  • Budgeting & Financial Management
  • Event Management
  • End-to-End Logistics
  • Program Curation
  • Experience Design
  • Vendor Sourcing and Relationships
  • Speaker Management
  • Sponsor Management
  • Onsite Support

Studio Grow – Dare to Thrive Conference

Number of Events Planned: 2 conferences (Los Angeles, CA)

Studio Grow is the fitness and wellness industry’s premier consulting firm, helping studio owners become more profitable while enabling CEOs to step away from day-to-day operations. When they decided to launch their first conference in 2022, they brought on Wild Elm to provide end-to-end event strategy and execution—from logistics and program curation to creating a sponsorship program that would drive additional revenue.

The inaugural Dare to Thrive Conference delivered strong results: an audience satisfaction score of 9.1 out of 10 and full achievement of budget goals, including sponsorship revenue targets.

Building on the systems and frameworks established at the first event while incorporating new iterations and refinements, the second conference significantly improved upon that success. Attendance grew by 30% and sponsorship revenue increased by 35%. Most importantly, the events positioned Studio Grow as a thought leader in the industry and created lasting brand loyalty with attendees—resulting in increased long-term membership revenue for their community.

Services Provided

  • Strategic Consulting
  • Site Selection
  • Contract Negotiation
  • Budgeting & Financial Management
  • Event Management
  • End-to-End Logistics
  • Program Curation
  • Experience Design
  • Vendor Sourcing and Relationships
  • Speaker Management
  • Sponsor Management
  • Onsite Support

Disaster Recovery Journal (DRJ) Conferences

Number of Events Planned: 10 In-Person/Hybrid (various locations), 3 Virtual

Disaster Recovery Journal (DRJ) is a long-established B2B magazine and event company that hosts conferences for business continuity and disaster recovery professionals. Their four-day events typically draw 500+ attendees, feature 60+ sessions mixing general sessions and breakouts, and include a trade show floor with 40+ sponsors and exhibitors.

Wild Elm was brought on in 2020 when DRJ needed to pivot their in-person event to a virtual format due to COVID-19. The challenge: create an engaging virtual experience that was easy to navigate across 60+ sessions while delivering meaningful value to paying attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors.

Wild Elm provided strategic consulting on platform selection and experience design, then managed all aspects of the virtual event execution—including developing systems and workflows for future events and overseeing relationships with 40+ sponsors and exhibitors. Since 2022, DRJ events have operated in a hybrid format with 500+ in-person attendees and 100+ virtual participants. Wild Elm continues to provide event strategy, platform management, AV production management, sponsor coordination, and onsite support for each conference.

Client Testimonial

We are a small B2B magazine and event company with a large footprint and audience. Like most large events, COVID forced us to quickly adapt a 30+ year business model into a new and challenging virtual environment. As a small business, we pride ourselves on handling everything in-house but these virtual events quickly taught us that we needed help. In came Emily Murnen. She was beyond amazing from start to finish. She took time to educate our staff, 80+ speakers, 40+ exhibitors and more without hesitation. She created processes and frameworks in order to streamline operations. Once we were able to hold our events in-person again, we couldn’t imagine doing it without Emily. Our events are now hybrid, and she heads the hybrid/virtual component and the management of our 40+ sponsors and exhibitors.
I highly recommend Emily as your event partner to ensure a tremendously successful event. She is a true expert who will support you throughout the entire event planning process and make sure that nothing falls through the cracks.

Bob Arnold

President, Disaster Recovery Journal

Services Provided

  • Strategic Consulting
  • Virtual and Hybrid Platform Management
  • AV Production Management
  • Sponsor Management
  • Onsite Support

60 Minute CFO – CEO Forums

Number of Events Planned: 55 cohort meetings (various locations), 1 conference (Austin, TX)

60 Minute CFO works with CEOs of moving van companies to improve their financial performance and profitability. Members are grouped into cohorts that meet twice a year to deep dive into their company financials, network with fellow CEOs, and share best practices.

Since partnering with 60 Minute CFO in 2022, Wild Elm has planned 55 cohort meetings and developed scalable planning systems, including detailed SOPs and reusable templates, to streamline execution while maintaining the high-quality, valuable content members expect.

The CEO Forums rotate locations with each event, as members take turns hosting in their home city. Each gathering includes a tour of the host’s company warehouse, two full days of learning and shared meals, and valuable peer-to-peer connection. In 2025, the event strategy evolved to include a larger spring conference combining multiple cohorts alongside individual fall meetings. This model increased networking opportunities and member value while significantly improving event margins—a model that will continue in 2026 with the addition of sponsors to generate additional value and revenue.

Client Testimonial

Emily is the most thorough and thoughtful event planner I’ve worked with. I have planned over 50 very detailed events with her and each one has gone seamlessly. She has an especially hard challenge with my events because each one is in a different, off-the-beaten-path location. Each time she goes above and beyond to take care in negotiations for site selection, food, AV, and special add-on activities. She has also found ways to save costs that I never knew you could do. She is truly an insider in the industry with a mind for business and organization. I won’t plan an event without her and her team.

Tracy Bech

CEO, 60 Minute CFO

Services Provided

  • Strategic Consulting
  • Site Selection
  • Contract Negotiation
  • Budgeting & Financial Management
  • Event Management
  • End-to-End Logistics
  • Program Curation
  • Experience Design
  • Vendor Sourcing and Relationships
  • Speaker Management
  • Sponsor Management
  • Onsite Support

Let’s create amazing events together.

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