Our Team

Catherine C. Bennett RN, MS
Chief Executive Officer

CHEP’s Chief Executive Officer, has been with the company since 2004, originally in the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO). Her in-depth knowledge of comprehensive conference planning as well as the daily operations of the organization, combined with her ability to provide solid and constructive solutions simply adds to the strength and commitment of CHEP’s team atmosphere. Mrs. Bennett will lend her skills to the review of contractual obligations with subcontractors to ensure all essential language is included in such agreements to financially and legally protect our clients. Over the years, she has contributed her expertise to contract reviews, negotiations and RFP development, all of which will be beneficial to this project. Mrs. Bennett will provide overall direction and leadership to the team and ensure that the project is appropriately staffed, deadlines are met, and the project is delivered on time with appropriate utilization of resources. With her career origins in nursing, Mrs. Bennett’s healthcare background coupled with her leadership abilities, have allowed her to successfully facilitate CHEP’s Continuing Medical Education (CME) Committee efforts and make her an integral part of planning healthcare centric events.

Carly Spiewak, CMP, BA
Chief Operating Officer/Meeting Planner

Mrs. Spiewak is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) who has been planning meetings and conferences since 2006, making her highly qualified to organize and execute any event. Mrs. Spiewak’s experience runs the gamut of conference planning responsibilities, including but not limited to: planning committee meeting facilitation, budgeting, hotel contract negotiation and management, exhibitor coordination, online registration and website set up, speaker coordination, onsite registration management, materials development, meeting logistics coordination, and vendor negotiation with audio visual providers, printers and decorators. Over the years she has coordinated small, interactive workshops for the Department of Veterans Affairs that required a great amount of attention to detail on her part as the planner, specifically in logistics coordination and budgeting; medium sized trainings for various clients; and large conferences ranging from 300 – 2500 attendees with complex, shifting demands. Budget consciousness, astute negotiation skills, and an intuitive planning ability are some of the distinctive qualities Mrs. Spiewak will bring to your organization.

Carissa Merritt, CMP, CSEP, BS
Development and Special Events Coordinator

Mrs. Merritt joined CHEP as the Development and Special Events Coordinator in early 2018. Her contributions to CHEP’s team include the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP) designations and 15 years of experience in planning and managing special events, conferences, expos and meetings. With a continuous career working in the non-profit arena, she has served as Event Program Manager coordinating nationwide multi – day conferences and meetings with attendances ranging from 25 – 1500. Mrs. Merritt managed all aspects of the conference planning including but not limited to, identifying hotel venues, negotiating and managing hotel relationships, contracts and banquet event orders, coordinating the logistics for a 20-booth exhibit hall, handling speaker contracts, and managing all onsite logistics and staffing. Several of these conferences required Mrs. Merritt’s support on program development with 20+ breakout sessions and management of off-site special events including attendee transportation. She also performed all administrative event logistics including setting up online registrations, managing hotel rooming lists and preparing event materials. Previously, Mrs. Merritt spent ten years as a Special Events Manager planning fundraising special events, ribbon cuttings and awards ceremonies. In addition to overall event management, her role required managing vendor relationships such as caterers, decorators and entertainment, implementing event themes, consistent communications with stakeholders, including planning committees and developing marketing materials.

Jane Garrett, BS
Finance Manager

Mrs. Garrett has worked for CHEP since 1999, providing financial management and oversight of our company finances and client finances alike. CHEP oversees multiple client accounts and Mrs. Garrett plays the major role of tracking accounts receivable and accounts payable, as well as providing custom reporting to clients when needed. Ms. Garrett regularly assists with conference planning tasks such as event material preparation, packing and shipping, as well as onsite support as a registration manager. She is the financial manager for all events, coordinating and maintaining separate accounts for clients and projects, issuing payments and invoices to vendors, maintaining financial records, and producing monthly and/or quarterly reports as scheduled or as needed.