Event operations • experiential • live production

I build the moments people remember.

Event operations and production manager with 10+ years of experience bringing stadium-scale execution, corporate project discipline, and founder-level budget accountability to live experiences.

Microsoft Accessibility • USC Football • LA Memorial Coliseum • federal public-engagement programs • independent festival production

View selected work Career overview

Corporate + accessibility

Microsoft Ability Summit 2022

Integrated workplans, rehearsals, vendors, accessible technology, and cross-functional production.

Stadium + sports operations

USC Football + LA Memorial Coliseum

Recruiting hospitality, event-day systems, and large-scale venue operations.

77.5Kseat venue

50+annual events

$100K+budget scale

1,000on-site personnel

Selected work

Good events feel effortless. The work behind them is anything but.

My lane is the space between the idea and the doors opening: the people, timing, vendors, safety, hospitality, and details that make the experience hold together.

01 / Corporate technology

September 2021 to May 2023

Event project management • accessibility • vendor teams

Microsoft Ability Summit & Accessibility Programs

As an event project manager within Microsoft's Accessibility department, I helped deliver the 2022 Ability Summit and other accessibility-focused programs. Inclusion shaped the work from the beginning—not as a final checklist.

12th annual • 2022 flagship eventMicrosoft Ability Summit

Supported planning and production for Microsoft's global accessibility gathering. Across the summit and related event portfolio, I coordinated timelines, budgets, rehearsals, vendors, A/V, interpreters, captioning, and cross-functional partners.

View Microsoft's 2022 summit coverage

Plan inclusively

Built accessibility needs into timelines, budgets, and production plans.

Coordinate the room

Aligned interpreters, captioning services, A/V teams, HR, IT, and communications.

Learn and improve

Tracked engagement and post-event data to strengthen future programming.

02 / Major venue

September 2023 to October 2024

Venue operations • public safety • client delivery

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Stadium operations leave no room for guesswork. I turned client needs into deployable plans for USC home games, sold-out productions, intimate activations, and an on-field Fred again.. concert.

Scale

Managed more than 50 events in a 77,500-capacity venue, with up to 1,000 on-site personnel and six-figure event budgets.

How I worked

Built deployment plans, production schedules, run sheets, SOPs, and continuity plans while coordinating clients, field crews, control rooms, LAPD, LAFD, and DOT.

Venue capacity77,500

Seats, one operating plan, zero major violations

Original work • sanitized portfolio reproduction

Frontline readiness for an estimated 10,000 attendees.

I created the event-day operations brief for USC New Student Convocation 2024, consolidating the venue timeline, guest-service priorities, accessibility, entry policy, safety awareness, and weather readiness into one practical reference for frontline teams.

Restricted maps, access points, security procedures, and personnel details have been removed from this portfolio reproduction.

View case study Download PDF

Sanitized event-day operations brief created by Niyah Nelson for USC New Student Convocation 2024 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — USC New Student Convocation 2024 • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

03 / Sports

August 2025 to May 2026

Event operations • VIP hospitality • logistics

USC Football Recruiting Experiences

The work had two lanes: high-volume coordination for official and unofficial prospect visits, and event production for recruiting weekends and home-game hospitality. Every experience also had to remain tightly aligned across coaching, compliance, and facilities.

Recruiting operations45+

official and unofficial visits coordinated during the 2025–26 cycle

High-volume coordination

Managed visit itineraries, staff assignments, VIP movement, field and locker-room access, transportation, lodging, catering, security clearances, and post-visit feedback.

Event production

Produced game-day recruiting hospitality and official-visit activities, coordinating the dedicated event area, dining, A/V, multimedia presentations, staffing, and show flow for prospects and their families.

Program impact

Supported the experience behind USC Football's nationally top-ranked 2026 recruiting class while improving readiness across more than 45 recruiting visits and activations.

Original work • sanitized portfolio reproduction

A six-phase deployment built from call time through closeout.

I created the recruiting game-day staffing and guest-flow plan, coordinating setup, check-in, hospitality, stadium transitions, in-game coverage, financial reconciliation, and postgame breakdown across a multi-person team.

Personnel names and restricted access details have been removed; the operating structure reflects the original work I created and executed.

View case study Download PDF

Sanitized USC Football recruiting game-day operations plan created by Niyah Nelson — USC Football recruiting • Game-day staffing and guest-flow plan

04 / Culture & festival

2017 to 2022

Founder & Executive Producer • full-cycle production • talent • partnerships

Culture Enterprises / Everyday Dope Life

A homegrown cultural platform built in Norfolk, Virginia, before the Hampton Roads region had many large-scale, independent Hip-Hop experiences. I took each production from the first idea through financial closeout.

EDL FEST: The Producer’s Cut, a Hip-Hop carnival produced in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2017

Full-cycle ownership

Talent & venue booking
Budgeting & finance
Vendor marketplace
Marketing & promotion
Staffing & show flow

Festival series reach1,900+

documented and estimated guests across four flagship productions

927documented online orders

$31.7Kdocumented online sales

$5K → $40Kfestival budget growth

1 → 2stages at peak scale

Online figures represent ticket-order transactions, not individual tickets. Event-day purchases generated additional attendance and revenue beyond the documented digital totals.

A one-person production office

I owned booking, budgets, finance, venues, vendors, contracts, marketing, staffing, logistics, production schedules, and show-day execution—with volunteer support arriving primarily on event day.

The no-fee venue model

I repeatedly secured venue access without rental fees—often negotiating private takeovers during normal operating hours. Host businesses kept incremental food-and-beverage revenue while EDL retained its ticketing and merchandise income.

Regional economic strategy

Nationally recognized recording artists expanded audience reach; local performers, vendors, food businesses, and creatives made the experience belong to Hampton Roads. The model circulated dollars locally, created new customers for partner venues, and built hometown pride.

2017

O’Connor Brewing Co. • Norfolk, Virginia

EDL FEST: The Producer’s Cut

Hampton Roads producer showcase

~350 guests
8 retail • 3 food
$5K budget

Independent and on-site sales

2018

O’Connor Brewing Co. • Norfolk, Virginia

EDL FEST

Featured headliner: Atlanta Hip-Hop recording artist KEY!

600+ guests
12 retail • 3 food
$10K budget

342 online orders • $8.8K online sales

2019

Maker’s Craft Brewery • Norfolk, Virginia

DOPEAFFAIR

Featured headliner: nationally recognized Hip-Hop recording artist Larry June

265 documented guests
15 retail • 3 food
$15K budget

165 online orders • $4.2K online sales

2021

Maker’s Craft Brewery • Norfolk, Virginia

EDL FEST

Featured headliner: nationally recognized Hip-Hop recording artist Babyface Ray

730+ documented guests
20 retail • 4 food • 2 stages
$40K budget

420 online orders • $18.7K online sales

Strategy & partnerships

The platform grew beyond the show day.

Original business-development materials rebuilt as concise case studies show how I translated EDL's cultural reach into institutional alignment, sponsor value, activation inventory, and measurable delivery plans.

Institutional partnership strategy • 3-page case study

EDL FEST Community Partnership Proposal

Reframes a homegrown festival as a platform for higher education, civic access, employment pathways, entrepreneurship, local business participation, and long-term community investment.

Partnership positioning • community strategy • program design • measurement framework

View case study Download

Sponsorship development • 3-page case study

EDL FEST Sponsorship & Brand Partnership Strategy

Positions Everyday Dope Life as a multi-format cultural platform, connecting audience insight and year-round programming to sponsor rights, activations, content, hospitality, and reporting.

Audience strategy • property architecture • activation inventory • sponsor operations

View case study Download

Production artifact • 2021 EDL FEST

One festival. Two environments. Eight hours mapped minute by minute.

This portfolio view reconstructs the event itinerary as an executive-level production schedule, showing how indoor and outdoor programming, talent movement, resets, and a national headliner were held inside one operating plan.

Program blocks: 14
Performance slots: 28
Event format: Indoor + outdoor

View full schedule Download workbook

Portfolio view of the 2021 EDL FEST production schedule with fourteen program blocks across an eight-hour indoor and outdoor event — Production schedule preview • 2021 EDL FEST • Maker's Craft Brewery

05 / Experiential & community

2018 to 2022

Panels • nightlife • art • live content

Formats built around participation.

Not every meaningful experience needs a festival footprint. These programs turned conversation, games, art, and media into reasons for people to enter a room and connect.

2020–2022 • Slover Library + Selden Market • Norfolk, Virginia

Meeting of the Minds

Co-produced four panels with Tidewater Waves, a Hampton Roads marketing and media company focused on elevating creatives, entrepreneurs, and businesses. Together we secured venues and resources, shaped online marketing content, and paired civic dialogue with local vendors, live music, and streamed programming; the premiere reached RSVP capacity.

Lead producer • programming • booking • production

2021 • Circuit Social • Norfolk, Virginia

The Function on Granby

Co-produced with The Traptastic, a Hampton Roads nightlife and experiential-events collective known for culture-forward parties and unconventional venues. I negotiated two no-fee private takeovers for the July 4 and Labor Day editions; Circuit Social retained beverage revenue while the event retained its ticketing and merchandise proceeds.

Co-producer • venue partnership • experience design • promotion

2021 • 757 Love Fest

CannaJustice Conference Panel

Helped assemble and book a conversation on cannabis, culture, policy, and the War on Drugs, then hosted and moderated the panel featuring recording artist Shelley, formerly DRAM, and marijuana-justice leadership.

Host/moderator • panel production • booking support

2019 • TASTE Ghent • Norfolk, Virginia

Side B: An innovative art installation

Built an interdisciplinary presentation around concert photography by Hampton Roads photographer nSightz. Visual artists overlaid original work onto enlarged concert images; fashion artists translated the source material into a live runway; and DJs plus moderated artist conversations connected the disciplines. I negotiated a no-fee, after-hours takeover of TASTE Ghent’s café and patio, allowing the local specialty food business to retain food and wine revenue.

Creative producer • artist curation • venue negotiation • show flow

View original event artwork

2019 • Xchange • Norfolk, Virginia

Deeper Than Rap: Live Podcast

Partnered with Bars On I-95—a prominent freestyle and interview platform known for nationally established and emerging Hip-Hop talent—to stage a live conversation that elevated local artists and talent while supporting audience discovery, viewership, and music streaming. The program was moderated by Ahmad Davis, now Senior Artist Marketing & Partnerships Manager at UnitedMasters. I secured Xchange, a sneaker, streetwear, luxury, and vintage retailer in Downtown Norfolk, Virginia, through a no-fee partnership that brought the program into a business already connected to local street culture and created additional exposure for its merchandise.

Producer • platform partnership • venue negotiation • live programming

View original event artwork

2018 • Bonchon • Norfolk, Virginia

Bonchon Game Night

Converted a restaurant setting into a participatory community game night through a no-fee venue partnership. The activation brought Bonchon additional dine-in and bar business, and its success led the venue to share a percentage of event-night bar sales with Culture Enterprises—creating earned revenue without venue overhead.

Producer • restaurant partnership • experience design • promotion

Strategy & concept development

The show starts long before anyone enters the room.

Selected work showing how I shape the business, creative, and partnership logic behind an experience—from academic market research to client campaigns, sponsorships, and collaborative experience strategy.

Academic strategy project • 3-page case study

Invest: San Diego Leadership Summit

Built a 5.5-hour executive summit architecture around life sciences, development and investment, and the workforce and cross-border economy; researched speakers, sponsors, and venues.

Market research • programming • sponsorship • venue strategy

View case study Download

Client campaign strategy • 3-page case study

Wish Me Luck Sport

Developed a photo and video world around movement, community, and rhythm through gym-based double dutch, jazz, aerobics, and roller-skating concepts with an integrated deliverable system.

Creative direction • experience concept • content system • location strategy

View strategy Download

Client sponsorship proposal • 3-page case study

The Global Affair

Positioned a benefit concert supporting LAFRA and MusiCares and built its brand-activation inventory, VIP hospitality model, and multi-tier sponsor pathway for Godfather Entertainment Group.

Sponsorship architecture • cause positioning • activations • VIP hospitality

View proposal Download

Collaborative experience strategy • 3-page case study

Streat Night

Co-developed the strategy for a Los Angeles social experience, shaping a multi-mode format that moved guests between interviews, large-format games, music, a lounge, and cross-scene networking.

Audience strategy • experience architecture • problem framing • concept development

View strategy Download

Selected public context

The work exists beyond the résumé.

Official program pages and independent coverage validate the scale and public context of selected work. Role-specific details reflect employment and production records.

Microsoft

Ability Summit 2022

Official coverage of Microsoft’s 12th annual accessibility gathering.

ESPN

2026 recruiting class rankings

ESPN ranked USC’s 2026 signing class No. 1 nationally.

LA Memorial Coliseum

Fred again.. (sold out show)

The venue’s official archive documents the 2024 headline production.

The Virginian-Pilot

EDL FEST returns

Regional coverage of the festival’s 2021 return at Maker’s Craft Brewery.

Watch the work

Produced live. Documented with intention.

Culture Enterprises and Everyday Dope Life extended each room through recaps, broadcasts, interviews, and original editorial content.

Explore the EDL YouTube archive

Meeting of the Minds — full panel broadcast

EDL FEST 2018 — event recap

EDL FEST: The Producer’s Cut — event recap

From the archive

Early ideas that still show how I think.

2018 • Original event artwork

The Playlist Party

One night, three distinct Hip-Hop moods, with the artists, DJs, lighting, and pacing changing to fit each segment.

2017 • Original event artwork

Sole Food Kicks: 3 Peat

A nine-hour anniversary sidewalk sale and block party curated around retail, music, food, and community.

2019 • Original event artwork

Side B: An innovative art installation.

Concert photography became a shared source for visual-art reinterpretations, styled fashion presentations, artist conversations, and a live runway at TASTE Ghent.

Deeper Than Rap Podcast Live flyer featuring Bars On I-95 at Xchange in Norfolk, Virginia

2019 • Original event artwork

Deeper Than Rap: Live Podcast

A live Hip-Hop conversation created with Bars On I-95, a prominent freestyle and interview platform with national reach, designed to elevate local artists and talent through added visibility, viewership, and music discovery. UnitedMasters marketing and partnerships leader Ahmad Davis moderated the program at Xchange, a streetwear and sneaker retailer in Downtown Norfolk, Virginia.

About Niyah

Los Angeles, California

I run the room without losing the idea.

My work spans stadium sports, live entertainment, corporate accessibility programs, federal public engagement, and founder-led cultural productions. Across each setting, I translate a creative or business goal into the budgets, schedules, staffing plans, vendor relationships, and operating details needed to deliver it.

I bring project management structure without losing the feeling that made the experience worth building in the first place—from the first scope conversation through event-day execution and closeout.

MS Project Management, USCMA Live Entertainment Management, University of MiamiBS Mass Communications, Norfolk State University

Experience

A career built across the whole show.

Jan 2025–Present

Marketing Project Manager

Center Consultants

Aug 2025–May 2026

Recruiting Event & Operations Associate

USC Football

Sep 2023–Oct 2024

Event Operations Account Manager

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Sep 2021–May 2023

Event Project Manager, Accessibility

Microsoft

2017–2022

Founder & Executive Producer

Culture Enterprises

Jun 2019–Sep 2021

Project Management Support Specialist

Fors Marsh Group

Jan 2015–Apr 2017

Digital Content Manager

Universal Music Group

Career materials

Résumé and credentials—together in one place.

Review the complete two-page résumé or download an editable copy.

View résumé Résumé Word

Let's make it happen

Need someone who can see the experience and run the room?

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