Staff
FIND US
☎(615) 322-2448 or Click to Call
✉EventServices@Vanderbilt.edu
Campus Map of Event Spaces
Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm • 2301 Vanderbilt Place • Rand Hall, Suite 307 • Nashville, TN 37235
OUR OFFICE
EVENTS
Angela Covington ✉
Assistant Director | Events
Angela has been working at Vanderbilt University since 2008. Her previous hospitality experience includes 10 years at the Walt Disney World Company and 5 years at Gaylord Opryland Hotel. She truly finds VU so rewarding because of her work family and the student staff she interacts with on a daily basis. She has been married for over 20 years and has two children attending college. In her free time, Angela loves to garden and hike in Warner Parks.
Jordan Hajacos ✉
Assistant Director | Events
Nashville native and Auburn University alum Jordan Hajacos has been with Vanderbilt University since 2008. After joining the team as an event manager, Jordan now serves as an Assistant Director for Events at Vanderbilt. A foodie and live music lover, Jordan’s sense for Nashville culture and cuisine helps her shape the unique event spaces at Vanderbilt University for clients.
Carrie Johnson ✉
Assistant Director | Facilities
A transplant from the Midwest, about 20 years ago, Carrie enjoys bland food and does not care for hot chicken. Twelve years ago, in her plight to find a new, meaningful job, she stumbled upon a position at Vanderbilt and decided this would be her home and family now. Along with her many, many colleagues, she has a family of 2 dogs and 4 cats at home in Donelson. Her love of HGTV empowers her with the belief that she too can renovate. That poor home. Her passions are all animals, books, and of course, constant destruction projects in her house. Fun Fact: if she were stranded on an island, Reese’s cups alone would ensure her survival.
Brooke McVey ✉
Business Manager
Brooke is a Clarksville native, but calls Nashville home. She attended Austin Peay State University and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication. Brooke has been in the event planning industry for 6 years, working with various companies to create many successful and highly entertaining events. Interacting with clients, understanding their vision, and working with them to bring it to life, really fuels her creative side. She is passionate about helping others create their perfect event. Brooke has a beautiful family, including two little girls, who are her whole world, and inspire her every day. Fun fact about Brooke: She has a twin sister, and they are like night and day!
Sara Cope ✉
Sr. Program Coordinator
Kissam/E. Bronson Ingram/Student Staff Development
Sara is a native Nashvillian who loves all things Music City! She went to undergrad at Centre College in Danville, KY, but came back home for grad school here at our own Peabody College. She loves her job, her work family, and her student staff that make the event planning process an exciting learning opportunity every day! Outside of work, she volunteers with tnAchieves to mentor local highschoolers as they apply to college. She’s also involved with the Nashville Area KKG Alumnae Association as the Panhellenic representative. On a beautiful day, you can most likely find Sara sitting on a patio at a Nashville restaurant, hiking at Radnor Lake, or listening to live music somewhere outside. She lives in Goodlettsville with her husband and their sweet dog Josie.
Karen Burnett ✉
Event Manager
Commons Center
Karen is a known triple threat – singing, dancing and event planning. She was active in her university programming board at her alma mater, Auburn University and honed her customer service skills for 17 years at a little hotel in town, Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. She lives wayyyy out of town in an animal-less farm with her husband Erik, son Jack, one well-behaved dog and one manic labradoodle.
Jordan Farmer ✉
Event Manager
Alumni Hall
Jordan was born and raised in Nashville, TN. She received her degree in Communications from Austin Peay State University. She credits her 8 years of experience in the events industry to her ability to take a blank space and make a client’s vision come to life. Previous to her role at VU, she worked at Gaylord Opryland Hotel Convention Services as a Conference Coordinator. In her spare time she loves to going to concerts, the gym, being active outdoors, traveling, and spoiling her puppy, Simba. She has joked that getting her puppy on her graduation day was almost better than getting her degree.
Emma Rutter ✉
Event Manager
Student Life Center
A former Event Coordinator in the Washington DC area, Emma moved to Nashville in 2017 and quickly fell in love with the Vanderbilt community. Emma’s passion for communication and university life developed through college working in housing and programming. Her diverse hospitality background easily translated into Public Relations and event life, eventually leading her out of the tech world to find her place on the Events team at Vanderbilt. Emma thrives when providing her support to students and community members, and is happiest spending her free time outdoors or traveling.
Kayla Ongais ✉
Event Manager
Sarratt | Rand
Born and raised in Hilo, Hawai’i, Kayla joins the Events at Vanderbilt team as a new Event Manager in the Student Life Center. She recently graduated from Belmont University with her Master’s degree in Sport Administration. During her time at Belmont, she interned for various sporting teams in Nashville and assisted with two major events at Bridgestone Arena – 2017 Stanley Cup Final and 2017 CMA Awards. In her spare time, she enjoys attending concerts/music festivals, exercising at her favorite gym (getFit615), and being outside.
Olivia King ✉
Event Manager
SLC/Benton Chapel
Olivia Lampley is a new Event Manager for Events at Vanderbilt. She will be supervising the associates that work in the Events at Vanderbilt office as well as managing events in the Student Life Center and Benton Chapel. She graduated in May 2018 from Vanderbilt with a degree in Human and Organizational Development. She is excited to be working with our office and to be back at Vandy!
Dani Bestfelt ✉
Graduate Assistant
Dani (she/her/hers) is a M. Ed candidate in the Higher Education Administration program at Peabody College. She is originally from Cincinnati, OH (Who Dey!) and graduated in 2017 from Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in Spanish. She spent a year serving as the Interim Tutoring Center Coordinator there, where she found her home in the world of student support and development. As a graduate assistant, she is excited to combine her passions for student development and customer service while learning more about the event planning and management process. In her free time, Dani likes cooking, doing yoga, playing with her dog (Jinx) and cat (Daisy), or listening to one of the (many) podcasts she enjoys.
Danielle Recco ✉
Graduate Assistant
Danielle is a M.Ed. candidate in the Higher Education Administration program at Peabody College. She is originally from Massachusetts but spent the last several years in Portland, Maine after graduating from Bates College in 2012. Most recently, she worked as an operations manager at an international education non-profit. Prior to that, she worked in the insurance industry for six years. Danielle enjoys spending her free time exploring the outdoors with her two chocolate labs, Moose and Grizzly, gardening, cooking, and traveling.
PRODUCTION SERVICES
Andreas Claus ✉
Director, Production Services
Andreas is a transplanted Minnesotan, though he has lived in Tennessee for 36 years. Trained in Performance Technology at Michigan Tech, his career has been split between the theatre, conferences & conventions and concerts. With 13 years at Vanderbilt, he loves the variety of work and people he works with. When not on campus you can find him sailing.
Emerson Eubank ✉
Production Services
Bio coming soon!
Suzanne Freeman ✉
Production Services
Bio coming soon!
Gary Sinz ✉
Production Services
Gary was born and raised in Nashville. He has been working for Vanderbilt Production Services for 30 years.
Even though his focus is in sound production, He truly enjoys working with all aspects of event production.