Dequila Pullen
Arlington,VA
Summary
Registration and Event Operations Manager with expertise in strategic planning and onsite execution for major conferences. Proficient in managing cross-functional teams and vendor relationships to optimize registration processes. Experienced in analyzing registration trends, providing actionable insights, and ensuring data integrity throughout the event lifecycle.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
Manager, Registration & Housing
National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA)
Tysons Corner, VA
11.2024 - Current
- Lead registration and housing operations for the association’s three largest conferences, ensuring seamless execution from planning through onsite delivery.
- Manage the configuration, testing, and implementation of complex registration and housing systems, validating business rules, workflows, payment processing, and attendee communications before launch.
- Serve as the primary liaison between internal stakeholders, registration vendors, IT, Finance, Design, and Exhibits teams to align registration requirements and improve the attendee experience.
- Develop project timelines and oversee registration milestones to ensure projects remain on schedule and meet organizational objectives.
- Monitor registration and hotel booking trends, analyze data, and provide actionable recommendations to leadership for enhanced planning and operational effectiveness.
- Ensure the integrity and accuracy of registration and housing data through system testing, validation, quality assurance, and reconciliation.
- Lead onsite registration operations, including badge distribution, satellite registration locations, staffing coordination, and issue resolution.
- Partner with the Exhibits team to improve onsite registration processes for exhibitors and attendees, increasing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
- Managed room block requests and function space assignments for VIP exhibitors, international delegations, and affiliated organizations, optimizing space allocation for maximum utility.
- Support contract negotiations through hotel relationship management and strategic room block planning.
Senior Coordinator, Registration
American Bankers Association
Washington, DC
02.2019 - 11.2024
- Managed registration operations for multiple conferences and meetings simultaneously, ensuring successful execution from registration launch through onsite support.
- Processed attendee, exhibitor, and group registrations, payment transactions, refunds, and registration modifications while maintaining high standards of customer service.
- Built and tested registration websites prior to launch, validating attendee pathways, pricing, business rules, payment processing, and reporting functionality.
- Maintained registration data integrity through comprehensive quality assurance testing, data validation, duplicate record management, and post-event reconciliation.
- Generated registration reports, attendee rosters, financial reports, and Excel analyses to inform event planning and operational decisions.
- Collaborated with cross-functional departments and vendors to address registration issues and enhance processes.
- Developed and delivered onsite training for temporary registration staff, promoting consistent procedures and high-quality customer service.
- Provided onsite registration leadership by supporting attendee services, troubleshooting registration issues, and coordinating registration desk operations.
Group Sales Coordinator
Expovision
Falls Church, VA
05.2017 - 02.2019
- Managed high-volume room block requests, ensuring accuracy in data handling and streamlined operations.
- Coordinated hotel reservations for exhibitors across conventions, ensuring timely accommodations for over 20,000 room nights.
- Served as primary customer service liaison for exhibitors, clients, and hotel partners, resolving issues to enhance attendee satisfaction.
Account Coordinator
Regency Corporate Living
San Diego, CA
09.2015 - 05.2017
- Managed the company’s second-largest corporate account while serving as the primary client contact.
- Conducted regular client meetings, site visits, and relationship management activities to ensure contract compliance and service excellence.
- Established performance metrics and monitored service delivery to enhance customer satisfaction.
- Coordinated cross-functional teams to resolve client issues and support business growth.
Housing Coordinator
SPARGO, Inc.
Fairfax, VA
09.2012 - 09.2015
- Coordinated housing operations for conventions ranging from 50 to over 20,000 room nights.
- Liaised between clients, attendees, and hotel partners to efficiently resolve housing-related issues, facilitating smooth event execution.
- Maintained housing databases, ensuring accuracy of attendee and hotel information to support seamless event operations.
- Supported Housing Account Managers in convention planning and onsite operations, enhancing overall customer service experience.
Education
Associate of Applied Science - Hospitality Management
Northern Virginia Community College
Annandale, VA05-2007
Skills
- Registration strategy
- Project Management
- Registration Site Development
- Process Improvement Administration
- Registration Testing & Quality control
- Data insights & Reporting
- Reporting & Dashboards
- Advanced Excel reporting
- Excel Reporting
- Website testing
- Housing Management Systems
- Onsite Event Operations
- Vendor Management
- Risk Management
- Stakeholder Management
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Cvent
- Team Training
- Cvent
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Smartsheet
- Workday
- Badge Management
- CRM management
- Customer Experience
- Housing Management
Additional Recommendations
- To make this resume even stronger for this specific position, I recommend adding a 'Selected Accomplishments' section immediately after your professional summary with measurable results, such as:
- Led registration operations for conferences serving 3,200+ attendees.
- Managed registration and housing for multiple concurrent events annually.
- Built, tested, and launched complex Cvent registration sites while ensuring data integrity and quality assurance.
- Improved onsite registration processes through cross-functional collaboration and workflow optimization.
- Trained temporary registration staff and coordinated onsite operations for large-scale conferences.
Timeline
Manager, Registration & Housing
National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA)
11.2024 - Current
Senior Coordinator, Registration
American Bankers Association
02.2019 - 11.2024
Group Sales Coordinator
Expovision
05.2017 - 02.2019
Account Coordinator
Regency Corporate Living
09.2015 - 05.2017
Housing Coordinator
SPARGO, Inc.
09.2012 - 09.2015
Associate of Applied Science - Hospitality Management
Northern Virginia Community College