Looking back at her career, Christina Daniels believes it is her multidisciplinary skill set and wide range of experiences that have served as the core of her many successes as production coordinator at Sequoia Productions.
Born in New York City, Christina moved widely across the country as she matured, living in New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Illinois, gathering valuable life experiences and invaluable perspectives with each move.
An animal lover at heart, Christina’s fascination with marine life led her to the University of North Carolina Wilmington, enrolling in their program as a marine biology major. But after a year of study, Christina would soon find that her love for marine life was more suited as a hobby and began pursuing alternative areas of study. When she enrolled in a public speaking course during her second year, Christiana found her eyes opened to an exciting new career route; communications.
“I fell in love with public speaking and then eventually the courses that came with it, Intro to Marketing, etc. I really enjoyed the openness of it all, the trading of needs, sales pitches, building cool concepts for advertising and PR. It all made sense to me”.
Christina quickly changed her major to communications with a focus on marketing and a minor in leadership studies. After graduation, Christina moved once again to South Carolina, taking a job at a marketing firm to continue developing her skills and experience. Soon after, she relocated to Chicago in search of further career opportunities, quickly acquiring a job as a project manager for a Fortune 500 company.
In her spare time, Christina continued to pursue her love for animals, volunteering for PAWS Chicago®, one of the largest no-kill shelters in the country. Alongside donating her time to working directly with the animals, Christina offered up her project management skills to the group, assisting in the planning and execution of their annual galas. Impressed by her skills and dedication, the founder offered her a position and Christina soon found herself thrust into the exciting world of event management.
It was during this time when she learned of Sequoia Productions, and after some research, Christina determined this was a place where her skills could be put to their best use and her career could grow. Christina and her husband moved to Los Angeles, and with her event management experience, she was quickly able to obtain freelance work within the industry. During a walkthrough for the Pacific Design Center’s annual gala, Christiana would finally cross paths with her dream company, Sequoia Productions.
“Sequoia was loading in for the Emmy Performers Nominee Reception at the same venue. While I was meeting with the venue’s event coordinator, Cheryl (Cecchetto, Sequoia Productions founder and president) came over and introduced herself. I already knew who they were and loved what they did, so it was such a dream connection. I talked with another Sequoia team member for a bit, and we exchanged contact information, and then just one or two months later they reached out and asked if I’d like to come in and interview for a freelance position, and the rest is history.”
Following six months of work with Sequoia Productions on a freelance basis, Christina officially joined the company as a production coordinator and permanent member of the team. With Sequoia, Christina finally found an environment where her broad range of skills, project management experience, and love for the industry could flourish.
As production coordinator, her project management and hands-on event planning experience come into considerable use, tackling the day to day specifics of running a major events company. No two days are alike in Christina’s world, and her organizational skills and positive can do-approach become instrumental as she faces a wide range of critical duties.
“My role consists partly of serving as the executive assistant to Gary (Levitt, Sequoia Productions executive vice president), then there’s also the production coordinator aspect of my role, and a lot of times I also work as an associate producer. So I sort of go up and down on the scale level and often jump in anywhere I’m needed. But, essentially, it is my responsibility to be there for Gary. I’m his right hand. Any time new clients come in, I’m part of the conversation. If there are any marketing-related tasks, that’s something I will work on, that’s something I do with him because I have a bit of that background from my studies and experience.”
With a broad range of skills comes a broad range of responsibilities, but Christina always finds herself excited and inspired to use her talents to tackle anything that comes across her desk. Whether she’s managing an event budget, coordinating the logistics of trucking schedules, arranging rentals, or putting her keen aesthetic eye to work on design implementation, Christina has developed a crucial ability to match her skills precisely to the task at hand, making her an invaluable asset for the high-end clientele of Sequoia Productions.
Christina and her husband both share a deep passion for animals as they happily share their home with three dogs and two cats. When she’s not working, Christina loves to travel, taking her furry friends out for as many outdoor adventures as possible, sniffing out any opportunity to satisfy her unending love of nature.
As production coordinator at Sequoia Productions, Christina sees her role as a perfect fit for someone with a broad multidisciplinary skillset and a passion for event management. Her industry knowledge, leadership experience, and willingness to throw herself headfirst into any challenge has made her a critical part of the Sequoia Productions team and she looks forward to growing with the company as together they continue delivering on their mission of producing truly exceptional events for truly exceptional clients.