It’s all about grace under pressure and every day Deborah Elias, CSEP, CMP, CIS exhibits that characteristic, whether she is dealing with clients or vendors. Since starting her business Elias Events in Houston, she has planned hundreds of amazing events across the United States, and international locations such as Canada, Mexico and Dubai. She is an award-winning event planner with achievements of distinction including three times awarded the International Special Events Society Esprit and once the exclusive hospitality industry Gala award. She has served on many industry boards including as president of Houston Chapter of the International Special Events Society, the SEARCH Foundation and Special Events Magazine boards and currently sits on the Texas Meeting and Events Advisory Board. She frequently writes for several publications including Connect MarketPlace, The Special Event Magazine, Plan It Meetings Magazine, Meetings Management Magazine, and Texas Meeting and Events Magazine. She is frequently sought after for her expertise by various outlets across the country. She has attained the designations of Certified Meeting Professional CMP, Certified Special Event Professional CSEP and Certified Incentive Travel Specialist. Recently, she has added speaker to her broad range of industry accomplishments and passionately teaches about Event Innovations and Technology at conferences including The Special Event, SITE, ISES Houston and Oil and Gas Conferences.