Member Spotlight - Lisa Levia

Lisa Levia
Catering Sales Manager
National Arts Center
University of Ottawa, Bachelors Diploma & WPIC Certification
MPI member for 15 years with 29 years in the industry

Benefits of MPI

Through networking events and working on committees, MPI has helped meet people in the industry in Ottawa. It’s a smaller group that suits our city. I’ve made lots of great connections.

As a member of the outreach committee, I have gained a lot of experience in participating in activities, such as sorting food at the food bank, doing the food aid barbecue in the summer, answering the phone for CBC and the food bank for project give at Christmas time.

Favourite MPI Event

My favourite MPI event is the annual charity auction and dinner. I’ve attended and also been on the organizing committee for this event in the past. At the beginning of the year we decide which charities we will support and then with the committee, we break into groups to collect prizes for the auction.

The event draws people from across Canada. It’s an inspiring event – hearing from all the charities MPI is supporting. The live auction always creates so much fun! The last in-person event was January 2020.

Challenges

The biggest challenge in my role right now is the pandemic and the issues that it has brought to our industry. The cancellation of all in-person meetings and face-to-face contacts, along with networking opportunities being temporarily restricted: no business; industry partners furloughed; others frustrated. Some people have been able to pivot their roles but not everyone has been that lucky.

Favourite Tools

Last year, 2020, I couldn’t live without the MPI coffee talk on Zoom. At the beginning of the pandemic, it was once a week, we were using breakout rooms and discussing various topics. It lasted until the summer of 2020. This was an intimate setting where it was easy to connect with industry peers around a specific topic.

 Article written by Elodie (Morini) LORTAL, BHM | LinkedIn, National Arts Centre

Article edited by Cynthia Beaudin, Canada Foundation for Innovation