The Ascent Luminaries, made possible by VisitDallas, is part of the PCMA Ascent initiative, which seeks to promote inclusion and diversity across the business events industry.
In search of a way to unite like-minded women, Ameerah Saine skipped the yoga classes and LinkedIn connections. She instead built a lifestyle brand whose first event was aimed at connecting women — especially those navigating a new city — seeking to thrive in business and in life.
“I create this event and … I feel like it’s going to be something. I feel like … women want it and people want it in the community, but I wasn’t quite sure,” said Saine — honored this month in PCMA’s Ascent Luminaries video series.
“All my prayers were answered,” said Saine, who is no stranger to having to make connections after a career move has taken her to a new city. “We sold out the first event.”
Brunch and Slay, the lifestyle brand CEO Saine launched in Dallas in 2016 (and is more than brunch), went on from curated events for women, expanding into content, courses, workshops, and podcasts. Through Brunch and Slay — and her meeting planning business that preceded it — Saine also helped to build a broader community, helping Dallas-area organizations and companies boost their diversity and inclusion efforts and ensuring that sometimes-marginalized voices are heard.
“If one particular area is disenfranchised or is misrepresented, then it’s my obligation to speak up and say something,” said Saine, a Texas Army National Guard veteran and a married mother of one.
“That’s something we have to do as meeting planners because a lot of times brands are relying on us to set … the tone.”
At PCMA Convening Leaders 2020, she’ll share insights with fellow event planners in a Media studio session on Jan. 6 titled “Connecting With Multicultural Audiences Through Social Media.” On Jan. 7 she’ll co-present a session on “Building a Bingeable Podcast.”
Brunch and Slay “definitely evolved much more than what I ever thought,” Saine recently told Convene. “And it’s been awesome.”