Professor Erin Tierney: Event Planning

Professor Tierney teaches for our Hospitality & Tourism Management Program here at Isenberg, specifically classes geared toward event planning. During this meeting, Professor Tierney spoke about her career path in event planning and how she got to her position today.

Tierney’s career path led her to travel all around the world. She began in Ireland as a graduate student but eventually ended up working in California, Hong Kong, Australia, and Denmark taking on many different roles.

    • Direct Management Group

    • Film Producer

    • Hong Kong Tourism Board

    • Australian Tourist Commission

    • Visit Denmark

    • Tumlare

    • Worldwide Events


What is Event Planning? Tierney describes Event Planning as planning an event from conception to clean up, coordinating all aspects of event, and making sure everyone has fun. The skills needed for event planning include 

    • Excellent time management skills

    • Passion and enthusiasm

    • Interpersonal skills

    • Flexibility

    • Energy

    • Eye for detail


Tierney also provided us with recommendations with how to work towards a career in event planning. Event planning takes a lot of creativity, but also adaptability when things don’t always go as planned. Some of her suggestions include:

    • Get involved

    • Network

    • Join a club or association

    • Try different jobs/internships

    • Try different hobbies

    • Challenge yourself

    • Continue to learn

    • Listen


If you have any questions about event planning or want to learn more from Professor Tierney, feel free to reach out to her at etierney@isenberg.umass.edu!