PEOPLE PROFILE

from Texas Meetings + Events Summer 2019

TREND REPORT

BORN MARKETER

As a child, Jaime Hart DiNoia planned Fisher Price dinner parties. Today, she markets some of her community’s most elaborate galas.

BY TERESA KENNEY

T he first 10 years of event marketer Jaime Hart DiNoia’s life were spent overseas. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, she hit the road (with the help of her parents) when she was 3 months old, living as an expat in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Australia. Her dual love of art and events was evident even at that young age.

“When I was a child, I wanted to illustrate children’s books, and I often pretended to host parties for my parents and their friends,” says DiNoia. At one of those “parties,” DiNoia was alarmed to discover she had run out of plastic food. After some quick thinking on her little feet, she served her guests Fisher Price people instead. Crisis averted. Problem solved.

Graduating from the Art Institute of Philadelphia in 2000, DiNoia taught herself how to code. Today, she owns The Woodlandsbased Woodlands Creatives and develops websites and designs illustrations for a number of publications. But it is her event marketing that truly has her heart.

“I absolutely love to design logos and event invitations. My projects often include logo design, web development, social media marketing campaigns, and overall design and branding strategies for large and small organizations,” says DiNoia. “When I chose graphic design for my education and career path, I always envisioned becoming an entrepreneur someday. It wasn’t until I had my first daughter that my dream became a reality. I love the flexibility and creativity of having my own business. And I love that I don’t have to miss special activities with my kids at their schools, while still having a career I am passionate about. My girls are both very proud of me, too—they tell everyone they meet that their mother is a graphic designer who owns her own business. I think it is important for my daughters to see my success and hard work.”

DiNoia works primarily with nonprofits. She jokes that she’s paid to attend parties and make things pretty. “My marketing, planning and custom design work help attract attendees to fantastic fundraising events. And the payoff for me is that my nonprofit clients raise funds to help the community.

“At the end of each workday, I am inspired and feel like I helped the success of meaningful causes. I love my job,” she says.