2025 CONFERENCE - DAY 1
Monday, October 20, 2025
FREE VENUE TOURS
Free venue tours will be offered in the morning. Registration will be required for capacity and will open in September.
Tours include:
- Princess of Wales Theatre and Royal Alexandra Theatre (Mirvish Productions)
- Budweiser Stage (Live Nation)
- CBC Studios
SESSIONS
Scott Johnson Keynote - Safety is Leadership in its Truest Form | Annemarie Roe
Safety is legislated, documented, and governed. However, for it to be most effective, a climate of safety must be cultivated by leaders as a throughline for all decision-making. This keynote address looks to the world of high-profile sports and entertainment events. Projects such as MLB at Field of Dreams, NHL Winter Classic and TwitchCon have presented opportunities to put this leadership philosophy to action. Annemarie Roe, president of BaAM Productions, talks about how an established culture of health and safety provides the foundation required to impose strict safety standards among a diverse range of project teams with varying degrees of experience. A focus on safety is a fundamental aspect of leadership – not in reference to an individual leader – but rather the organizational priorities behind every decision being made. A Q&A session will follow.Considering the Options: Learning from Scenarios | John Badcock (moderator), panelist to be announced
Session Description Coming Soon!
Pink Bows Foundation - Turning Tragedy into Action | Stephanie Stegall (moderator), panelists to be announced
We will go through what the Foundation has done and plans to do since the 2021 Astroworld Crowd Crush taking 10 lives - including the Pink Bows Safe Space, Showstop Course and plans for additional continued education learning options.
Radical Inclusion - Reimagining the Future of Live Entertainment and Events | David Connolly
The future of live entertainment and events depends on more than just innovation—it requires radical inclusion. In this compelling keynote, David Connolly, the first amputee on Broadway and now an acclaimed Artistic Director, Educator, and Disability Inclusion Advocate, shares his powerful personal journey and professional insights to challenge how we define creativity, safety, and access.
David invites us to reimagine what's possible in our industry by connecting the dots between empathy, imagination, and systemic change. Highlighting how every technological and creative breakthrough begins with the question “what if…?”, he emphasizes that both the analytical (left brain) and creative (right brain) are essential in building safer, more inclusive experiences for all.
Whether you're producing a major festival, corporate event, theatrical production, or community gathering, this keynote will encourage you to rethink your role in dismantling historical barriers and championing a more equitable, innovative future in the live event space.
SPEAKERS
| John Badcock Originally from the UK, John Badcock currently works 5 months of the year as Operations and Safety Director for SXSW in Austin, Texas, having started as Event Safety Coordinator in 2014, and since 2024 has been project Operations Director for TAIT, the Producing Partner for SXSW London. John also has 16 years of experience in operations roles for UK green field events for both Live Nation and Superstruct Entertainment, as well as other promoters, with specific experience in crowd management planning for ingress and egress, general emergency planning, and 3C planning, as well as numerous control room management roles for festivals and events, including the role of Overnight Senior Control Room Manager for the Queen's Funeral. He was on the Event Safety Alliance board of director from 2021-2024. |
 | David Connelly (he/him) David Connolly is the Artistic Director of Drayton Entertainment, one of Canada’s largest not-for-profit theatre companies. As an advocate for disability inclusion, David made history as the first amputee to perform on Broadway. In 2024, he was honoured with the inaugural Change Maker Award from Canadian Actors’ Equity. As a director and choreographer, David has led acclaimed Canadian premiere productions of The Prom, Kinky Boots, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Mamma Mia!, Newsies, and more. His screen credits include directing series for CBC, along with projects for Disney, CBS, NBC, ABC, and PBS, collaborating with artists including Katy Perry, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Elton John, Sarah Jessica Parker, kd lang, and Patti LaBelle among others. David is also a recipient of the Ontario Premier’s Award of Excellence, who has proudly served as a peer assessor for the Canada Council for the Arts, and as an ambassador for Shriners Hospitals for Children and the War Amps Child Amputee Program. |
 | Annemarie Roe As President of BaAM since its inception, Annemarie has led the company’s Strategy, Design, and Delivery resources, working behind the scenes in partnership with international federations and major North American leagues and teams to create some of the world’s most prominent sports and entertainment events. Recognized as a Sports Business Journal Game Changer, Annemarie’s organizational philosophies of agility and innovation have established her as a trusted industry leader and go-to-resource for organizations looking to carve new paths for fan engagement and major event production. Annemarie’s influence spans a client list that includes FIFA, Pan/Parapan Am Organizing Committees, National Football League, Major League Baseball, Live Nation, National Hockey League, professional sports teams and major sponsors. The teams she leads have powered the delivery of world-renowned special events such as FIFA World Cup, MLB at Rickwood Field, NHL Outdoor Games, MLB at Field of Dreams, and NFL Super Bowl. |
| Stephanie Stegall Stephanie, Managing Partner of Confetto Productions, brings over 20 years of expertise in events and entertainment. Her career includes 10+ years with the Houston Astros as Vice President of Event Sales and Operations, where she secured major concerts like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Billy Joel, and Morgan Wallen, as well as high-profile sporting events such as the WWE Royal Rumble and Cricket All-Stars T20. Previously, she managed Entertainment and Concert Production for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, booking & producing 20 consecutive nights of live performances annually at NRG Stadium. Stephanie currently serves as the Board President for the Pink Bows Foundation. |
Programming and speakers are subject to change.