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One of Billy Penn’s founding philosophies was that events are a key component of a local newsroom — that reporters who interact IRL with their readers are much better able to reflect, delight and inform their surrounding communities.
To help further that goal, we’re excited to announce hospitality industry vet Natasha Laurenson has joined the Billy Penn staff as manager of partnerships and events.
Tasha, as she’s known across the city, has a decade of experience working in Philly’s bar and brewery scenes. Most recently, she helped lead Philadelphia sales for independent craft beer distributor Nevulis Beverages, assisted with local events and promotions for Lagunitas Brewing and held managerial bartending positions at Martha in Kensington and Lucky’s Last Chance in Queen Village.
She’s also one of the cofounders of the now-infamous Tour de Taco, which blew up and became too popular to maintain. (Too popular as a hobby anyway — maybe if everyone asks nicely, she’ll bring it back as a BP event…? Ed note: she says MAYBE!)
Whether her tenure includes resurrection of the taco bike ride or not, Laurenson will be all over Billy Penn events. She’ll be coordinating fun nights like our monthly Philly-themed Quizzo and our regular Who’s Next networking happy hours, special behind-the-scenes tours for BP members, and panel discussions and other events that have an educational focus.
“Working for Billy Penn is my first venture outside of the service industry, and I’m embracing the opportunity wholeheartedly,” Laurenson said. “Event planning has always been my forte, and I’m confident the relationships I’ve built in previous endeavors will help me grow the events program here.”
A native Torontonian, Laurenson lived all over the country before landing in Philly, including in Alabama and New York City. She has also lived overseas, both in Scotland and in India, where she spent half a year assisting her father at the Woodstock School.
If you have cool or interesting ideas for events in Philly, Laurenson wants to hear from you. Reach her at tasha@billypenn.com or find her on Instagram or Facebook.