Join the Institute, On Demand, at $349/month before the price rises in
For experienced event professionals, in-house planners and business owners
Earn your competitive edge in the events industry.
Stuck on the Planner Plateau™, valued for execution instead of strategy? Learn the skills to get off it in 30 days: connect your events to business goals, prove your expertise with a real case study, and communicate your value to leadership and clients.
Where our graduates have taken it
From weddings to corporate events
Joshua Pennebaker, Something Amazing Events, Colorado
From catering to business development director
Emily Bennett, City of Aurora, Colorado
From intern to founder of a corporate retreat company
Aurora Maier, Lost Coast Getaways, California
From doing the strategy to showing clients the proof
Glenda Ann Robertson, St. John’s, Canada
The Planner Plateau™
Your skill keeps growing. Your pay, influence, and opportunities don’t.
Not because you stopped working hard or caring, but because you’re measured on execution, not outcomes. You’re handed a brief someone else already finished, when you should have been in the room shaping it.
73%
of independent planners earn under $100K
$61,160
median pay for an employed event planner
$101,700
what only the top 10% of employed planners earn
Sources: Northstar 2026; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025. See the full research
The transformation
From the planner who executes the event to the strategist who can prove why it mattered.
Everyone in events can execute. Few can prove it worked.
| On the plateau | Strategic partner |
|---|---|
| “I plan and execute great events.” | “I connect event decisions to business goals and can explain the intended impact.” |
| “My work speaks for itself.” | “I communicate my value in language leadership and clients care about.” |
| “I have years of experience.” | “I can show a case study that makes my expertise tangible.” |
| “I’m one of many planners.” | “I can articulate the edge I bring and why it matters.” |
| Handed the brief after decisions are made | Invited in to help shape the brief |
| Competes on logistics and price | Paid for thinking |
| Vendor, order-taker, line item | Advisor, partner, investment |
Five steps from stuck on the Planner Plateau™ to strategist.
Each step lifts you higher, whether you lead events in-house or run your own event business.
Step 1: Connect
Connect your events to business goals.
Step 2: Differentiate
Articulate your competitive edge and what sets you apart in a saturated market.
Step 3: Prove
Create a case study that demonstrates your expertise, ready for your website, resume, or clients.
Step 4: Market
Position your strategic capabilities to grow your career or your event business.
Step 5: Communicate
Explain what you bring and why it matters to leadership and clients.
What you walk away with
Not a certificate of completion. Proof.
Every pathway is built around one finished asset: a case study from your own work that shows exactly how you think. Use it wherever your next step is.
Two ways to make the move. One transformation.
Same method, same case study, different experience. Start on your own schedule today, or save your seat to learn it live with Jenny.
Available now
The Institute, On Demand
Earn your competitive edge on your own schedule. Finish in as little as 30 days with three courses and your case study.
Make Them Feel That Way On Purpose, hardcover
The printed workbook and ExpROI
A 1:1 strategy session with Jenny
Three bonuses: RFP Response Sheet, Sales Objection Guide, Marketing Playbook
Optional board-reviewed CPES certification
or $997 paid in full
Price rises to $1,497 after October 27.
Waitlist open, February 2027
The Live Intensive
Four weeks with Jenny and a small cohort. Build your case study together, live.
One hour live every week, plus office hours
The full curriculum, worked on your own real events
Business marketing training: SEO, Google, blogging, and AI
CPES certification included
Not ready to invest yet? Start free.
What graduates say
“This was not easy, but it was 1000% worth every penny. I gained more from this training than I did at the Las Vegas MBA.”
“CPES fundamentally changed the way I think about experiences and how I show up in this industry.”
“The framework did more than confirm what I was already practicing. It elevated it.”
“It gave me the structure and vocabulary to articulate what has always guided my approach to experiential strategy.”
“Experiences without strategy are just expensive parties.”
Jenny Howard-Maxwell, CPES
Meet your founder
I was stuck on the Planner Plateau™ too.
I’m Jenny Howard-Maxwell, CPES. I’ve spent 25 years in the experiential industry, and as founder of HM Experiential I’ve designed corporate, community, and branded experiences. I had mastered execution and still felt measured on logistics instead of results.
So I built the method I needed, made the move to strategy myself, and founded The Edgucation Institute to teach it. I speak at Event Planner Expo NYC and Event Konnector, and every week I share what I’m learning on YouTube, my podcast, and The Tuesday Edge.
The Institute Advisory Board
Senior advisors who guide the standard: certification rigor, strategic relevance, business credibility, and measurable outcomes.
Gretchen Bartek
Founder and CEO, Adelska
Where finance meets experience design.
Jenny Howard-Maxwell
Founder and CEO, HM Experiential
Experiences without strategy are just expensive parties.
Dr. Kristin Malek
Founder and CEO, The Behavior Change Co
Where behavior science meets experience design.
The book, coming October 27, 2026
Make Them Feel That Way On Purpose
From Event Planner to Experiential Strategist: Think Like a Marketer, Design for Emotion, Prove the Impact
The playbook for the experiential strategist: the role, the mindset, and the method for designing events that drive behavior and prove their worth. Built on 14 case studies. Every On Demand student gets a hardcover copy.
You’ve already built the experience. Now prove what it’s worth.
Ready to make the move?
In 30 days, turn the strategy you already do into a case study that leadership and clients can see.
Explore the programsNot sure where to start?
Book a free 15-minute strategy session with Jenny. We’ll look at where you are and your clearest next step off the plateau.
Book a free strategy session