Beverage Director

Email: Christopher.Cuestas@warehouse215.com

START DATE JUNE 2022

EDUCATION: Christopher graduated from the University of Arizona in 2004 with a degree in Fine Arts.

EXPERIENCE: Christopher is a creative beverage artist who has spent most of his career working in hospitality and fine dining. In his early years, Christopher worked as a doorman, barback, and bartender and grew into his position from a hole-in-the-wall dive bar to fine dining restaurants across major Arizona cities. Christopher has designed upscale beverage menus that have been distributed nationwide.

ROLE AT WH215: Christopher's role is incredibly robust, varying from administrative ordering and inventory, to creative through the custom curation of cocktail menus for Warehouse215 events. On any given day you can find Christopher building functional bars, training staff, and occasionally jumping directly into the scene to create a custom cocktail in person!

PERSONAL INTERESTS: In his free time, Christopher enjoys making electronic music in his custom-built home studio, in the presence of his son and twin daughters whom he greatly covets. As an Arizona native, Christopher is excited to add his personal contribution to the development of Downtown Phoenix through his work at Warehouse215 to elevate the district.

Sales Manager

Email: Rylee.Grafil@warehouse215.com

START DATE OCTOBER 2022

EDUCATION: Rylee graduated from Arizona State University in 2015 with a degree in Communications and Global Studies.

EXPERIENCE: Rylee began her career in event management at The Arizona Science Center right after college, working alongside our current Vice President, Maria Mwangi. In 2019, Rylee moved to Nashville, TN and worked at the Corporate Headquarters of Warby Parker as a Client Billing Specialist.

ROLE AT WH215: Rylee is responsible for incoming lead management and acts as a client liaison. Her involvement is highly essential at the early stage of event management. Rylee works hand in hand with our off-site marketing team in NYC and acts as a bridge between our partners on site and off site.

PERSONAL INTERESTS: Rylee owns a lovable 6-pound Chihuahua named Rosemary. In her free time, Rylee likes to embark on adventurous road trips, exploring the best of Arizona on the open road. You can often hear her playing a wide variety of music that ranges between anything from Outlaw Country to 90's Hip-Hop.

Event Manager

Email: Darnell.Weeden@warehouse215.com

START DATE JUNE 2022

EDUCATION: A proud graduate of Arizona State University, Darnell earned a degree in Special Events Management from the Interdisciplinary Studies School. He is from the graduating class of 2020.

EXPERIENCE: Darnell's expertise comes from his Hospitality Background. Prior to working at Warehouse215, he maintained a role as a Guest Representative with the Phoenix Suns, managing the experience of high-profile guests. A sports aficionado, Darnell has coached sports fundamentals for children ages 6-12.

ROLE AT WH215: Darnell takes on the role of an event planner, event organizer, and scheduler. He ensures that each event is running smoothly by coordinating with vendors, clients, and facilities to make sure the event runs in tip-top shape. You will often see Darnell with a walkie-talkie and a to-do list during an event.

PERSONAL INTERESTS: Born and raised in Chicago, Darnell is naturally a huge Chicago Bulls fan. Darnell moved to Phoenix in 2015 to attend university. Passionate about basketball, he enjoys playing sports recreationally in an all men's basketball league when not at Warehouse215.

Event Coordinator

Email: Eve.burkett@warehouse215.com

START DATE NOVEMBER 2023

EDUCATION: Eve graduates from ASU in May with a bachelor's degree in Tourism Development & Management.

EXPERIENCE: Eve is well versed in events and customer service. She first explored the event industry as a restaurant support account manager. Eve oversaw the ins and outs of events hosted within the restaurant. She connected the client with the event production team and fostered those relationships throughout the event process. She then worked at the Westin Hotel & Resorts which continued her career in hospitality. Her last job before Warehouse215 was leasing for an apartment complex where she was awarded “BEST in touring”. All of these roles prepared her for her current position.

ROLE AT WH215: As Event Coordinator, Eve leads our set up crew. She is extremely organized and thorough to bring event layouts to life. Once the event begins she is there to assist with anything that could happen, and if you know events, that is a LOT!

PERSONAL INTERESTS: When Eve isn’t at work she loves being outside to hike and enjoy nature. She also can’t get enough of traveling, meeting new people and making friends. When she isn’t feeling as social, she reads, journals, goes to the gym, and plays guitar.

Social Media & Marketing Manager

Email : Lauren.Simmons@warehouse215.com

START DATE MAY 2022

EDUCATION: Lauren graduated from Cedarville University in Dayton, Ohio with a degree in Broadcasting and Digital Media.

EXPERIENCE: Lauren is a social media manager with experience in various businesses such as coffee shops, construction companies, and churches. Previously she was an on air manager for her university radio station which required a robust blend of talent management and technical instruction.

ROLE AT WH215: Lauren acts as a wide support reach for every aspect of Warehouse215. Her main focus revolves around content creation, curation, and publication for the venue. Lauren works hand in hand with our local PR team on a wide range of initiatives as our on site Media Staff and Brand Ambassador.

PERSONAL INTERESTS: In her free time, Lauren engages in hot yoga, rock climbing, and hiking. She enjoys playing music and has played the guitar since childhood. Currently, Lauren is binging the shows Teen Wolf, Glee, and the latest season of YOU.

Facilities Manager

START DATE NOV 2022

EXPERIENCE: JC is a remodeling contractor in Phoenix, Arizona who has been in the industry for 22 years. He owns Above Code Remodeling and participates in personal business projects when not diligently working at Warehouse215. His vast background in remodeling adds another layer of value to our team.

ROLE AT WH215: JC manages the technical aspect of the floor and is available for all building, and facilities-related management every day at Warehouse 215.

PERSONAL INTERESTS: JC is a motorcycle aficionado and has been riding for almost 2 decades. You can often find JC on his most prized possession—a beautiful Harley Davidson motorcycle, on late-night rides through Arizona.

Mascot

START DATE MAY 2022

EXPERIENCE: Muffin is a beloved retired service dog that has been leading Venue Tours for the past 7 years alongside her owner and our Vice President, Maria Mwangi. Not shy of any camera or visitor, Muffin has been featured in a Style Photoshoot for San Antonio Wedding Magazines and regularly poses for images at Warehouse215.

ROLE AT WH215: Muffin acts as our Mascot, and proudly patrols all 28 thousand square feet of interior venue space and 9 thousand square feet of outdoor patio space at our grand venue.

PERSONAL INTERESTS: In her free time, Muffin takes glamour naps, nibbles on deluxe dog food, and patrols the walls of her second home, Warehouse215.

DISCLAIMER: Warehouse215 welcomes all service animals at our venue, as per legal regulation. Our event venue is not pet friendly during events unless formerly specified as such for select occasions.

Vice President

Email: Maria.Mwangi@warehouse215.com

EXPERIENCE: Maria Mwangi's award winning event expertise originally started as a hobby in the early 1990's. Maria began her career as a top-producing loan officer and mortgage underwriter for 14 years. During this time, she entered the event world through her church, which allowed her to organize everything from Health Fairs, Carnivals, to Romantic Weddings and Large-Scale Conferences. Shortly after the housing crisis of 2008, Maria moved to San Antonio, Texas where she formally transitioned her career into Event Management. During this time, Maria swept across industries and gathered over 6 Best in San Antonio Awards, 2 Texas Star awards, and 1 International Award from the distinguished International Live Events Association. Her events have been covered in magazines such as the San Antonio Weddings Magazine as well as several other publications which can be found on our Press page. After arriving in Arizona, Maria hit the ground running, immediately winning a Zonies Award for The Best Event Collaboration in Arizona. Maria worked as the Director of Sales for Live Nation in the Phoenix Market before arriving at Warehouse215. Maria just debuted her latest book with a team of collaborators named "Building Me While Building It" and has several more written projects in the works.

ROLE AT WH215: Originally our Director of Sales and Events, we are happy to announce Maria Mwangi as our new Vice President at Warehouse215. As Vice President, Maria oversees every aspect of logistics and events at our historic Warehouse Venue. Maria works closely with her amazing support staff to oversee sales with Rylee Grafil, logistics and event production with Darnell, social media with Lauren Simmons and bar and beverage packages with Christopher Cuestas.

PERSONAL INTERESTS: Maria is a widowed mother of 2 wonderful boys. She is the Track and Field Booster President in her spare time. She has a lovely dog named Muffin (who you can often see prancing around her office at Warehouse215), Maria is currently in the Vice President of WISE and formerly the Director of Programs for the ILEA San Antonio Chapter and MPI Vice President of programs and education. A highly multi-faceted character, Maria has explored the world of Plus Size modeling for years and acts as a mentor for individuals in substance abuse recovery. An avid fan of music, Maria can often be found at the latest concerts every weekend with her 2 boys, Ethan and Andre.