Nicole Sampson is a PDAC veteran, having been a part of the convention team for 17 years. It was in her university days that she found her way into event management via a campus residence rented out for a variety of events like sports tournaments, summer music camps, weddings, and even to the Canadian military. She then worked for The Conference Board of Canada in Ottawa before making her final stop at the PDAC Convention!
With a diverse background in marketing, business administration, and education, Nicole first joined the team as a Convention Coordinator where she worked on everything from presentations to exhibits.
Now as Convention Director, Nicole leads an all-female convention team, bringing to life the world’s premier mineral exploration and mining event every year. Having grown from 5,000 to 30,000 attendees during her time, she describes the PDAC Convention as a large and busy event with four-days of official programming, two-days of pre-conference workshops, and plenty of fun networking events. Nicole has also witnessed the number of exhibitors increase from 500 to 1,200, which she credits to an outstanding team and the ability to adapt and adjust accordingly. One notable change has been the gradual rise in female speakers, attendees and students as the industry works hard to balance the gender scale.
With the PDAC Convention going virtual in 2021, Nicole is excited to introduce new features that were previously unavailable in a live event scenario. From matchmaking to personalized recommendations, the virtual platform will offer an online marketplace for members, exhibitors, and stakeholders to invest, network, and learn. Most importantly, Nicole and her team plan to recreate the excitement of previous live conventions through various forms of entertainment. Stay tuned for more details!
We caught up with Nicole as part of Women’s History Month to ask how the PDAC Convention has evolved over the years, and what attendees can expect for the first-ever virtual event. Here is what she had to say!