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March 2-5, 2026
Los Angeles Convention CenterLos Angeles, CA

Speakers 2026

The education opportunities at Catersource + The Special Event feature presentations from more than 100 industry luminaries who have been there, done that, and are armed with content that’s trendy, thought-provoking, and always influential.

Sophia Lin KannoNational Director of CreativeAccess DMC

Sophia Lin Kanno has been a powerhouse in the corporate event design field with 20 years of experience in high-end off-premise events across the country and storytelling through luxury catering, visual event design and production and event experiences. Within 4 years in the DMC market, Sophia has elevated and challenged the expectations of guests and clients nationwide from a chicken fingers sauce ball pit, to a remote summer camp themed event on Governors Island. She began her career at Georgia Tech, planning student activities through the Residence Hall Association and realized quickly that her passions resided in creating event experiences instead of engineering. Sophia's career began with a focus in off-premise catering and eventually transitioned into corporate event design where she specialized in Destination Management accounts, associations and large-scale sporting events. Her portfolio of clients include top Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola, Nationwide, Target, BCG, EY, Charles Schwab, Home Depot and Delta Airlines. Sophia has worked for Great Performances in New York City, Atlanta Special Events, Bold American Events and Legendary Events in Atlanta, GA and Kehoe Designs in Chicago, IL. Sophia is currently National Director of Creative with Access, a destination management company, and leads program teams in creative strategy and design for business, association and incentive based events. While based in the Northern Virginia, Metro DC area, Sophia works with regional teams across the country to develop some of the most memorable and impactful business events in the nation. While her expertise resides in design concepting and execution, within 4 years in the DMC market, she has elevated and challenged the expectations of guests and clients nationwide. Sophia was awarded in 2014 Special Event Magazine's Top 25 Young Professionals to Watch, instrumental in winning SITE Chicago's Excellence in Young Leaders Award in 2020 and SITE Northeast's Sustainability Certification in 2023. When she is not actively transforming events and experiences, Sophia loves to share her passion for sustainability and zero-waste cooking through her private chef business, The Spicy Grasshopper and teaching cardio dance classes with lots of sparkle with PomSquad Fitness.

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