“There’s a very technical aspect to what we do that used to be dominated by men,” says party-planner extraordinaire Nicole Charuvastra. “In the early 2000s, my boss at the time still referred to us as secretaries. After six years, I was moved into the field, and I knocked it out of the park and set the precedent of promoting within and recognizing the talent of young people.”
Nicole is the powerhouse event director for Bright Event Rentals, a full-service special-event company in Santa Barbara. She started working at Regal Rents 22 years ago and stayed on board as the company became Classic Party Rentals and then Bright.
“That’s half of my life, which is sort of ridiculous,” she reveals with a laugh. “When you think about it, I literally have done nothing else. The office I currently occupy is the same office I’ve had since 2004.”
