Ami Alexander-Ponce Event Programming Manager, CANOPY Menlo Park
Ami joined the CANOPY team in March 2023, not long after CANOPY Menlo Park first opened its doors to Members. In Journal, Ami reflects on a stellar first year, giving back to the community, and why she’s never been more inspired to come to work.
Tell us a little bit about your role at CANOPY.
Collaborating with Community Managers Lani Kava and Gizelle Baylon, I offer concierge-style Member services and put on monthly community events for our Members, inspired by their interests and needs. In December, we hosted a holiday-themed Paint and Sip where Members could express their creativity and festive spirit by decorating greeting cards and enjoying a glass of wine together.
We host third-party events for Members and non-members. I’m also responsible for our programmed events, including high-level panel discussions from leaders in venture capital, healthcare, and climate sectors. These events are open to non-members in Menlo Park and the broader Bay Area, so they are larger in scope and scale. Our big event for this quarter is a charity Casino Night—an idea suggested by our Members—which will enable us to support a local organization helping those in less fortunate circumstances.
What have been your event highlights to date?
Our one-year Member appreciation event Savor España, a Jamón Ibérico and Wine Tasting, was AMAZING. The only certified US West Coast jamon carver, Jen Herman, offered a demonstration and Spanish wine tasting.
Women, Wine and Wisdom, which we hosted in October last year, was incredible. We brought together three successful women for a wide-ranging conversation: Jennifer Nuckles, Chief Executive Officer and the Chair of the company’s Board of Directors, R-Zero; Lily Billings, Real Estate Advisor, Compass; and Shally Shanker, Founder and Managing Partner, AiiM Partners. They spoke about challenges they face, obstacles they’ve overcome, and how they balance their business leadership roles with their personal lives and being a mom, answering questions from attendees. Women left feeling heard and understood.
We’re going to host another event on January 18 with Kathy Klotz-Guest, MA, MBA, a speaker, facilitator, and Founder of Keeping it Human, and Melissa Dinwiddle, author and CEO of book and communication and connection organization The Creative Sandbox Way™, which I’m really looking forward to.
How did you get your start in this field?
My background is in hospitality. I started in the restaurant industry when I was 18, working in various roles—bartending, serving, front-of-house management, and event management. I’ve worked for rooftop spot Magnin Events and Tribune Tavern in Oakland and Mars Bar, Eastside West, Butterfly, and The Fairmont in San Francisco.
Even before that, events have been a passion of mine. I grew up in Santa Maria on the Central Coast, and from a young age, my dad, a DJ, would bring me to his weddings, corporate events, and birthday party gigs.
What inspired you to make the move to SF?
I moved up to San Francisco after I graduated from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo in 2011. One of my best friends was already living here and was having a fantastic time meeting incredible, creative people who were passionate about what they were pursuing in their careers. As a 21-year-old out of college, I wanted to be around people inspired to achieve their goals, so I wanted to give the city a try.
What appealed to you about working at CANOPY?
One of my previous roles was at a PR firm, producing events for nonprofits with NFL players like Vernon Davis and Chris Culliver, who played for the 49ers. I wanted to find something that was outside of the food and beverage industry where I could plan more purposeful events. When I found CANOPY, I was so excited because it was an opportunity to work collaboratively with the team and Members here to host events that give back to our communities in keeping with CANOPY’s key pillars and values. We do our best to accommodate nonprofits who want to host events. Last year, we held food and toy drives for PATH, an organization dedicated to ending homelessness for individuals, families, and communities in California, which was really special.
What do you like most about your job, day-to-day?
I love the creative side of my role. I absolutely love our members. I’m incredibly fortunate to come to work every day and interact with innovative people. Our CANOPY team is small but mighty, and I’m so grateful because I’m surrounded by people who show up for their families and give back to their communities—I know our Members feel the same way when they come here. Throughout my career, I’ve never been as inspired to come to work and to better myself as I have at CANOPY.
What are your favorite elements, amenities, or moments at CANOPY Menlo Park?
I love the huge windows in the communal area, and the glorious sun our interior spaces get during the day—I often end up working on our patio space on the back terrace because the weather in Menlo Park is incredible. And, of course, my team is the absolute best!
Besides phenomenal event programming, what is the Menlo Park team’s most significant accomplishment?
We’re at capacity for our Private Offices, and this Membership category is now waitlisted, which is a massive accomplishment for our entire team and a major milestone for our location. The overall event program is in a place that I’m very proud of, and it’s been incredible to see the wonderful Member and community turnout for everything we’ve hosted. We receive lots of third-party event inquiries after people have visited CANOPY and decided to host their party or are happening here, which speaks volumes.
If you could put together a dream event at CANOPY with no restrictions—no budget, you could have anybody speak or perform—what would that look like?
I’ve always wanted to plan a luxury, culturally immersive CANOPY retreat where we focus on wellness, sustainability, and giving back to our community in an incredible destination like Thailand, Bali, or Costa Rica—perhaps somewhere with villas right on the water. I would integrate wellness components like yoga and meditation; we’d participate in an impactful volunteer project to fulfill our commitment to give back to the community. CANOPY is carbon-negative; since 2019, we’ve offset 1900 tonnes of CO2e. It would be a dream to design the retreat to support one of our sustainability partners, for instance, Delta Blue Carbon Project in the Indus Delta in Pakistan, the largest reforestation project in the world, or The Katingan Mentaya Project, which protects peatland ecosystems in Indonesia.
How do you spend your time when you’re not at CANOPY?
I’m the events coordinator for my family! I spend most of my free time with my three kids, Landen, Jaidynn, Braxten; my husband Ruben; and dog, Rexi. We love to travel and try new things. We do many outdoor activities: our favorite days out include hiking and picnicking around Lake Chabot, going to Pismo Beach, and visiting Oakland Zoo, amusement parks like Fairyland, and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. We love to do the low-incline Wiggle bicycle path, which takes you from Market Street to the Panhandle of Golden Gate Park, and then continue over the Golden Gate Bridge from SF to Sausalito.
What’s a destination you always enjoy?
We love Mexico, where my husband’s family is from. He and I got married in Cabo, and we’ve traveled to many destinations: Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita, Guadalajara, Tequila, Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico City… We love to enjoy the food, beaches, and culture.
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Say hi to Ami at CANOPY Menlo Park, and follow her on LinkedIn.