Getting To Know Your Pollstar Live! Panelists: Kristen Fulmer

Pollstar Live!, the world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals, returns to the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, Feb. 21-23. The three-day conference is a flagship event for Pollstar magazine with compelling keynotes, panels, roundtables and the Pollstar Awards, celebrating the best in the business, along with plenty of opportunities to network and engage in insightful discussions.

Pollstar Live! kicks off with Production Live!, the one-day companion conference that features panels on all topics related to staging live events including lighting, video, stage management, sound technique, concert production, video, regulations, security and more.

Click these links for the Production Live! schedule and the Pollstar Live! schedule. Register for Pollstar Live! here.

Getting To Know Your Pollstar Live! Panelists

Kristen Fulmer
Senior Sustainability Director at Oak View Group
Panel: Sustainability in Live Events: No More Excuses
Date/Time: Thursday l Feb. 23 l 10:30 a.m.

Why must everyone go to your panel?
We know sustainability is important, but what does it mean? Why is it important to us? We’ll discuss what sustainability looks like for our industry — what good practice could be, what the challenges are, and how we can work together towards action. This isn’t a conversation for sustainability professionals… It’s for everyone because we can all play a role in creating a positive impact.

What story will you tell during the panel?
We will talk about sustainability as a journey — we’ll go beyond recycling and energy use to elevate topics such as social impact, community resiliency, health and wellbeing, and reducing the effects of climate change. Those topics are intersectional, so we will discuss them together, instead of in silos. We will highlight the importance of our industry’s platform to inspire change, focusing on solutions and celebrating leadership. Most importantly, we will encourage collaboration and the importance of working together to overcome the intersectional crises of our time.

What’s the story you won’t tell?
We won’t talk about politics, unless it’s about coming together to overcome bi-partisan challenges. We won’t talk about the expense of “investing” in sustainability, unless it’s to highlight the need to rethink how we calculate an ROI, Return on Investment. And we won’t shame organizations or individuals that haven’t taken public action, unless it’s about highlighting the long and continuous sustainability journey.

What may cause tempers to flare?
It can be uncomfortable to address the fact that we should be doing more to protect the environment. Sometimes it’s frustrating, sometimes it’s paralyzing, and sometimes it’s scary. But the good news is that we know the solutions — by equipping each other to take positive action, the discomfort lessens.

What was the best part of your 2022?
A professional highlight in 2022, was when I joined a team of change-makers. After working on my own for several years, it felt so good to join a team of thoughtful, hardworking people.
A personal highlight in early 2022, before I started with OVG, my husband and our cat completed a cross-country road trip. We stopped at more than 10 National Parks!

Your predictions for 2023’s live industry highlights?
2023 will be the year of impact. Our industry is impacted by the effects of climate change, among other crises, but we also have access to so many solutions that we can use — and inspire others — to take action and lead positive progress.

Career tentpoles you are most proud of?
The proudest moments in my career are times when I witness the mainstreaming of sustainability. Industry business leaders are talking about its importance, live performers push us to do better, and visitors and fans ask questions and hold us accountable!