Jay Downie, President and CFEE

Jay Downie has provided consulting and management services to businesses and the non-profit industry. His experience in large-scale special events, sponsorships and fundraising, board development, public relations, marketing and the music industry offer a unique combination of hands-on knowledge, creative vision and leadership.

He has worked for many major non-profit institutions including the Greater Cincinnati Bicentennial Commission, the City of Knoxville (Knoxville Bicentennial), Downtown Fort Worth, Inc., the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Grand Excursion 2004, the Greater Cincinnati Tall Stacks Commission and the City of West Palm Beach.

Jay started DPI in 1986 with a goal to bring professional and creative ideas to event business.  Since that time, he has accrued over 27 years of experience in planning, marketing and management of projects and events throughout the United States, Canada and Australia.

Prior to founding DPI, Jay served as the operations director for the theme park company now owned by Cedar Fair (Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Carowinds, Canada’s Wonderland).  He graduated magna cum laude from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Music Education.  He has served on the board of directors of the International Festivals and Events Association, the IFEA Foundation board of directors, and is a Certified Festivals and Events Executive (CFEE). He is currently the chairman of the Texas Festivals and Events Association (TFEA) board of directors.