Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Morris Rasheed.
Brooke, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m the Director of Events at Constellations. I started my career many years ago in Atlanta as one half of the Costume Party, a boutique music booking agency. I soon set my sights on NYC, where I applied my skills in booking bands to booking brands, strategizing and executing marketing programs for global lifestyle agency MKTG. Next, I joined Drillteam Marketing as Group Director of Events Engagement where I executed and managed youth‐oriented experiential marketing programs for clients such as Virgin Mobile USA, Neiman Marcus, New York Magazine, Saucony Originals, Target, and Incase. Highlights included producing the ‘Bad Art Auction’ hosted by comedian Zach Galifianakis and New York Magazine’s 40th Anniversary party at Hammerstein Ballroom.
In 2010, I joined Gowanus Hospitality Group. Under my direction, what started as a DIY music venue quickly became one of the hottest spots to get married in Brooklyn, NY. During my tenure at GHG, I directed the marketing efforts for multiple properties under the company’s portfolio. I also acted as lead producer on annual marketing events Wedding Crashers and the Love Union, a vendor engagement conference.
Upon my return to Atlanta in 2015, I began working with acclaimed commercial real estate firm Gene Kansas | Commercial Real Estate on the development of Constellations, a culturally-based shared workspace and event venue. Not long after Constellations was up and running, I joined the team full-time as the Director of Events. In this role, I help people who want to host a meeting or event in a cool, cultural, and historic space, and I also collaborate with our network of like-minded tenants, community members, writers/journalists, artists, photographers, planners, historians, musicians, and many others to create programming around the ideas and causes we care about.
In addition to my work with Constellations, I also lead the GK | CRE venue representation division, Spacestation. We help cultural centers realize value and profits through our Venue Representation service line and platform. Venue Rep brings together the culture and mission of an organization with the creation of a profit center utilizing space, place, and connection points within the broader community.
I’ve also recently acquired my broker’s license, and I’m focused on working with food & beverage and women-led businesses in realizing their dreams, whether that’s finding the perfect space for their business, purchasing a building, or seeking out a second location.
I am the lead producer on Landlocked, an annual food & beverage event in Atlanta that raises money for Oyster South, a non-profit organization committed to the growth of southern oyster culture and community.
I currently live in Reynoldstown with my husband Ryan and two daughters Ruby and Frankie. I’ve always got a recommendation for a new podcast, think Priya Parker’s book ‘The Art of Gathering’ is required reading, and love planning a trip almost as much as taking it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Well…the pandemic is a big one! We went from a full slate of programming and meetings booked in March 2020 to a completely empty events calendar in a matter of days. Instead of panicking, we regrouped and refocused.
We partnered with Constellations member Matt Finn of Cognitive Design on “a healthy redesign” of our shared spaces. We rethought what types of events we could host. We were able to be there for the couples who had to postpone their great big dream wedding, instead eloping with four of their family members in our North Star Library. We could accommodate some of the smaller film & photography productions that started coming back as the world was opening up, and we even hosted a CEO’s keynote speech – given alone in our Mission Control Room but live-streamed to thousands. It’s been fascinating to see how the opportunity to pivot during that time has informed the way we think about gatherings still…be flexible and creative and keep people at the heart of the matter. Remember why you’re gathering in the first place; the circumstances may change and it might not look exactly how you pictured, but the purpose is still intact.
Constellations is a platform, and our role is to support others and good times & hard times…and to make it easy and fun!
We’ve been impressed with Constellations, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Constellations is a culturally based workspace and events venue with civic and social causes leading our way, proudly located in Sweet Auburn, birthplace of Dr. King & the Civil Rights Movement. We offer private offices, co-working, a podcast studio, and creative meeting and events space on historic Auburn Avenue.
We also host meetings, micro weddings, creative sessions, film & photography shoots, company brainstorms, book release parties, podcasts, team retreats, intimate dinner parties, readings, talks, milestone celebrations, graduation parties, or whatever event you can imagine.
In 2022 we hosted 150+ events at Constellations, including weddings (see last year’s Weddings Album here: https://www.constellations.community/happy), plus a few book launches (including a reception for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Biography), and locals Creative Mornings, Butter ATL, Dagger Agency, CNN, Trae Young, an episode of the TV show Atlanta, and national corporations such as Delta, Chick Fil A, and Walmart. We recently hosted our first one-act play, our first true crime documentary series, and the Black Writer’s Weekend.
I’m incredibly proud of the variety of people, programming, and events we’re bringing to Auburn Avenue. Our vision at Constellations is to provide an inclusive platform of joy and support and to help others reach their goals, missions, and dreams.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I’m so proud to say our community includes 70% women-led businesses, including three law firms, a landscape design agency, a national journalism organization, and as of January 1, a media company focused on telling stories for and about women.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.constellations.community
- Instagram: @constellations.community
Image Credits
Headshot – Amelia Lawrence All others courtesy of Constellations
