Nicole Matthews

Nicole R. Matthews, CSEP, is Chief Experience Officer of  RECESS by The Henley Company, LLC. an experiential event and lifestyle management firm based in San Diego, California. With the belief that life should be experienced in a big way, Nicole set out to create a company focused on helping clients to live the life they want and to produce the experiences they want to remember! With over 12 years of event management experience, she has produced a long list of distinguished events for notable organizations both nationally and in the United Kingdom. Nicole not only works with clients to create unique experiences, significant celebrations and memory-making events, but she is also recognized as a leader in self-producing events and strategic partnerships. Nicole has self-produced numerous high-profile events, which are original concepts promoted to targeted demographics. Her "Sex and the City: The Movie" premier became a landmark event and established her reputation as an expert in self-producing events. The event was so successful she franchised the concept to event planners in other markets so they could self-produce events around the opening of Sex and the City 2. Nicole now coaches planners about the benefits of self-producing events and the value of strategic partnership. 

Nicole founded The Henley Company in 2007 after a long career as a corporate event planner. Active in her industry, Nicole is the immediate Past-President for the San Diego Chapter of the International Special Events Society (ISES) and is one of 250 professionals in the world to hold the Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP) designation. She has earned a Certificate in Event Management from the University of San Diego / George Washing University Event Management Program, a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Davis and a M.A. in Educational Leadership from the University of San Diego. Nicole is also an adjunct professor at Mesa College in San Diego and an Instructor in the University of San Diego's Certificate in Event Management Program, where she teaches the next generation of event professionals.