A California native, Lani’s passion for art and technology led him to the theatre to design lighting, sound, and sets. After spending ten years working in the theatre and completing his business degree at UCSB, Lani founded what has grown to be SPARK Creative Group in 2006. The company combined his fascination with creating illuminated worlds and his considerable technological know-how. Lani prides himself on excellent customer service paired with unique custom realization of each client’s vision. He leads an exceptional and ever-growing team that is raising the bar for event production throughout the central and south coast. When not managing events, you can find Lani working in the garden or in the kitchen with his wife, daughter Annabelle and son Zac, or restoring vintage cars.

Alex is a Redlands native with family ties to Santa Barbara.  He loves exploring the central coast's natural beauty and as an avid cyclist, can be found on 100 mile rides or quick trips to the local breweries. Alex is a people person which led him to a degree in psychology. He can walk you through each step of planning your perfect event, from design to execution.

Stephanie is a San Jose native who now resides in sunny Southern California. Her master craft is the art of turning everyday objects into one of a kind masterpieces. With her background in visual merchandising and marketing, she brings a unique twist to the event industry. Outside of the office, you can find her catching fly balls at the softball fields!  

Janina is a Santa Barbara native who has been active in the local performing arts and events community for most of her life. Formerly a dancer and a theater kid, she combined what she loves most about the theater + her love of celebrating life events and turned them into an exciting career! She studied Hospitality and Event Management at the University of Nevada Las Vegas; with an emphasis on luxury and entertainment events including: music, film, and food festivals. Janina's hobbies include: quad roller skating, bartending and craft cocktail mixology, stand up comedy, and analyzing films for deeper meanings. 

A Santa Barbara native and a long-time member of the Music and Entertainment community, Skip is a professional and experienced musician, touring sound engineer, and tour manager responsible for all aspects of shows and productions. Whether it is intimate to grand, mild to wild, or anything in between, Skip's desire is to ensure the client is wowed and inspired. Skip's longtime history of installation, design, and professionalism makes him a great leader for our Rentals and Lightscapes divisions. In his spare time, Skip loves to DJ for the SB locals. 

Kate has spent the last twenty years in Santa Barbara applying her business degree to office management and support for local profit and non-profit organizations. In her personal time, she satisfies her love of theater by attending concerts and stage productions. She also enjoys pottery and giving back to the community by volunteering at events.

Sarah is a Santa Barbara native who loves all things Halloween. She went back to school to work in a more creative industry and received degrees in Studio and Theatre Art. She has since worked in local theatre honing her wig and makeup skills before joining Spark. At Spark, Sarah enjoys bringing the artistic vision of the consultants to life as well as keeping an organized warehouse. 

Bio coming soon.

Kate Kurlas has over 13 years working in the entertainment and event production industry. Her career in leadership roles includes Director of Operations, and Director of Sales and Marketing for The Granada Theatre, Vice President of the Santa Barbara Symphony, executive consultant for start-up companies from the Tech Sector, and Grammy-award nominated artists. An award-winning director, Kate was recognized by Pacific Coast Business Times “40 Under 40 Top Business Professionals” in 2015.  Past President of Santa Barbara Beautiful, Kate continues to dedicate her free time to giving back to the Santa Barbara community through volunteer work, as well as spending time with her family and perfecting her "famous" focaccia recipe.

Jessica has an extensive background in performing arts production. As a producer for numerous theater companies in Santa Barbara, Jessica brought her administrative and creative skills together to make each event spectacular. She is delighted to bring her unique perspective to the SPARK team to ensure everything runs smoothly.