Risa was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and began her career at the young age of 20. Now with nearly 10 years under her belt, Risa is a trusted asset at Texas XPO. 

Her favorite aspect of the job is seeing an empty hall turn into a show with her hand at play as well as getting to know clients and learning their “why” behind each event.

In her spare time, Risa loves to play tennis, sing and play guitar, and family time.

Jonathan’s extensive experience and knowledge of trade shows and events makes him a valued, dependable asset to clients. His exceptional attention to detail, strong organizational skills and commitment to the highest level of customer service makes Jonathan a favorite amongst the team, as well.  

Off the show floor, you can catch Jonathan catching waves in at Galveston Beach catching waves and enjoying time with his beloved family.

Houston-area native, Trey Payne holds 10 years of wide-range event experience from operations and event conception to marketing, production and sales. His passion for events began as a live music enthusiast. Trey began to love the events industry because of the ever-changing environment and the diverse day-to-day challenges. At each event, he likes to pause and admire the blank canvas of an empty space, the completed set-up just before doors open and once again after tear-down. “It feels great to be a part of creating something from nothing,” said Trey.

Prior to his professional career, Trey earned a Bachelor of Music with a concentration in Music Marketing and Guitar Studies from The University of Texas at San Antonio.

After graduation, he joined the school’s full-time team at the University Center, followed by the Henry B Gonzalez Convention Center as an Event Manager. Most recently, Trey served at Freeman as a client development executive, selling and producing events.

Outside of work, Trey enjoys spending time with his wife, two-year-old daughter and ten-year-old dog. His hobbies include playing, designing and building guitars from scratch. If you’re into live music, Trey would love to bond with you over all things acoustic!

Marti brings more than 20 years’ experience to the trade show, meetings and live events industry. Her extensive background as Event Manager at Austin Convention Center and Palmer Events Center as well as Trade Show and Conference Manager at National Instruments, enables Marti to bring a unique and valuable perspective to the planning process.

When the Texas native isn’t event planning, Marti’s enjoying the great outdoors — camping and hiking at all of the beautiful Texas State Parks! She’s also a proud Aggie, so if you ever meet Marti, don’t hesitate to send her a “WHOOP!”

Beloved Founder and President Patrick Perrino extended the AEX brand to Texas in 2003, creating Texas XPO. His 25 years’ industry experience has brought immeasurable value to our staff and clients. 

A voracious reader and writer and self-proclaimed science nerd, Patrick is a wealth of knowledge. He graduated Valedictorian with a B.S. from Hunter College, and continued his education at New York University, where he earned his J.D. Patrick then moved to Austin as an attorney for IBM before taking the helm at the family business. 

Having never met a stranger, Patrick enjoys relationship building and it shows through his network nationwide. In fact, Patrick would love to meet you! Reach out and say hello, patrick@texasxpo.com.