Stanlee Gatti

Stanlee Ray Gatti (born 1955) is one of the best-known event planners in the U.S.

Background and childhood

Gatti is the second youngest of five children born to immigrant parents in the small mining town of Raton, New Mexico. His father Larry, a former coal miner born in Arpino, Italy, became a master craftsman in the United States, and built the family house. His mother Ann was born in Montenegro, Serbia, and was a housewife.

Education and early career

Gatti studied music, physical education and art at the University of Northern Colorado in the 1970s, then architecture and art history at the University of Oregon. After college he briefly returned home to coordinate events at the local country club, and worked as a department store window dresser. He worked at a plant store in Aspen, Colorado for several months then moved to San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. He worked as a florist at the St. Francis Hotel in 1978, advancing to Hospitality Manager.

Event planning