Building Connection, by Design

After two decades running restaurants, a nonprofit, and a large-scale catering operation, Angela Dunleavy reached a familiar midcareer inflection point. She had helped build Ethan Stowell Restaurants, led FareStart through the pandemic, and returned to the private sector as CEO of Gourmondo. But something still felt unfinished.

“What is it that I really want to do?” Dunleavy recalls asking herself. “What are all the things that I’ve done in my career that I want to pull together—and what are the things that I love the most?”

The answer led her to launch Rally, her venue management and event production company, in 2024. Sitting at the intersection of hospitality, events, experiential marketing, and placemaking, Rally centers community and supports businesses. At its core is a simple but important goal: “At the very heart of it, I want to provide spaces, places, and experiences where people can connect,” Dunleavy says.

That mission now takes shape across three Seattle venues: the Rooftop at Railspur in Pioneer Square, Studio Forma in South Lake Union, and West Canal Yards along the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Together, they form a portfolio that reflects Dunleavy’s belief that events can do more than fill calendars—they help create a sense of place, market products, and provide lasting value by bringing people together.

It’s a shift from earlier in her career, when Dunleavy often executed other people’s visions. At Ethan Stowell Restaurants, she ran a lot of the business side while also being married to Stowell. At FareStart and Gourmondo, she stepped into leadership roles where the mission was already largely set.

“Being back in the private sector made me realize…I actually want my own thing,” she says.

Rally became a way to synthesize everything she’s learned—about relationships, operational rigor, nonprofit values, and creating memorable events. Rather than chasing rapid expansion or a splashy exit, Dunleavy is focused on building a values aligned business that can grow thoughtfully.

“Angela brings a combination of high integrity, emphasis on relationships, industry-specific knowledge, and a solid understanding of the Seattle market.”
—Ginny Gilder, Co-owner Seattle Storm and Pickle at the Palms

“Earlier in my career, I was like, this is going to be a hundred-million-dollar company. We’re going to do this wild thing, and it’s gonna be this great exit,” she reflects. “And that’s not where I am right now. I don’t know if that’s the thing to chase.”

Much of Rally’s work lives in a category that’s often loosely defined: experiential marketing. Dunleavy says that while Rally approaches the term in different ways, one thing is key—throwing a good party. “We have these really cool spaces, and we have some really creative people who can think, ‘Okay, I’ve got a product—well, let’s throw a party around [that] product.’”

At Studio Forma, that idea plays out in tactile, intimate ways. An event in November featured Zabu pillows (buckwheat-filled, Japanese-style zabuton cushions) from New York. They were stocked in the Studio Forma space for sale and brought to life through a designer-led gathering where guests could see and touch the product.

For corporate clients, experiential marketing also doubles as place marketing. At Studio Forma, which sits within the larger BioMed Realty campus, events help prospective tenants imagine what it feels like to be there. “You’re marketing the building by providing [those experiences],” Dunleavy explains.

That logic extends to Rally’s larger venues. At West Canal Yards, programming has included Seattle Made’s large-scale tasting event and art-driven collaborations.

It’s all designed to give people a reason to show up on days when a private event isn’t booked. “In a private event space, there are only so many days a year you’ll sell,” Dunleavy notes. “The interesting question for me has been, what are you doing during those additional hundred days?”

Throughout its venues, Rally’s programming model blends high-end private events with more accessible public activations, including First Thursdays, watch parties, and DJ-driven pop-ups, providing what Dunleavy describes as “different entry points.”

Rally’s approach is especially visible at Rooftop at Railspur, a 15,000-square-foot venue on the seventh and eighth floors of the Railspur development in Pioneer Square. The space, filled with reclaimed wood and soft furnishings, sits in one of Dunleavy’s favorite parts of town. “Everything down here has heart and soul and purpose,” she says.

This spring, she’ll also open Doris in Pioneer Square—a women’s-only social club and cocktail bar named for the great-grandmother who helped raise her in eastern Oregon. While Doris will have “everyone’s welcome” nights, the focus is on creating an inclusive gathering space for women.

“More hours don’t mean better work. I say no.” —Angela Dunleavy, Rally

Rally’s client base includes developers, corporate brands, and a growing slate of sports organizations. Dunleavy has consulted for Pickle at the Palms, the forthcoming Interbay pickleball facility led by Ginny Gilder (co-owner of the Seattle Storm), and worked with the Sounders and World Cup event organizers.

Gilder says Dunleavy’s strength lies in both strategy and adaptability. “Angela brings a combination of high integrity, emphasis on relationships, industry-specific knowledge, and a solid understanding of the Seattle market,” she says. When Pickle at the Palms changed direction for its food and beverage needs after market research, “she shifted seamlessly right along with us and suggested the perfect partner.”

“She knows the numbers,” Gilder adds, “but she focuses on the people.”

As a mom, Dunleavy is candid about the limits of work-life balance and how she does it all. “I’m not grappling with it in any other way than any other working mom,” she says. “There’s no special sauce.”

What she does emphasize is delegation, boundaries, and intention. “More hours don’t mean better work,” she explains. “I say no.”

Rally, now entering its second year, remains intentionally experimental—testing movie nights, workshops, and pop-ups alongside core revenue-generating events.

For Dunleavy, that experimentation reflects a shift earned through experience. Rather than chasing scale for its own sake, she’s focused on building something durable and responsive—a business designed not just to host events, but to give people a reason to show up.