P E O P L E
Congratulations to two DMO thought leaders recognized by Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association among the 2020 HSMAI Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Optimization.
- Gathan D. Borden, CHDM, Vice President, Marketing, VisitLEX
- Anne Sayers, Acting Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Tourism
These professionals, selected by a panel of senior industry executives, will be celebrated virtually on March 16, 2021.
HSMAI Top 25 Americas awards recognize leaders in hospitality, travel, and tourism organizations for their accomplishments in the preceding 18 months.
Also honored this year is Bettina Garibaldi, SVP and managing director of Travel, Hospitality & Leisure at Ketchum Communications, producing award-winning work for Discover Puerto Rico.
Awardees are high achievers who stand out through their creativity and innovation, cutting-edge campaigns and programs, triumph in challenging situations and efforts that resulted in dramatic gains. Bravo!
Katie Cook 
Natalie Jamieson 
Kelsey Blevins
What adds up to more than 80 years of experience? Entrada Insights has announced the expansion of its advisory and sales teams with six new hires to support recent growth.
- Katie Cook, Data Advisor Director, joins from Simpleview and was previously with Visit Austin
- Natalie Jamieson, Senior Data Advisor, formerly Visit Baltimore
- Kelsey Blevins, Senior Data Advisor, was recently with Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Bill Obreiter, Senior Sales Director, joins from Adara
- Mary Flynn, Sales Manager, joins from Adara
- Steven Cook, Marketing and Sales Manager, is the former Deputy Director of Vermont Tourism
Bill Obreiter 
Mary Flynn 
Steven Cook
Elie W. Maalouf, CEO-Americas at InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) is the new chair of the U.S. Travel Association’s CEO Roundtable.
Linda Thomas Brooks, an industry veteran and media consultant, has been named CEO of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), founded in 1947.
Charles Harris, president & CEO at Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Bureau has been appointed as a commissioner of Nevada Division of Tourism (Travel Nevada), chaired by the state’s lieutenant governor.
Amrita Gurney, VP Marketing & Community at CrowdRiff, where she has been a key team member since 2016, has announced her departure to join Juno College of Technology in Toronto as Chief Revenue Officer.
At Visit Milwaukee, Marissa Werner has been promoted to lead the DMO’s newly formed Sports Milwaukee division. An announcement made on the 35th Annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day indicates that the new division will be advised by a committee of prominent women from the local sports and hospitality landscape.
Matt Lewis joins HospitalityMaine as president & CEO. The organization has 1,000+ members in lodging and restaurants, representing the state’s second-largest industry. Lewis replaces Steve Hewins who moves to Hospitality Maine Education Foundation. Lewis is formerly executive director at Visit Richmond near San Francisco and was previously with San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Norris Flowers, president and CEO of Destination Gettysburg, has announced his retirement effective April 1. Flowers joined the organization in 2005. Destination Gettysburg will soon conduct a national search for a new president & CEO.
In Virginia, Christopher Finley resigns this month as executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce. A local search committee has been formed; Cheryl Ward will serve as interim executive director.
Jay Mollica moves from a previous role as creative technologist at SFMOMA in San Francisco to become Director of Digital Engagement at the Pérez Art Museum in Miami.
Nancy Koshiyama has joined Sojern in San Francisco as Chief People Officer.
Nicole Olivares joins the team at Visit Corpus Christi where she is named VP of Sales, joining following a decade at Omni Hotels.
America Segura has been appointed as brand manager at Visit Corpus Christi. She is a recent graduate of Texas A&M.
Hannah Williams has been appointed as PR and communications specialist at the Visit Mountaineer Country Convention & Visitors Bureau in Morgantown, West Virginia.
W E B I N A R S
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R F P s
Strategic Marketing & Cooperative Program Administration
The New Mexico Tourism Department (NMTD) is seeking a high-caliber New Mexico-based Strategic Marketing & Cooperative Program Administration contractor committed to advancing the NM True brand through strategy, cooperative partnerships and other brand and marketing tactics. The purpose of this RFP is to increase quality brand impressions of New Mexico True and driving potential travelers through the marketing funnel while strategically positioning New Mexico as the primary destination for the venturesome traveler.
Proposals are due no later than Feb. 24, 2021 at 12 p.m. MST
Top agencies from the District and around the country are invited to submit their proposal for creative that drives awareness of Washington, DC’s unique offerings as a leisure destination, ultimately increasing travel. The RFP is for creative services only, and the selected, on implementing a robust marketing campaign.
Deadline for submission is 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 19, 2021
Visit Ventura is building a new website. Deadline for responses is Feb. 22, 2021. Contact [email protected] for the RFP.
J O B S
President & CEO — Visit San Antonio
Chief Executive Officer — Bermuda Tourism Authority
President & CEO — Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA), Bangkok
President & CEO — Explore Fairbanks (deadline March 12)
President & CEO — VisitGreenvilleSC
Executive Director — Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau (closing March 1)
Chief Executive Officer — Experience Olympia & Beyond, WA
President & CEO — Washington County Visitors Association, OR
Vice President — Experience Columbia, SC
Executive Director — Park County Travel Council, Yellowstone, WY
Executive Director, Tourism — Visit Frederick, MD
Executive Director — Visit St. Mary’s, MD
Executive Director — Acadia Parish Tourism, LA (closes Feb. 12)
Executive Director — River Parishes Tourist Commission, LA (closes Feb. 28)
Executive Director Sports Commission AND Sports Sales Manager AND Content Strategist AND Research & Analytics Manager — Visit Corpus Christi, TX
Vice President Sales — Explore Asheville, NC
Vice President Marketing — Visit Florida
Vice President Marketing & Communications — Experience Kissimmee
SVP of Multicultural and Community Development — Broward County / Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau
Chief Marketing Officer — Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
Chief Marketing Officer AND Finance & HR Manager AND PR & Communications Manager — Visit SLO CAL, San Luis Obispo, CA
Director of Marketing & Communications — Discover Long Island, NY
Director Marketing & Communications — Visit Stockton, CA
VP Marketing — Discover Halifax, Nova Scotia
Public Relations Manager — Visit California, Sacramento
Director of Digital Media and Website Management — State of Louisiana
Public Relations Coordinator — Virginia Tourism Corporation
Deputy Director of Marketing — Emerald Coast CVB, Destin-Fort Walton Beach, FL
Director of Tourism & Business Development — Town of Ocean City, MD
Senior Marketing Manager — Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, Raleigh
Business Development Manager — Discover Kalamazoo, WI
Marketing Manager — Experience Columbus, OH
Communications & PR Manager — Visit Durango, CO (deadline Feb. 12)
Business Analyst — Visit Grand Junction, CO
Conference Sales Director — Valdosta-Lowndes Co. Conference Center & Tourism Authority, GA
Sales & Services Manager — Santa Monica Travel & Tourism
Sales & Marketing Manager — Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou
Communications Manager — Alexandria/Pineville Area CVB, LA
Visitors Services Manager — Galena County Tourism, IL
Tourism Director — Yankton Area Chamber of Commerce, SD
Marketing Coordinator — Beaver County Tourism, PA
Director of Marketing — Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, VA
Sales & Services Manager — Destinations International, Remote
Director of Marketing — Skift, Remote within U.S.
Junior Research Analyst — Longwoods International, Columbus, OH
Senior Designer AND Senior Product Designer AND Senior Product Manager AND Head of People — CrowdRiff, Toronto
Data Analyst — Madden Media, Tucson
Customer Success Representative AND Marketing Automation Specialist — Simpleview, Remote or Tucson
Marketing Project Manager — Destination Think, Remote
Operations Program Manager AND Community Success — Clubhouse, San Francisco
Senior Account Executive — C&R, Santa Monica
Analyst / Project Manager — Sandee, Los Angeles
Growth Marketing Manager — Unfold, NYC
Director, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, NYC
Vice President-Crisis Communications — Rubenstein, NYC
Outdoor Interpretation Specialist — Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR
Director of Marketing & Communications — Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA
Senior SEO Manager AND Growth Marketing Manager — RVshare, Austin
Director, Digital Marketing — GameStop, Grapevine, TX
Account Executive, Destination Product Development — Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Miami
General Manager — Royal Sonesta, Washington, D.C.
Marketing Manager, Brand Safety — Facebook, San Francisco
Consumer Product Marketing Lead — Instagram, San Francisco
Associate, Content Strategy & Analysis — Netflix, Los Angeles
VP of Marketing AND Director of Content Marketing (8-month role) —Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation, Remote
Chris Tatum has been named the new chief executive officer and president of Hawaii Tourism Authority, replacing George Szigeti who was let go on Oct. 31. Tatum, area general manager at Marriott International in Hawaii, is the first hotelier in that role. Local reports indicate that he was selected from a pool of 100-plus candidates, voted in by the tourism agency’s 12-member board on Nov 29. Tatum is expected to start his new position by the next HTA board meeting, slated for Dec. 27.
HSMAI 2018 Adrian Awards for “Top 25 Minds” include DMO thought leaders from the eTourism Community. In addition to hotel industry executives, awards go to: Jennifer Andre, Senior Director, North America & Latin America, Expedia Group Media Solutions; Dustin Bomar, Head of Industry – Travel, Google; Fred Dixon, President & CEO, NYC & Company; David Downing, President & CEO, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater; Darren Green, Senior Vice President, Sales, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board; Chad Hallert, CRME, CHDM, Vice President of Performance Marketing, Noble Studios; Gil Langley, President & CEO, Amelia Island CVB; and Dave Lorenz, Vice President, Travel Michigan, Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Congrats to all!
Dayton/Montgomery County Convention & Visitors Bureau has announced Cathy Stelzer-Petersen as its new director of digital marketing and media relations. Petersen comes to the CVB from Montgomery County where she served as director of communications for 10 years.
Todd O’Leary, former vice president of global partnerships and strategic alliances for San Francisco Travel, and a former marketing director at Visit Milwaukee, has joined Sonoma County Tourism as its vice president of marketing and communications.
Clay Gregory, longtime president and CEO of Visit Napa Valley, will step down next year as president but retain his position as CEO, according to a statement from the DMO. Gregory’s Napa Valley career began in 1989 as GM at Robert Mondavi Winery. After 14 years he spent five years as president at Jackson Family Wines before joining Visit Napa Valley in July 2009. A search for the new president is ongoing.
The new voice of Destination Gettysburg is easy listening. Randy Gray, appointed director of public and media relations for the Adams County, Pennsylvania DMO is a former radio announcer and adjunct professor of broadcast journalism at a nearby university.
Katy Jett, a marketing executive with extensive Oak Ridge ties, has been named president of Explore Oak Ridge in Tennessee. Jett succeeds Marc DeRose, who resigned in September to pursue other career interests.
Nikita Jankowski has been named marketing director for Destiny USA, New York’s largest shopping/dining/entertainment complexes, projected to become number two in the nation with a projected 29 million annual visitors. She joins the attraction from Visit Syracuse, where she was communications director for nearly five years.
Simpleview has announced its merger with Tourism Media, a top provider of tourism marketing websites and online tools in Europe. Together, the combined business serves more than 800 clients—mainly DMOs, attractions, hotels, convention centers, and arenas—on six continents. With headquarters in Tucson, Arizona and Liverpool, England, the company now employs more than 300 staff. 
Dom Hofmann, co-creator of Vine—the well-liked six-second video loop platform previously
owned and shuttered by Twitter—has announced a new successor to the channel. Set to launch in spring 2019, Hofmann says the new looping video app will be called Byte.
KPS3, a full-service marketing and digital communications firm in Reno, has announced Andy Walden as vice president of client strategy. Walden joins from Noble Studios where he worked with accounts such as Tahiti Tourisme, Yosemite, and Travel Nevada. Walden is also a past president of the Reno-Tahoe American Marketing Association.
Lauri Klefos, executive vice president of 1Berkshire in Massachusetts, has passed away at age 62. Klefos was CEO of the Berkshire Visitors Bureau when it merged with the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, Berkshire Economic Development Corp. and the Berkshire Creative Economy Council to form 1Berkshire in 2016. She had built a career in tourism marketing as tourism director for New Hampshire, then as president and CEO of the Arizona Tourism Alliance.