2023 Summit Speakers and Bios

Jennifer Ackerson

Jennifer Ackerson, President of ALON Marketing Group, is a 25+ year veteran of the travel industry with direct experience in working with a majority of tourism business categories. Jennifer has an excellent understanding of tourism, the travel trade, and the visitor dynamic resulting in a high level of successful strategic tourism business development for both tourism businesses and destinations.

In 2000, Jennifer founded ALON Marketing Group, a tourism consultancy, which cultivates tourism businesses and destinations for effective marketing, partnerships, and operational initiatives. In addition, ALON Marketing Group produces successful tourism sales and marketing programs to assist these tourism businesses and destinations to increase ROI in their tourism marketing efforts.

Jennifer also customizes and delivers high-quality tourism training programs for destinations and their stakeholders. She spearheads the ongoing ‘Steps to Success’ national tourism training program in partnership with International Inbound Travel Association (IITA) and the ‘Tourism Ready’ tourism training program for NYC & Company, the official DMO of New York City.

The impact and contribution of Jennifer’s work is significant in the tourism industry as she delivers custom solutions for tourism businesses and destinations to achieve their tourism goals and build long lasting relationships.

Quintin Blair

Quintin graduated Magna Cum Laude from the William F. Harrah School of Hospitality administration at the University of Nevada Las Vegas with a minor in Marketing. Upon graduating in May of 2009 Quintin enjoyed a successful, albeit short-lived career in Real Estate before the family business brought him home to Cody for good in 2014. Currently, Quintin works as the Vice President: Leisure Travel Development at Blair Hotels; during the summer months, he holds the prestigious position of “lead porter.”

Quintin is a member of the Inbound International Travel Association (IITA) Advisory Council, serves as a director on the Wyoming Office of Tourism (WOT) board, as well as the Park County, Hot Springs County and Big Horn County lodging tax boards. He is also a member of several national travel trade organizations including the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), the American Bus Association (ABA), the National Tour Association (NTA) and Rocky Mountain International (RMI). In addition to serving on the Cody Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Quintin also volunteers on the Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale Committee as well as the Cody Culture Club.

Kaitlyn Brajcich

Kaitlyn is currently the Senior Manager of Communications & Training for Sustainable Travel International. In this role, Kaitlyn raises awareness around sustainability issues affecting people, places, and nature, and promotes best practices in tourism. Kaitlyn has written educational content for consumers; facilitated training workshops for travel industry professionals, local residents, and destination managers; collaborated with leading companies like Internova Travel Group, G Adventures, and TripAdvisor; and supported sustainability projects in destinations such as Barbados, St. Kitts, Antigua & Barbuda, Chile, Fiji, and Samoa.

Hampton Jenning Brown

Mr. Brown is the Vice President and CRO for San Diego International Airport.  In this capacity Mr. Brown sets strategic direction for the Revenue Generation, Innovation, Data Analytics, Customer Experience, Public Art, Marketing and Air Service Development functions of the airport.  He regularly consults with regional stakeholders on new aviation opportunities for the San Diego region.

Prior to joining San Diego International, Mr. Brown worked as a Senior Air Service Consultant to airports across the USA including Washington Dulles International, Providence TF Green, Duluth and Elmira-Corning Airport.

Mr. Brown holds a B.A. in Political Science from Allegheny College and a Masters in International Business from the University of Maryland.  He attended the Universität Würzburg (Germany) where he completed coursework and passed the P.N.d.S. (German proficiency examination).   Mr. Brown has graduated from the joint Airports Council International (ACI) / International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Airport Management Profession Accreditation program (AMPAP).

Julie Coker

Julie Coker is the president and CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority (SDTA) where she oversees the organization’s efforts to promote and sell San Diego as a top destination for meetings, conventions, overseas travelers and leisure visitors. The San Diego Tourism Authority is recognized as one of the best in the business and continues to set the standard for destination marketing organizations around the country.

Previously, Coker served as the president and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) where she oversaw the 2017 NFL Draft and the 2016 Democratic National Convention, which had a combined economic impact of $325 million for Philadelphia. Prior to that, she was PHLCVB’s executive vice president, Convention division, and managed a staff of 25 sales and services professionals responsible for selling the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center and hotel packages to customers across the country.

Prior to joining the PHLCVB, she was the general manager for the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing, where she oversaw all operational aspects of the 350-room hotel. A 21-year Hyatt veteran, she began her career in 1989 as a corporate management trainee at Hyatt Regency Columbus. Throughout her more than two decades with Hyatt, she rose through the ranks in a variety of positions, including assistant front office manager, front office manager, hotel assistant manager, assistant executive housekeeper and general manager.

Coker serves on several boards, including the California Travel and Tourism Commission, Visit California, The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation and Meeting Planners International. She is currently one of the vice chairs on the U.S. Travel Association board.

From January 2018-2020, she served as co-chair for U.S. Travel’s Meetings Mean Business Coalition and secretary-treasurer for International Association of Exhibitions and Events Executive Committee (IAEE). In 2016, she served on the transition team of Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. From 2016-2019, Coker co-chaired the Shared Spaces Initiative to combat homelessness.

Additionally, Coker is a member of the San Diego Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. In both 2012 and 2019, the Philadelphia Business Journal named her among their Women of Distinction honorees. She was the 2017 United Negro College Fund Mayor’s Ball Honoree for Civic Leadership and was named one of the Network Journal’s 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business. She also received the Cradle of Liberty Good Scout Award by the Boy Scouts of America Cradle of Liberty Council and was the recipient of the 2011 John Wanamaker Award (Individual Award) given by the YMCA of Philadelphia and vicinity.

Coker is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she received a Bachelor of Science in hospitality management and graduated magna cum laude.

Aron Davidson

Aron Davidson is the Travel and Tourism Global Team Leader with the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Commercial Service. Based in San Diego, he coordinates travel industry-related department programs worldwide to promote international visitation to the United States. Prior to joining the Commercial Service, he was a Lead Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, a strategic consulting and technology firm, working in International Program Management. In addition, he served as the Director of Government Business Development for a global language and business services company. Previously, he worked for the US Commerce Department as an International Trade Specialist focusing on Government Procurement and NAFTA compliance issues in the Western Hemisphere.

A San Diego native, Aron has a Masters in International Trade Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Spanish from the University of California, Davis.

Fred Dixon

Fred Dixon is President and CEO of NYC & Company, New York City’s official destination marketing organization. He joined the organization in 2005 as Vice President, Tourism and rose to become CEO in 2014. With more than 30 years of experience in the travel industry, Dixon has the overall responsibility for developing and implementing New York City’s tourism, meetings and events strategy and programming to grow business and leisure travel from across the US and from around the world.

At NYC & Company, he has built a sales and marketing team that is at the core of the organization’s strategy to increase visitation and economic impact across the City. In 2019, New York City welcomed a record 66.6 million visitors, which generated $72 Billion in economic impact and powered more than 400,000 jobs across the five boroughs.

Dixon built a global network of 17 global outposts comprising sales, marketing and press professionals in diverse feeder markets from Australia to the UK, China to Mexico and India to Brazil that more than doubled international visitation to 13.5 million by the end of 2019.

In 2020 during the early months of the Covid-19 Pandemic, Dixon organized the Coalition for NYC Hospitality and Tourism Recovery which brought industry leaders together from across industry and all five boroughs to begin planning a path back. By July 2020, NYC & Company and the Coalition published “All In NYC: The Roadmap for Tourism’s Reimagining and Recovery” which is being implemented with the support of a $30 Million investment from the City of New York for recovery messaging and promotion.

Fred is a respected leader with positions on travel industry association boards and committees including the New York Convention Center Operating Corporation Board and U.S. Travel Association where he serves as Vice Chair of the Board, Co-Chair of the Meetings Mean Business Coalition and member of the IPW Planning Committee.

He has previously held board positions with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, Tourism Cares, the National Tour Association (NTA) and Student & Youth Travel Association (SYTA).

Prior to joining NYC & Company, Fred served in key positions at the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau, Planet Hollywood International, The Biltmore Estate, the Gatlinburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, Delta Airlines and Group Sales Box Office.

Fred is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and resides in Midtown Manhattan.

Keri Edwards

Keri Edwards is the CEO of Meeting Point North America and also serves on their Board of Directors.  With over 20 years’ experience in the travel industry, Keri has led teams of varying disciplines and travel types, from global call centers to airline safety training, domestic product development to international wholesale.  Regardless of title or type of hospitality role, her focus has always been people.  The success and satisfaction of her employees, customers and stakeholders are always in the forefront.  Prior to starting her career in hospitality, Keri earned her Bachelors of Science in Criminal Psychology from the University of Central Florida.  While her career followed a very different path from her degree, she has never even considered going back from the diverse, innovative and ever changing travel industry she fell into over two decades ago.

Geoff Freeman

As president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, Geoff Freeman is the leading advocate for the $1.1 trillion U.S. travel and hospitality industry. In this role, Freeman is charged with ensuring the industry’s full recovery from COVID-19, positioning the industry to seize emerging opportunities in a post-pandemic market environment and further establishing travel as a vital economic force in the United States.

Hubertus Funke

Hubertus Funke is the Executive Vice President & Chief Tourism Officer for the San Francisco Travel Association and is responsible for promoting San Francisco as a leisure destination and positioning SFO as the premier gateway to North America through the development and execution of an integrated tourism strategy for key international markets. He oversees a network of global agencies, creates multi–channel, integrated marketing campaigns and cooperative promotions with travel trade, airlines and other distribution partners, as well as vertical direct–to–consumer initiatives with the goal of raising global awareness for the gateway, generating economic impact and increasing international arrivals into San Francisco.

Hubertus and his team work closely with the marketing team at San Francisco Travel to create vertically integrated market strategies in support of and in close partnership with SFO. These efforts also leverage San Francisco Travel’s unique relationships with Brand USA and Visit California whenever possible.

Hubertus joined San Francisco Travel in 2007 and has taken on increasing leadership responsibilities through the years. His background in the international tourism arena spans over 25 years in both Europe and the U.S. He has worked at TUI Group, the world’s largest tourism company, where he led the commercial business unit for hotel and airline contracting, as well distribution and revenue management for all leisure destinations in Spain, Portugal and Southern France. He has also held leadership roles with large U.S. inbound tour operators, both in New York City and San Francisco.

Hubertus was born and raised in Germany. He was educated at Berufsbildende Schule Roderbruch and Leibniz Akademie/FH in Hannover, Germany. He relocated to New York City in 1995 and completed professional studies at New York University and Parsons School of Design. In 2019, he completed the Authentic Leadership Development Program at Harvard Business School. He speaks English, German, French and Spanish, and currently serves on Visit California’s International Marketing Committee, U.S. Travel’s IPW Advisory Committee, as well as on the boards for the International Inbound Travel Association (IITA) and the San Francisco/Kiel Sister City Committee.

Jeff Gayduk

Jeff Gayduk is the president of Premier Travel Media, a multi-faceted publishing firm that specializes in the niche group travel industry. Jeff Gayduk launched Premier 23 years ago with a vision of how to better connect buyers and sellers in the b2b travel industry. Under his leadership, what started as one print magazine has organically grown over the past two decades. Premier owns well-known brands such as Destination Reunions, Leisure Group Travel, Sports Planning Guide, Student Travel Planning Guide and Destination Film Guide as well as the publisher of our Inbound Insider and InSite on America e-newsletter.

Jeff is the author of the recently published book, Traveling Tribes, Your Next Side Gig as a Group Travel Influencer.

Terry Gifford

Julie Heizer

Julie Heizer rejoined the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2003 and is currently serving as the Deputy Director of the National Travel and Tourism Office.  She is responsible for industry outreach and serves as the staff liaison for Brand USA making her responsible for their $100M matching funds and compliance with the Travel Promotion Act.

She has also worked for the U.S. Travel Association, multiple DMOs, including one she helped build from the ground up, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration and a couple of travel agencies, one of which she also helped start. She recently realized she’s REALLY been in travel and tourism since 7^th grade where she helped organize school trips.  She’s been orchestrating travel ever since!

Julie is an experienced marketing and promotion professional in the travel and tourism space and is known for her creative problem-solving and approach to making things happen on small budgets. She is passionate about professional development and ensuring that today’s youth are being properly prepared and trained to lead the travel and tourism industry into the 22^nd century.

She loves travel, good books, good movies, and good laughs, not necessarily in that order, and continues to make a concerted effort to knock things off her bucket list.

Nick Hentschel

Nick Hentschel is the Chief Operating Officer at AmericanTours International, LLC (ATI), where he is responsible for developing and implementing overall corporate strategy, with a focus on distribution and investment in technology. Nick served on the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board during the Obama Administration, advising the U.S. Secretary of Commerce on important issues facing the travel industry.

Founded in 1977, ATI has been a leader in the North American inbound travel industry for over forty years. Our philosophy has always been “innovation, not duplication.” Operating tour and travel products and services across all of North America, ATI develops specialized solutions to deliver product from over 30,000 accommodation, attraction, and transportation supplier partners to customers worldwide.

David Huang

David Huang is the owner of National Park Express, Travel USA Express and Canyon Coach Lines. There have been few tourism professionals as passionate as David Huang.  He has always loved promoting the Southwest.  Having beautiful buses is important to him and he understands the true importance of maintenance and safety standards. David has 32 years as a tour operator and 16 years in hotel and ancillary distribution.  Since moving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in 1994, David has learned and developed the destination business, where he sees the importance of detailed preparations and the importance of presentation within transportation services. Combining this background with technology, David has developed innovative ways to present and sell more transportation, accommodations and activities. New platforms assist agents and operators to book more products and packages.  David is achieving a dream to allow more visitors to experience the National Parks and the Southwest with more freedom and choice.

Cathleen Johnson

Cathleen Johnson is president of Cathleen Johnson Tourism Consultants, LLC, a tourism focused marketing and communications consultancy. Cathleen has more than 35 years of experience in the tourism industry.  She created the travel and hospitality practice at Edelman, the world’s largest PR firm., and throughout a 25+ year career there, grew the specialty area to the #1 tourism practice among independent PR agencies.

Following her “retirement” from Edelman, she focused on a communications consulting practice, and works with a variety of travel associations and individual clients on marketing and communications planning and strategy, meeting and retreat facilitation, messaging documents, presentation and media training and overall communications consulting.

In Johnson’s travel career, she has developed marketing campaigns for countries, states, airlines, hotels, tour and transportation companies and associations. She was a member of the SYF Board of Trustees.

In recent years, Cathleen has focused on the area of Sustainability and Tourism, believing strongly that following a long career of promoting travel around the world, it is now her responsibility to contribute to saving the people and places of travel for future generations.

Stephanie Jones

Stephanie M. Jones, MBA, Founder & CEO of the Cultural Heritage Economic Alliance, Inc. (CHEA), is a business and marketing strategist, DEI consultant, and a leading cultural heritage tourism thought leader introducing award-winning innovative and sustainable tourism initiatives designed to leverage cultural heritage tourism as an economic driver for fueling local tourism businesses and cultural institutions in underserved communities.

As a leading social entrepreneur in travel and tourism, Jones is the founder of some of the most innovative tourism initiatives designed to create diversity, equity, and inclusion in the travel & tourism industry such as The Black Cultural Heritage Tours Collection. She is also the founder of the National Blacks in Travel & Tourism Collaborative, an initiative leveling the playing field for small black and brown travel & tourism businesses, assisting them in accessing equitable opportunities in the industry through the Black Tourism Talent Directory and Diversity Tourism Academy.

Jones is the co-founder for the Power of Partnership Stewardship Summit on culture, community and climate taking place in October 2023. She is a tourism development consultant working with destinations to develop programs that leverage community-based tourism as well as engages and positions local community assets to attract domestic and international visitors to businesses and attractions in underserved communities within destinations.

Jones serves on the United States Department of Commerce’s Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, Northstar Travel Group’s Black Travel Advisory Board, Hurtigruten’s Black Travel Advisory Board Chair, World Tourism Association for Culture & Heritage and the Future of Tourism Coalition Advisory Board. As a global tourism leader and innovator, Jones was the only U.S. based founder selected as a top 10 finalist for the 2021 Social Entrepreneurship Competition in Tourism presented by UNWTO, TUI Foundation, Travel Massive and ITB Berlin. She was won several awards for her work such as the 2022 Travel+Leisure Global Visions Award for setting standards in responsible travel; 2022 Travel Weekly’s Magellan Gold Award for the Black Cultural Heritage Tours Collection; and 2022 Gold + Silver Anthem Awards for DEI, Collaboration and Innovation for the Black Cultural Heritage Tours Collection.

Mark Keam

Mark L. Keam is Deputy Assistant Secretary for Travel and Tourism in the International Trade Administration where he leads our government’s strategy to maintain America’s status as a top destination for international visitors.

As head of the National Travel and Tourism Office, Mark and his team promote the competitiveness of America’s industries, which in turn supports robust employment and economic growth for states and localities. The office produces research and works with Brand USA, Tourism Policy Council, Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, and other private and public sector stakeholders to advance global travel and tourism.

Before joining the Biden Administration, Mark was a seven-term elected member of the Virginia House of Delegates where he led the Virginia Legislative Tourism Caucus and helped pass dozens of bills that promote economic development and innovative job creation. He served as vice chair of the Finance Committee, chair of the Higher Education Subcommittee, chair of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus, and member of the Courts and the Commerce and Energy Committees.

In addition to his experiences as a state legislator, Mark has served in federal and local governments, including as chief counsel to a United States Senate Assistant Leader. Mark also has professional experiences in the private sector, co-founding two international trading businesses, working as in-house counsel with a Fortune 15 technology company, and leading a national ethnic chamber of commerce.

As a naturalized immigrant, Mark has lived a global and multicultural life. He grew up and attended schools in five countries and traveled to over two dozen other nations. Mark, his wife, and two children have visited every American state and some of its territories. He graduated from the University of California system with degrees in political science and law.

Athar Khan

Athar Khan was appointed to the role of Director, International Specialty Sales in October 2020. Athar and his team are responsible for managing Delta’s relationship with accounts specialized in Asia Pacific, Latin and EMEAI Consolidator business, within the United States. Athar and his team coordinate joint selling activities with our partners Aeromexico, Air France/KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Korean Air, and China Eastern.

Athar returns from Seoul, South Korea where he was positioned as Director, Asia Pacific, Sales. Athar and his team were responsible for managing Delta’s relationship with Global and Multi-National Accounts as well as world’s three largest Travel Management Companies in Asia Pacific.

Athar was seconded to Jet Airways as Vice President, Americas, for Jet Airways in 2018. Prior to that, Athar served as Director, NY Financial, responsible for the major investment banks and private equity accounts, as well as Director, New York Sales where he helped lead Delta’s drive to “Win in New York”.

Additionally, Athar brings significant international experience from his roles in Doha with Qatar Airways as well as in LAC, EMEA and APAC during his 18 years with American Airlines, making him an ideal fit for his new position.

Athar graduated from Marlboro College, Vermont with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Sociology. Athar currently lives with his family in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sandi Lackey

Sandi Lackey has worked for BWH Hotel Group since 2005. She is responsible for developing partnerships, strategies, driving revenue, distribution, connectivity, analytical research, marketing, promoting, and educating brand awareness with her clients.

In 2018, she was instrumental in working on connecting the brand’s first two Leisure and Corporate (Bliesure) connections producing significant growth in revenue for the brand. In the summer of 2018, she joined the Global B2B Distribution Strategy Department under the leadership of Matt Teixeira.

In the fall of 2019, IITA had a vacant Hotel Director seat. The Board voted Sandi in to fulfill the rest of term which she completed July 1, 2020. Currently, Sandi serves as the chairperson for the IITA Technology Committee which was created March 2020. In 2001, Sandi was selected to sit on IITA’s board for two year-term. She attends and supports many of the travel industry tradeshows.

Sandi graduated from North Central College in Naperville, IL with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a minor in Psychology. She has been in the travel industry 25+ years. Prior to the BWH Hotel Group, she worked 14 years for a Tour Operator and was a senior marketing and product development manager. Sandi worked on the Hyatt Vacations brand, Globetrotters Caribbean brand and Amtrak Vacations brand.

Sandi lives in Chicago, IL with her partner and loves to travel whenever she gets the opportunity.

Timonthy Liu

Timothy Liu joined Air Canada in 2015 and currently holds the position of Managing Director, Sales Planning and Effectiveness. In this role, he leads the development of Air Canada’s sales strategies globally and is responsible for market planning, sales analytics, as well as overseeing sales program development, communication, training, tourism partnerships, and sales support. Prior to his current mandate, he was the Senior Director of Commercial Strategy, where he led Air Canada’s International Sales organization across forty markets on six continents and was also responsible for launching and ensuring the commercial success of Air Canada’s new international routes.

Prior to joining Air Canada, Timothy Liu served as the Senior Director – International Sales / Asia and the Director of Network Strategy at Hawaiian Airlines, where he led the company’s rapid network expansion and hub development. Previously he was a management consultant with Bain & Company and a customer loyalty strategy consultant at Brierley & Partners. Mr. Liu has also held revenue management positions at United Airlines and Northwest Airlines.

Timothy received his BA in Political Science and MBA in Finance and Strategic Management from The University of Chicago.

Helen Marano

Helen Marano joined Longwoods International in September, 2022 to lead the production and client services teams in their stellar efforts for providing the industry and especially the destination management organizations (DMOs) with the empirical evidence needed to support their efforts with understanding consumer trends in travel and managing tourism in their area.

Previously Helen founded her own company in January 2019, Marano Perspectives, to further the value and importance of Travel & Tourism for the economic development and social benefits for global communities. This followed her 7 years at the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) where she built the Government and Industry Affairs Department for the advocacy efforts of WTTC in presenting the industry perspective to government leaders and organizations. As an Executive Vice President, she also expanded the engagement of WTTC and the T&T industry with academia, and other key tourism stakeholders.

Helen is a seasoned leader, having previously led the National Travel & Tourism Office of the United States for over a decade. This involved industry relations, policy formation, and oversight and interpretation of the statistical system for Travel and Tourism for the USA.  Some of her key accomplishments included negotiating the opening up of Chinese group leisure travel for the USA, building the first US Travel & Tourism Satellite Account, serving as the Chair for the Tourism Working Group of APEC, and collaborating in the formation of the Brand USA Corporation for marketing the USA.  She oversaw the team who launched the first media campaign from the US Department of Commerce in 2004-2005 for welcoming back the Japanese and British travelers following the downturn from the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US. The return on investment (ROI) assessment for the campaign was measured by Longwoods International.

Her career spans key positions including Director of Research and planning for the former Visit Orlando, Senior Project Director for the Gallup Organization, and ten years in the financial services industry with experience in designing a customer information system, new product development assets and market feasibility assessments for several mergers. Her technical proficiency is in market research.

Helen’s experience and expertise in policy development, and government and industry relations inspires thought leadership and cooperation among stakeholders for improving the environment for Travel & Tourism to flourish sustainably.  She is a passionate advocate on the value of the industry and an experienced speaker.

Helen serves as: Chair of the Travel Foundation Board of Trustees dedicated to community development; Secretary of the Board for ArtWorks for Freedom dedicated to raising awareness of human trafficking; Advisory Board member for Blacks in Travel and Tourism Collaborative; and Advisory Board member for the Bella Vista Higher Education Institute Switzerland.

Helen has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women in Travel and Tourism International (witti)  for leadership and contributions to the sector and the Celebrating Her Award for building global alliances that promote tourism as a force for good by the International Institute of Peace.

Jeffrey Ment

Jeffrey Ment provides legal counsel to travel companies around the world.  He has been in the travel industry for more than forty years.  Prior to law school, he gained valuable experience while working as a travel agent, tour guide and sales manager for two airlines.

Mr. Ment graduated from the University of Connecticut (1989) and the University of Miami School of Law (1992).  He is admitted in New York, Connecticut, the United States District Courts of New York (SDNY and EDNY) and Connecticut as well as the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. Mr. Ment has years of experience mediating cases and was selected as a mediator for Litigation Alternatives, Inc. located in West Hartford, CT.

Mr. Ment offers a unique ability to represent the many facets of the travel and tourism industry: travel agents, OTA’s, tour operators, hospitality groups, cruise lines, trade associations, motor coach tour operators and insurers. He handles the defense of personal injury actions, international and national compliance laws, seller of travel law compliance, general representation for travel companies, resolution of lATA/ARC issues, contract drafting and risk avoidance management services.  His cases and clients come from around the globe, including Africa, United Kingdom, South America, Europe and the Caribbean.

He is trusted by travel agents, host agencies, technology companies, tour operators and insurance companies to handle matters across the country and around the world, particularly in claims arising from accidents or incidents. He regularly represents clients in liability litigation arising from these accidents.

Mr. Ment is a sought-after speaker at industry events.  He regularly addresses members of the National Tour Association, United States Tour Operators Association, American Society of Travel Advisors, Family Travel Association, Adventure Travel Trade Association, Wellness Tourism Association, Student & Youth Travel Association, and the International Tour Management Institute.  He is a member of The International Forum of Travel and Tourism Attorneys, The International Society of Hospitality Consultants, and the Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys.

Mr. Ment writes the legal column for Travel Age West and is frequently quoted in the media on articles on travel.

The Ment Law Group has offices in Hartford and Westport, Connecticut and New York City.

Stacia L. Morfin

“I grew up at lepwéyma (Lapwai) and šimiinekem (Lewiston). My mother grew up at tuniiweyme (Juliaetta) and my father at lepwéyma. I am a citizen of Nimíipuu nation whose ancestors originally came from pik’üunin (Snake River area between the Snake and Salmon River) and wawáwi, which is located on the lower-Snake River area above palúus, timíimap (up the Northfork of the Clearwater River) and saqánma (Canyon people of the Snake River) and lamáta (White Bird Creek and Salmon River Area).”

Since 2006 Stacia has developed a strong history working with tribal nations creating materials, as a public speaker, and a team leader in her community. She is a team player with excellent communication skills, marketing tactics, and proficient in technology.

Nez Perce Tourism provides a warm welcome to Nimiipuu Country where guests will experience a true sense of place with Nimiipuu “The People.” Radiating with cultural wisdom, Nez Perce Tourism is the only place in the world where you will hear their side of history, witness the stories of their ancestors, and receive legendary hospitality founded in our cultural understanding of honor and respect. Nez Perce Tourism provides one-on-one, elder-to-youth mentorship opportunities through a series of interactive workshops. Those learning opportunities preserve the history through interactive storytelling and the promotion of environmental protection by navigating through traditional values via field trips.

“Now is the time, we, the Nimiipuu, share our own story, with cultural integrity at the forefront. I am proud to say tourism is not new to our nation. Historically and from this day forward people will be reminded that we have (and will) always be known for our vast connection to the land from which we originated. Guiding and sharing our wisdom is in our DNA.”

Jason Murray

As a native of Utah, Jason grew up visiting the National Parks, Monuments, and other regions throughout the Western United States. That is where he first fell in love with the history and geology of the area. One of his favorite trips was down to Havasupai Falls and the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Even when he attended college in California, he continued to enjoy the diverse geological and ecological environments nearby in the Sierra Nevada’s and the California Coast. He has enjoyed camping, hiking, backpacking, and touring throughout the west for the last 35 years. One of his greatest loves is sharing his passion of the history, geology, and beauty of the Southwestern United States with those he tours with.

Owner/President of Southwest Adventure Tours
January 2013 to Present

Member of Grand Circle Association
March 2013 to Present

Treasurer/Board Member Grand Circle Association
March 2016 to 2019

Member Visit Salt Lake
March 2014 to Present

Member NTA
March 2014 to Present

Member ABA
March 2016 to Present

Member/Partner Travel Alliance Partners
January 2018 to Present

Member IITA
2018 to Present

Ron Pohl

Ron Pohl is President of International Operations for Best Western Hotels and Resorts and WorldHotels. He joined the brand in 2007 and serves on the company’s executive committee. Pohl has made significant contributions to include thoughtfully increasing the company’s scale across the globe.  He was instrumental in repositioning existing offerings and lunching new brands to diversify the company’s portfolio, appealing to today’s travelers and developers.  In addition, he has led new and innovative operations efforts resulting in record guest satisfaction scores for the company.

Prior to joining Best Western, Pohl spent 25 years with Boykin Management Company and Marriott Corporation. With Boykin, he served in a number of senior-level positions and ultimately senior vice president of operations.

He currently serves on the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s board of directors, the advisory board for Grand Canyon University and previously served on the board of directors for the Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland.

Throughout his career, Pohl has earned several awards. In 2017, he was named a silver winner in the Executive of the Year – Large Companies category by the Best in Biz Awards. Pohl received the award as result of his commitment to excellence, innovative vision, and investment in employees’ professional development. Pohl was also named the 2017 gold winner in the Executive of the Year category by One Planet Awards, the world’s premier awards program honoring the best in business and professional excellence in every industry from around the globe. Finally, Pohl received the prestigious American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute Arthur Landstreet Award in 2016.

Kurt Rausch

Kurt Rausch is Chief of the National Park Service (NPS) Commercial Services Program.  He is responsible for overseeing development and implementation of national policy and programs for approximately 500 concession contracts, 6000 commercial use authorizations and more than one hundred leases providing visitor services in national parks.  These range from large multi-service lodging resorts to back-country guides and bus tour operators. Prior to joining the NPS eleven years ago, Mr. Rausch worked for more than twenty years with management, environmental, health and safety consulting firms providing program development and support for various federal agencies, states, local communities and industries. Mr. Rausch has a BS in Environmental Policy from Cook College, Rutgers University and certificates in Executive Management and Strategic Leadership in Hospitality Management from Cornell University. Kurt is married and has two adult children. Kurt is an avid sailor and hiker and loves all things outdoors.

Cathy Ritter

Cathy Ritter, Founder and CEO of Better Destinations LLC, draws upon nearly a decade of experience as state tourism director for both Colorado and Illinois in bringing together expert resources for destination management solutions, especially relating to destination stewardship and regenerative tourism.

Since founding Better Destinations in April 2021, Cathy has taken on a wide range of projects. She is partnering on creation of destination stewardship plans for the Lake Tahoe region, the Town of Vail, and Glacier Country Tourism (MT) and is co-developing a destination master plan for North Myrtle Beach. She’s currently engaged in a two-year project with Travel Nevada to build a model destination development program from the ground up. Her client list also includes the Port Aransas (TX) Tourism Bureau, Travel Marquette (MI), Durango (CO), and Discover Kalispell (MT).

Cathy’s work to create the Colorado Tourism Roadmap is widely credited with leading a national movement toward responsible tourism. To inspire Colorado travelers, she approached the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, enlisting Colorado as their first destination partner and creating the ground-breaking Care for Colorado Principles as a model for other travel organizations.

Now a Trustee of The Travel Foundation, she is immediate past chair of the National Council of State Tourism Directors and has served on the U.S. Travel Association’s Executive Committee and as an officer for the Western States Tourism Policy Council. She serves on the Parks, Preservation and Public Spaces Advisory Council for America 250, the nonprofit planning the celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial in 2026.

Lena Ross

Lena Ross began working for America 4 You, a Receptive Tour Operator, in 2006 and is the Director of Product Development. She previously held positions in multiple facets of the Tourism Industry. She has been an intern for both the San Diego CVB and the Anaheim/Orange County CVB, and a Sales Manager for the Handlery Hotel San Diego. Lena holds her Master’s in Sustainable Destination Management from George Washington University (2010)  and a Tour Directing Certificate from ITMI(2011). In addition, she was the  President of the Grand Circle Organization for 2 years. In her off time, she is very involved with the Junior League of Orange County, a women’s volunteer organization, and has held multiple leadership roles such as Finance Assistant, Web Manager, and Academy Manager.

Sherry Rupert

AIANTA CEO Sherry L. Rupert (Paiute/Washoe) has nearly two decades of executive-level experience managing and promoting Native American tourism. Since joining AIANTA as CEO in 2019, she has spearheaded several initiatives, including the organization’s groundbreaking new Tribal Agritourism program and overseeing AIANTA’s first-ever virtual American Indian Tourism Conference, which drew a record number of registrants in 2020. As CEO of the only national association dedicated to indigenous tourism, she is the leading voice when it comes to advocating for travel and tourism as a significant economic driver in tribal nations. Among her responsibilities, she curates a robust educational program for tribes and indigenous-owned hospitality enterprises around the country. Prior to assuming the role of CEO, she was President of AIANTA’s Board of Directors since 2010. During that time, she was instrumental in working with Congress to pass the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience (NATIVE) Act.

Rupert was formerly the Executive Director of the State of Nevada Indian Commission, where she reported directly to the Governor of Nevada to serve as a liaison to the state’s 27 tribes, bands and colonies. During her tenure, she developed the Nevada Indian Territory initiative and won awards and accolades for her work in preserving the site of the Stewart Indian School as a museum and cultural center.

Jeremy Sampson

Jeremy is a globally recognized leader and coalition builder, advocating for systems change that improves the impact of the travel and tourism sector on communities and the environment. Through a variety of roles in industry, academia, and civil society, he has helped to build industry and government capacities to adopt new measures of success, accelerate their response to the climate crisis, develop and promote more inclusive visitor economies, and integrate sustainability across the value chain.

Jeremy was instrumental in setting up the Future of Tourism Coalition in 2020, and currently serves as the Chair of this global movement representing 6 NGOs and more than 700 signatories. He also was a Co-Author of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action and Tourism, launched at COP26 in Scotland, an initiative which he now co-leads with colleagues at The Travel Foundation and UNWTO.

In his current role as CEO of nonprofit The Travel Foundation, Jeremy oversees a global team which has positioned itself as an agenda-setting international and independent NGO in the travel and tourism sector. Prior to assuming this post in September 2019, he worked at the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation in Spain, where he helped to launch the MEET Network, a destination management association for Protected Areas in Europe and North Africa. In addition to other industry roles, he also spent time in private sector as President of international tour operator GreenSpot Travel.

Sheila Scarborough

Sheila Scarborough is a speaker, trainer, and writer specializing in tourism, travel, and social media. She’s written for many blogs and print publications and is also a certified Navy Master Training Specialist, with years of experience as an instructor.

Along with Leslie McLellan, Sheila is part of the Tourism Currents team, offering online and in-person training in social media marketing for tourism, hospitality, and economic development.

Winner of the Austin American-Statesman Texas Social Media Award and an AWC (Association for Women in Communications) Clarion award, Sheila trains and speaks regularly about social media to a variety of audiences including public relations and marketing professionals, tourism and economic development experts, Main Street organizations, and Chambers of Commerce.

She co-founded and still writes for the award-winning Perceptive Travel blog, serves on the Advisory Board for SXSW – the South by Southwest conference – and also serves on both the Education Committee for TACVB (Texas Association of CVBs) and the Legislative Committee for the Texas Downtown Association.

A U.S. Navy veteran who is married with two children, Sheila is an NHRA drag racing fan because there’s one winner, one loser, and no whining.

Lisa Simon

Lisa Simon currently serves as the Executive Director of the International Inbound Travel Association, the only trade association focused solely on international inbound travel to the United States. With her 30-years of experience in the travel industry specializing in association management, strategic planning, and tourism market development, she has spoken on global and domestic travel industry trends throughout the United States and around the world.

Simon is also the principal of The Simon Connection, LLC, specializing in association management, strategic planning, and tourism market development. She has spoken on global and domestic travel industry trends throughout the United States and around the world.

Previously, Lisa served as the president of NTA (National Tour Association).  During Lisa’s tenure with NTA, she expanded NTA’s international presence, including working with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the China National Tourism Administration to open the U.S. as a preferred destination for Chinese travelers. NTA was the only association that volunteered to work with the two governments to register and approve U.S. tour operators to work with the China market.

Julie M. Stufft

Julie M. Stufft assumed the role of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services in the Bureau of Consular Affairs in August 2021.  Prior to assuming her current position, she served as Managing Director for Visa Services.  A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, Julie previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission in the U.S. Embassies in Moldova and in Djibouti.  Previously, she served in the National Security Council, Russia, Ethiopia, and Poland, and in the State Department Operations Center.  She is a 2021-22 International Women’s Forum Fellow, and was a 2014-15 Fellow to Seminar XXI, MIT’s Center for International Studies.  She is the recipient of seven Superior Honor Awards, and the American Foreign Service Association’s Award for Constructive Dissent by a Senior Officer. Julie is originally from Ohio, and holds degrees from Case Western Reserve University and Duke University.  She speaks Russian, Romanian, French and Polish.

John Sutherland

John Sutherland has worn multiple hats in the travel industry while working in an alumni travel program, for a tour operator, and now at a non-profit with Tourism Cares as the Director of Community Impact.

He has experience in Customer Service, Product Operations and even tour guiding, before building out Collette’s corporate social responsibility program as the former Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Collette.

John is excited about doing what he can to ensure that travel is beneficial to communities and the environment so that people can keep enjoying inspiring and eye-opening travel experiences in the future. In his free time, John enjoys walks with his dog, producing European-style microbrews in his garage brewery, and trying to perfect his pizza recipe.

Greg Takehara

Greg has been the CEO of Tourism Cares since May 1, 2019. He previously served on its Board, acting as its Chairman before becoming CEO. Prior to Tourism Cares, Greg was the President of Trip Mate, Inc., a travel insurance administrator. His career has spanned thirty-four years in the travel industry.

Greg serves on the Board of the US Travel Association and has served on the Boards of NTA and the IGLTA Foundation, as well as numerous industry committees. He is from Chicago and has an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and a Juris Doctor degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

Peter van Berkel

Peter van Berkel is President of Travalco, a full range Inbound Operator and DMC headquartered in South Florida.  Already during his studies in the Netherlands he was active in the travel trade, both as a Tour Director for a US Company conducting  group tours all over Europe and  by doing  expansion feasibility assessments for a chain of retail agencies.

After his studies he joined Go Florida in 1985 at its inception (renamed to Travalco in 1992) and the company has been fully owner-operated ever since.  Travalco is a pure B2B Inbound Tour Operator and DMC with high standards and uses innovative product creation and technical tools to meet the rapidly changing demands of the inbound markets.   The company has been consistently trusted by major hotel  companies as a partner that contributes to a mutual interest.   On the client side the company has enjoined award winning partnerships for over 30 years with leading tour operators in various market s.

Peter has long been an advocate for inbound industry topics like rate integrity and effective distribution and creation methods of travel products for the international markets. Since the 1990s, he has been an active board member of  the International Inbound Travel Association (IITA) and one of its predecessors, the International Travel Services Association. Today, he serves as Chairman of IITA, the leading association representing international inbound tour operators, and the industry at large.

Rafael Villanueva

After a rewarding and successful 22-year career with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), Rafael Villanueva formed Beyond Global Solutions, a tourism marketing consultant company that specializes in the development of strategic domestic and international inbound marketing programs and event management. While at the LVCVA he developed their international vision and strategy that included recruiting, contracting, and managing international representations offices in over 15 countries.

Prior to joining the LVCVA, Mr. Villanueva served as Executive Director of Advertising and Public Relations at the Tropicana Resort and Casino.   His career also included working for some of the top advertising agencies in the state of Nevada.  Clients included hotel-casinos, banks and homebuilders.  Additionally, he worked for KLAS-TV (Las Vegas’ CBS affiliate) as sales promotion director.

Born in Mexico, Villanueva has spent all but one year of his life in Las Vegas.  He is proud of his work International Inbound Travel Association (IITA) that included the rebranding of the organization.

Ivory Vogt

Ivory manages Sustainable Travel International’s Climate and Resilience program, helping businesses and destinations measure, reduce, and offset their carbon footprint.  Ivory’s background includes tourism consulting in Palau, non-profit fundraising in the USA, event planning, member and donor relations, and environmental audits. Ivory holds a BA in International Communications from Walla Walla University and a MSc in Tourism, Environment and Development from King’s College London.

Arnie Weissmann

Arnie Weissmann is editor in chief of Travel Weekly, the trusted source of news, research, analysis and opinion for the U.S. travel industry. He also serves as executive vice president/editorial director for its parent company, Northstar Travel Group.

Weissmann began in consumer media, publishing in dozens of national outlets, from the Washington Post to the LA Times. He entered business-to-business publishing after launching Weissmann Travel Reports, which provides frequently updated, unbiased profiles of every country in the world (now incorporated into Northstar product Travel42.) He also authored a geography textbook and served as publisher of critical hotel and destination guides for the travel industry in the U.S. and U.K.

Weissmann licensed destination content to America Online and AT&T, among others. After selling his company to Reed Elsevier, he was named group publisher for Star Service, Official Hotel Guide Worldwide and a dozen OAG-branded publications in the UK.

In 1999, he became senior advisor for business development for Northstar Travel Group, and was appointed editor in chief of Travel Weekly in October 2001.

Weissmann is seen regularly on PBS as a contributor to the television program “The Travel Detective.” His commentary has appeared on CBS, NBC, CNN, BBC and Sky News television, as well as NPR, SiriusXM and Monocle radio. He has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Toda. Weissmann is on the board of the non-profit Tourism Cares and has been a repeat guest lecturer at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.

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