Nancy Turner has been appointed Deputy Commissioner of Kentucky Tourism. Following 25 years as executive director, she has stepped down from leading Winchester-Clark County Tourism Commission. 

Shelley Zumwalt, Executive Director of Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, announced her retirement. She has worked with OTRD for over a decade, and was appointed as Executive Director two years ago.

Sydnie Furton has joined Datafy as a Customer Experience Director. She departs Love Communications and was formerly at Visit Ogden, Datafy’s first client.

The new CRM Database Manager at Visit Williamsburg is Emma Schmitz. She joins from Sonoma County Tourism and her DMO background also includes Traverse City Tourism.

Meredith Darden has been appointed Interim CEO at Visit Corpus Christi, following the departure of Brett Oetting. In over a decade with the DMO, Meredith’s most recent role has been COO. SearchWide Global is currently conducting a nationwide search.

Deanna Barclay has been promoted to Director of Content at Visit Baltimore. She has been with the DMO in various roles for nearly 10 years.

In Maine, David Page is joining Travel Portland as CMO. He comes from CD+M Communications, a local marketing agency, and was previously with a DMO, Maine’s Midcoast & Islands.

Teresa Cunningham has been promoted to Vice President of People, Culture, and Purpose at San Diego Tourism Authority.  She joined the DMO last summer as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion & Community Engagement.

Danyelle Perry is the new Digital Marketing Manager at Visit Overland Park in Kansas. She joins from the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism where she had a similar role for the past three-plus years. .

Longtime executive Pepe Avila has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Community Relations and Partnerships at Visit Anaheim.

Visit Newport Beach has announced the appointment of Kamia Kinchlow as the new Vice President of Global Luxury Leisure. She joins the DMO from the hotel industry.

Brett Oetting has been named to a new leadership role as the first ever COO of VisitKC.  Brett joins from Visit Corpus Christi in Texas where he served as CEO for nearly five years. Previously, he was CEO at Visit Topeka.

Julie Coker, President and CEO of San Diego Tourism Authority since 2020 has been appointed as President and CEO of New York City Tourism + Conventions, effective December 9. Previously, Julie served in this role at the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau for nearly 10 years.

Sheelagh Wylie is now Vice President, Business Development Travel Trade at the Empire State Building Observatory. Most recently, she was a Vice President at Go City and had previously served as CMO-Americas for VisitBritain following an executive role with Merlin Entertainments plc.   

Dan Rosenbaum departs San Francisco Travel Association as VP-Global Marketing. He joined the organization as social media manager 14 years ago.

Richard Black has a new position as Senior Vice President of Sales at Miles Partnership. He joins from Sojern where he was most recently Global VP-Destinations and was previously with TripAdvisor.

Heidi Barfels is starting a new position as Vice President, Marketing and Communications for Visit The Florida Keys & Key West. She joins from Visit Estes Park in Colorado and was previously with Visit Lauderdale.

Peter Bowden, long-time president and chief executive officer of VisitColumbusGA, has announcement his retirement at the end of 2024. A search is being undertaken to fill the role.

Sabrina Combs has been named to the role of Social Media & Content Manager at Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau. We welcome Sabrina to digital destination marketing.

Kaitie Burger is the new Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Tourism Office, a division of  the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development.  Her background includes Discover Lehigh Valley and most recently, Madden Media. 

Karinna Sostre Vicario has taken on a new role as Marketing Director at Discover Puerto Rico. She has been with the DMO for six-plus years, most recently as Web Content Manager.

Destinations International announced the appointment of Lauren Pace as Vice President  of Marketing. Her DMO background includes various roles at Visit Florida and Visit Tallahassee.

Longtime Discover Newport president & CEO Evan Smith has announced his plans to retire during the first quarter of 2025. A search for his successor has begun.

At Visit California, Kristen Trzcinski-Bonilla has been promoted to Director of Public Relations. She joined the DMO in 2015 after several years with Visit West Hollywood.

Jeniffer Murray has been appointed Vice President of People & Operations at See Monterey in California. She was most recently leading HR at Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

Louis Lewis has been appointed to lead Saint Lucia Tourism Authority as the new CEO.

After five years in the role, Warren Webster has announced his departure from Atlas Obscura as CEO.

Ileana Frascone has been promoted to Vice President, Client Services at Miles Partnership. She has been with the company for 11 years.

Brand USA has announced four senior executive appointments to its team under the leadership of President & CEO Fred Dixon. Read more here.

Rachel O’Neill-Cusey departs as  president & CEO of Visit Laguna Beach to join JNS Next as vice president of agency experience and business development. Rachel’s DMO background in California also includes Visit Dana Point.

Lloyd Pressley joins the team at JNS Next as a senior social media and content strategist following three years in digital marketing with Visit Greater Palm Springs. 

In September, the Albany County Tourism Board in Wyoming welcomed Andi Jaspersen as the new executive director for Visit Laramie. Her previous roles include Visit Cheyenne. Andi replaces Scott Larson, who became president & CEO at Visit Central Oregon.

At VisitPITTSBURGH, Derek Dawson has been promoted  to vice president-strategic initiatives. He joined the DMO in 2012.

Balakumar Raghuraman (Bala) has joined the team at Longwoods International in the newly created role of vice president of research and development. Bala’s background includes executive roles in analytics at Arrivalist /  AirDNA.

At Longwoods International, Arianna Johnson has been promoted to the position of senior research analyst. She joined the company in January 2023.

In Maryland, Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County announce the appointment of Rasheeda Martin as senior director of external relations. She was previously  director of sales at Explore York.

Allison O’Keefe joins Visit Alexandria as PR & communications manager. Welcome to the DMO world, Allison!

Dan Gibson, formerly senior director of communications at Visit Tucson, is the new CEO at Visit McMinnville in Oregon. He replaces Jeff Knapp who moves to Visit Bend in Oregon.

TravelAbility has retained the services of grants expert Jon Tellier, president of Michigan-based JetCo Solutions, to assist destinations with grant sourcing and applications concerning accessibility upgrades and programs.

Visit Ann Arbor has announced the retirement of Patti Ingleson, national sales account executive for the past 14 years.

Visit Oxnard announced that Julie Mino Buffo, president & CEO, will retire after nearly seven years. The DMO is now accepting applications for the role.

Datafy announced new talent in three industry appointments: Anna Blount, Vice President Industry Research; Chris Christmas, Senior Director of Business Development; Keri Hansen, Business Development, Director of Retail

Ryan Callison has assumed the role of Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau. Formerly with Visit Frisco, Ryan’s background includes Madden Media and Waymack and Crew.

Serena Gray is Vice President Marketing & Communications at Visit Shreveport-Bossier. Formerly Executive Director of Webster Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau, she joined the team in July.

Clicktripz, specialist in AI-driven travel marketing solutions, has welcomed three top DMO industry marketing executives to its team: Scott Schult, Vice President of Destination Strategy for the Southeast; Jackie Saunders, Vice President of Destination Strategy for the Northeast; Leah Webster, Client Success Manager.

U.S. Travel Association has announced new senior appointments: Allison O’Connor, Senior Vice President Strategic Communications; Kevin Hinton, Managing Director of Group Travel; Courtney Mesmer, Vice President of Event Programming and Experience.

Hailey Post joins Clarity of Place as Associate, Strategy and Community Alignment. She was most recently with Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau as Destination Data Manager.

Torie Clancy has joined Sonoma County Tourism as Senior Director of Communications. She is an Air Force veteran who has also led campaigns for brands like Microsoft, SAP, and Samsung.

Donna Palmer joins The San Francisco Peninsula as Director of Sales. Her background includes Corporate Travel Management (CTM), American Express Global Business Travel, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Global Sales, and Onriva.

Lynn Osmond has joined the TravelAbility Advisory Board. The former president & CEO of Choose Chicago, she also served as president & CEO of Chicago Architecture Center. As a caregiver traveling with her husband who has a disability, Lynn’s knowledge and experience makes her an invaluable asset, said Jake Steinman, founder & CEO of TravelAbility.

San Francisco Travel Association has announced the appointment of Anna Marie Presutti as president and CEO, effective immediately. She has been serving in the role on an interim basis when Scott Beck departed after eight months in the role. The first female leader of SF Travel in its 115-year history, Presutti was previously Vice President and General Manager for Hotel Nikko San Francisco.

Anna Strider has joined Miles Partnership as Marketing Operations Specialist on the Brand USA team. Her DMO experience includes Visit Lake Charles and St. Tammany Parish Tourist and Convention Commission in Louisiana.

Ktimene Axetell joins Epsilon as Senior Director of Client Development. Her digital tourism background includes roles at Arrivalist and the Amelia Island Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Kara Franker has taken on a new role as president & CEO of The Florida Keys & Key West. Most recently president & CEO of Visit Estes Park in Colorado for 3.5 years, Kara had previously served as senior vice president of Visit Fort Lauderdale.

SearchWide Global has announced Wendy Moran as the Global Head of its new division, SearchWide Connect. This strategic move comes as part of the firm’s commitment to addressing the growing demand for swift and high-quality mid-level management placements in all sectors currently being served in the retained search division, said Mike Gamble, Chairman and CEO.

After 19 years as President & CEO of Visit Stockton (CA), Wes Rhea has announced he is taking on the top leadership role at Visit Lodi (CA) as of October 1st. He succeeds Nancy Beckman, who is retiring after 23 years’ service.

Wes’s accomplishments have earned him significant accolades, including the DMA West Spirit of Leadership Award and Destinations International’s Destination Organization Leadership Award.

Jonathan Changus assumes a new role at Visit California as Director of External Affairs. He joins from the Center for Sustainable Energy. Dan Smith, previously five years in the public affairs role with Visit California, moves to a project-based position.

Kyle Johnson is the new Director (VP) of Marketing Strategy at Visit Hendricks County (IN). He joins following nearly a decade with the Indiana Destination Development Corporation.

Amanda Blomquist has been promoted to Business Development Director of Marketing for Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, which includes and its destination marketing arm, Visit Myrtle Beach.

Rob Black has been appointed by Governor Lujan Grisham to the position of Cabinet Secretary for the Economic Development Department of New Mexico. He was formerly President & CEO, New Mexico Chamber of Commerce.

Aaron J. Sala, former chairperson of the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, has been appointed to lead Hawai’i Visitors and Convention Bureau. Sala, who holds a doctorate in ethnomusicology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, has long been involved in Hawaii’s tourism industry, and in cultural consulting.

Founder & CEO Danny Guerrero of The Culturist Group, has announced a new client partnership with Travel Portland (OR). The team will conduct qualitative research and decipher multicultural consumer insights in Portland’s key markets.

Kimberly Magaraci joins New Jersey Division of Travel & Tourism as Digital Marketing Manager. Her background includes editorial content projects with Visit Delaware and Visit Wyoming.