A native Floridian, Jill Stewart started her career with VISIT FLORIDA in September 2001. Starting in the industry relations area of the company, Jill oversaw the industry communications vehicles before moving to the marketing department in 2008. There, she oversaw the consumer direct marketing efforts to include the development and maintenance of the consumer website – VISITFLORIDA.com, the direct marketing program and oversight of VISIT FLORIDA’s consumer social media efforts. Recently, Jill was selected to serve as VISIT FLORIDA’s Systems Integration Manager where she will oversee the implementation of the organization’s centralized CRM solutions.

With more than a decade leading global e-commerce efforts exclusively for hospitality brands, Mary Bennett oversees e-commerce for Viceroy Hotel Group leading website and mobile development, search engine and email marketing and online analytics. Prior to joining Viceroy, Mary established and led the e-commerce division at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company for nearly seven years. At Ritz-Carlton she was responsible for driving all e-commerce marketing activities including management of all B2C and B2B websites and operations, mobile, search and email. Prior to joining Ritz, Ms. Bennett managed online and traditional marketing for the International Trade Center in Washington, DC. Mary commenced her role within e-commerce in the late 1990s with The Nature Conservancy, where she helped create their interactive department. Mary is a frequent speaker at Luxury Interactive conferences in New York and London, presenting topics such as search engine marketing, online development and analytics. She graduated with honors from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing.

Eric Brafford is the Program Manager for Distribution Strategy at Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH).  He successfully manages a variety of eCommerce and distribution-related initiatives across Choice’s Global Distribution organization, is responsible for the facilitation of functional annual strategic planning and consults with the business and franchisees on digital and distribution strategy.  Eric has a diverse hospitality background having most recently served in Corporate Strategy at Choice and prior to that having held field and corporate operations positions in the restaurant industry where he last led customer satisfaction and recovery programs for The Steak n Shake Company.  Eric holds a bachelor’s degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University with concentrations in finance and accounting.

Devon Dow has an extensive background in the travel and tourism market place, she currently works as a Marketing Deputy with Brand USA, helping with all marketing initiatives, Brand USA is the first global consumer brand to attract and increase international travel to the United States.  Prior to working with Brand USA she worked as a Marketing Manager for Vantage Strategy, working directly with the Mexico Tourism Board specifically to increase travel to Mexico through online marketing strategy.  Prior to this role, she worked with Nicholas & Lence Communications where she worked directly with local tourist attractions such as: Statue Cruises, New York Pass and The Russian Tea Room.  Devon graduated with a Marketing and Management Degree from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business.

Tommy is responsible for driving digital innovation at Questex Media Group and manages various B2B media, eLearning and B2C ecommerce products within the Travel, Hospitality, and MICE industries. He oversees product development, business strategy, market research, business planning and brand management aspects for the Hospitality & Travel Group within Questex. Prior to leading the company’s  product management efforts, Tommy was involved in business analysis and sales. He holds a BS in Management from George Mason University where his studies focused on entrepreneurship and economics.

As Agency Manager for VISIT FLORIDA, Meagan Houser is responsible for managing four marketing agencies as they develop and implement domestic marketing campaigns to increase brand relevance and reach. She began her career at VISIT FLORIDA in April 2008 as a graduate resident while finishing her M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications. Her talent was immediately recognized, and Meagan transitioned immediately into a salary position. During the past four years, Meagan has been able to leverage her love of Florida travel along with her passion for integrated efforts in order to serve many roles. These roles range from analyzing campaign performance and developing consumer segmentation materials, to managing cross platform marketing programs and contracts. Meagan also serves on Board for the Greater Tallahassee Advertising Federation and on the weekends can be found traveling the state competing in volleyball tournaments.

Sean Howells serves as Director of Digital Marketing for Visit Orlando. He is responsible for all aspects of digital marketing from strategic planning to program execution for both the global leisure and meetings and conventions areas of the business. Sean is a leader who uses his strategic and analytical skills to better integrate digital into all of Visit Orlando's marketing programs. His expertise focuses on digital advertising, search engine marketing, website user experience, e-commerce and social media. Sean has previously held digital marketing positions at Golf Channel and Bonnier Corporation.

Maureen Hultgen graduated with an Advertising and Marketing Communications degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. Since then, she has been fortunate enough to touch all sides of the interactive marketing industry. She has spent time on the brand marketing side with Helzberg Diamonds, on the agency side at a small boutique shop in Chicago as well as on the sale side for Weight Watchers and AARP Media. Maureen's current role takes her back to the brand side, but with an emphasis on support for the Partner Marketing department of Orbitz Worldwide. Her main focus is on partner and product strategy and new product development for the Orbitz sales team. 

Elaine Kubik currently heads social media for Travelocity.com and is the official written voice of the Travelocity Roaming Gnome. As she manages the social media endeavors for one of the largest travel agencies in the world she focuses on the integration of social media with brand management, public relations and customer relationship marketing. Prior to Travelocity, Elaine worked overseas in Madrid, Spain for a small non-profit organization for two years. Elaine graduated with a BS in Business Advertising from Quinnipiac University

Daniel Kubis is a senior analyst in the Distribution Strategy department at Choice Hotels International, Inc.  He joined the company in 2010 working in the Corporate Strategy department, and transitioned to his current role in September of 2011.  He earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Chemistry from Cornell University.

Nicolet Magel is a client partner on Facebook's global marketing solutions team. She specializes in providing marketing strategies for both domestic and international Travel and Tourism brands. Nicolet has an extensive marketing background that encompasses both traditional and digital advertising. By taking a holistic approach to marketing,  Nicolet has helped travel brands increase their presence on the Facebook platform at a global scale. Prior to starting the travel team at Facebook, Nicolet worked at the Onion Newspaper in Austin, TX. 

Lisa Murphy is the Manager of Business Travel Sales for Omni Hotels & Resorts, based in Fort Worth, Texas.  She graduated with a Bachelors degree in International Business with a minor in Spanish.  After college Lisa completed a PR internship at the Accor International headquarters in Dallas and for the last 5 years she has worked closely with Omni Hotels on business development, sales initiatives and revenue management strategies.  Lisa is one of the original, pre-opening team members with the Omni Fort Worth Convention Center Hotel, a landmark property for the company.  During her time with Omni Lisa has been recognized as Top Sales Associate on many occasions and was recently nominated as Business Travel Manager of the year.

In addition to her work in the hospitality industry Lisa is an active member of several industry associations which include; Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), Rotary Club International, Chamber of Commerce and Vision Fort Worth.  She enjoys giving back to the community by donating time to organizations such as Meals on Wheels and the local area Food Bank. 

Ashley O’Neill serves as an Account Executive on Orbitz Worldwide’s Partner Marketing Team. As a member of the Orbitz sales team, Ashley sells advertising on the Orbitz Worldwide network of sites, including Orbitz, Cheaptickets, HotelClub, ebookers and The Away Network. Her sales territory includes 10 states in the Midwest, where she calls on advertising agencies and clients. Prior to joining Orbitz in 2011, Ashley spent three years at the Hallmark Channels, a division of Crown Media Networks. While at Hallmark, she worked in a hybrid role both selling and planning for the cable television network. She has also worked for the Game Show Network and Hearst Magazines. Ashley holds a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Indiana University, where she also minored in Business and Music.

Just a simple equation to convey the well-rounded social media professional with a desire to grow and a positive attitude to take on any task at hand.  Reigning as social media queen for the Palms Casino Resort, Olson helms maintaining the “Voice” of the Palms through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, and more. With a strong background in hotel operations, revenue and reservations, Olson worked as Assistant Manager of Channel Distribution and Group Reservations for MGM before her transition to the Palms in 2010 as Social Media Strategy Manager.  Fun-drenched in her soul, but mindful and driven on the job, Olson loves channeling her inner creative spirits, team building and brainstorming exercises. When not disseminating tweets on the go and at her fingertips, you may find Olson hustling on the soccer field at any hour of the day. Bursting with enthusiasm, bright ideas and never-ending energy this social media ninja is gunning straight for a challenge. Nunchucks up.

Eric Petersen leads the New Media program for Caesars Entertainment. In this role Eric is responsible for developing social media and mobile marketing strategies for over 40 casino resorts nationwide. Eric has been in the digital marketing space for the past 6 years and studied at the University of Southern California.

Lise Struwing is the Director of Web Strategy for Loews Hotels where she manages the overall direction and administration of web activities for the Loews Hotels Brand, which includes 18 luxury hotels and resorts in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to joining Loews Hotels, Lise held various roles during her 16 year tenure with Westmont Hospitality / UniHost Corporation, representing over 120 hotels and resorts spanning most major brands including Hilton, Holiday Inn, Choice, Delta, Fairmont and Radisson.

Josh graduated from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities with a degree in Environmental Policy & Law and Corporate Environmental Management in 2006.  Soon after he began working for Orbitz Worldwide in Chicago as a Sales Planner, supporting the ad-sales team.  After just 10 months, he began working as an Account Executive covering Performance Marketing initiatives and a portion of the Midwest Region.  Josh has always been an avid traveler enjoying beach destinations, but preferring ski, cultural & adventure type vacations.