Renée Areng leads Brookhaven as the inaugural Executive Director for the Brookhaven Convention and Visitors Bureau, now Explore Brookhaven since 2018.

Previously, Areng served with three destination marketing organizations: most recently Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast. Throughout her leadership, Areng increased all metrics including visitation and overall revenue for non-gaming hotels. Additionally, she unified all messaging in marketing and sales increasing all digital and social metrics.

Most recently, Areng consulted with Destination Organizations on strategic planning, accreditation, streamlining databases and increasing visitation. Clients include Visit South Walton, Louisiana’s Northshore, Tupelo CVB, Visit Mobile, Jeff Davis Chamber and CVB, Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou and Pat Harrison Waterway District. Prior to joining the Mississippi Gulf Coast, she served as Executive Vice President for Visit Baton Rouge, and she served in statewide and national political arenas.

Areng is a cum laude graduate of University of Louisiana with a BA in Public Administration and French. She earned her Certified Destination Marketing Executive (CDME) designation from Destinations International in 2007 and served on the CDME review committee in 2018. She has led five organizations through six accreditations through Destinations International’s DMAP program. In 2021, Renée was awarded Certified Diversity Travel Professional through Travel Unity.  She has served on numerous committees for Destinations International including CDME, EDI, Governance and Professional Development.