Destinations International Foundation Board of Trustees

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.

Jerad Bachar has more than 30 years of tourism and economic development experience in an array of countries and business environments. He has worked in both developed and emerging markets in the areas of destination branding and marketing, economic development and diversification, and workforce development.

Leslie has led the team at Banff & Lake Louise Tourism for the past four years as President & CEO, inspiring the world to experience the indelible awe of Banff and Lake Louise. Through engaging members and partners across the destination, the organization is a primary driver of the tourism economy in the Canadian Rockies.

Victoria Clarke, CEO of Tourism Mississauga, tourism industry leader, with award-winning achievements in sales and marketing, and a distinguished professional background. She received the Trailblazers and Innovators Award in 2019 from BMO and Seatrade’s Global Cruise Marketing Initiative of the Year in 2018.  

Victoria earned her Bachelor of Arts at Dalhousie University, and later went on to complete the CDME designation from Destinations International, leading her to become a member of DI’s CDME accreditation board.

As President & CEO of Experience Champaign-Urbana and Executive Director of the ECU Foundation, Jayne DeLuce feels honored to work alongside others in the community to promote the greater Champaign-Urbana area as a welcoming destination to visit, work and live.

Kyle Edmiston is the President/CEO of the Visit Lake Charles serving in that capacity since 2019. Previously, he was the Chief Operating Officer of the CVB, served for 6 years as the Director of the Louisiana Office of Tourism under two different Lt. Governor administrations and served for 6 ½ years as the President/CEO of Experience Ruston.

Kara Franker is a lawyer and an executive in the tourism industry. She is the president and CEO of Visit Florida Keys and the Monroe County TDC. She is formerly the CEO of Visit Estes Park, a destination marketing and management organization located at the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. She previously served as the Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications for Visit Lauderdale. An advocate for leadership in the tourism industry, Kara serves on the board of delegates for the U.S. Travel Association and serves on Destination International’s CDME Board.

Bill Geist is the Chief Instigator at DMOproz (aka Zeitgeist Consulting), a firm specializing in strategic planning, governance, marketing and legislative issues for Destination Marketing and Management Organizations (convention and visitor bureaus, tourism-focused chambers of commerce, economic development organizations and communities). 

Kellie Henderson is the Senior Vice President at SearchWide Global, a full-service executive search firm primarily for companies in the travel, tourism, event/exhibition, and venue management industries. An expert at recognizing clients’ needs, for more than 16 years, Kellie has worked in all hospitality, travel, and tourism sectors to identify best-in-class talent. She also leads an industrywide diversity initiative, serving as Advisor for Tourism Diversity Matters (TDM), and is very involved in several other industry organizations.

With over 20 years in marketing and communications, Jessica Ireland has honed her skills in all facets of strategy, advertising, branding and public relations – from consumer brand building, nonprofit outreach and crisis management to strategic planning. She is uniquely experienced in developing data-driven integrated marketing strategies and executing campaigns designed to drive awareness, participation, and revenue. 

Barbara is the CEO and Co-Owner of Paradise Advertising & Marketing, Inc., an award-winning, full-service marketing agency specializing in tourism and hospitality, and notably, A Partner for GoodSM for the livelihoods and communities served.

Prior to Discover Lehigh Valley Michaels recently served as Vice President of Sales and Services for Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge and Virginia’s Blue Ridge Sports Council. He also has held leadership positions for Visit Jacksonville and Daytona Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Angela D. Nelson has great passion and enthusiasm for helping and serving others. She demonstrates this through her involvement with various programs and projects that she gets involved with both personally and professionally.

Paul Nursey is a highly accomplished tourism marketing, strategy, and branding expert who is widely regarded as one of Canada's top tourism policy minds. Since joining Destination Greater Victoria in 2014, Paul has led DGV to numerous significant accomplishments, including:

With more than two decades of experience in the tourism industry, Katherine O’Donnell currently serves as the President & CEO of Richmond Region Tourism. In this capacity, she provides strategic oversight across key departments including Marketing, Destination Sales & Sports, Visitor Experience, Community Relations, and Administration. Katherine is instrumental in driving the organization’s charge to enhance and expand the tourism sector in the Richmond Region to benefit the entire community.

Todd O’Leary is the President & CEO of Visit Alexandria (Virginia) where he oversees a team of fourteen. Named a top destination in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure as well as Conde Nast, Alexandria hums with a historic, yet progressive, cosmopolitan vibe, just minutes outside of Washington D.C. A veteran of the travel and tourism industry, Todd started his career in 1998 at VISIT Milwaukee, where he worked his way from a PR intern up to Director of Marketing over a span of thirteen years.

In 2016 Stacy Ritter was named President and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau (GFLCVB). As CEO, she is responsible for the administration of the GFLCVB. The CVB is based in Broward County with multiple domestic and international offices. The permanent staff of the CVB is comprised of a 45-person organization of sales and marketing professionals with a $24 million operating budget. Ritter oversees an organization that provides sales and marketing development for leisure, international, sports, convention and group sales.

Milton Segarra, a distinguished Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME), currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Discover The Palm Beaches, Palm Beach County’s official tourism marketing agency. Since joining the team in 2022, the destination marketing organization has achieved record-breaking visitation and tourism’s economic impact on the community surpassed $10 billion. Prior to this role, he led the Coastal Mississippi Tourism Board as CEO, and Meet Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Convention Bureau) as President & CEO.

Gregg is driven by the evolution of destination travel brands and events, and the speed of change in consumer expectations within the realm of digital experiences. As Tempest reaches the next inflection point in its business, Gregg is most excited to lead the integration and output of digital experiences that will define the next generation of digital marketing, reaching beyond technology and numbers by adding the integration of the human experience into the digital realm.