Speakers

37th Nevada Lieutenant Governor & Chair of Nevada Commission on Tourism, Stavros Anthony, a Las Vegas resident for 41 years, has made community service and public safety his focus.

Hillary L. Schieve (She-Vee) was elected as Reno’s Mayor on November 4, 2014. She was sworn in on November 12, 2014, as the 28th Mayor of the City of Reno.

Rafael recently joined Travel Nevada as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) tasked with the promotion and marketing of Nevada as a tourism destination.

Jackie Ennis is vice president, global trade development for Brand USA, the nation’s destination marketing organization with the mission of increasing international visitation to the United States, fueling the nation’s economy and enhancing the image of the USA worldwide.

Shelli Fine is the Director of Sports Development, overseeing all of the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitor’s Authority efforts in the sports industry.

Following a nationwide search, Daren Griffin became President and CEO of the of the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority (RTAA) on August 3, 2020 . With an annual operating budget of nearly $74 million, he leads Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) and Reno-Stead Airport (RTS), overseeing strategic growth, infrastructure investment and operational excellence to support northern Nevada’s expanding economy.

Jim Haddaway is the co-founder and CEO of Athletx Sports Group, one of the largest youth sports event management companies in the country. 

Maya Hua works as a senior manager, partner engagement for Brand USA and serves as a main point of contact for Brand USA’s partners in the west.

Matthew is a destination strategist, change leader, and idea generator. For the last 13 years, his work has been focused on helping destinations think strategically about their organization, their visitor economy, and their place.

Mike Larragueta is the President and CEO of the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA) and a commissioner of the Nevada Commission on Tourism.

B.C. LeDoux, CCO and Partner at Noble Studios, infuses his role with award-winning creativity, driving the company’s strategic vision with bold, forward-thinking ideas.

Jarrod Lopiccolo, CEO and Co-Founder of Noble Studios, melds technical prowess with strategic insight to craft innovative digital solutions for global clients.

Corey Marshall is the account director for Travel Nevada across both the Australian & Canadian markets and co – founder of Canuckiwi Ltd.

Marty McDonald is the president of Fahlgren Mortine, and the leader of the agency’s tourism and economic development practice.

Heather is a consultant with 25 years of global sales, marketing, communications and public relations experience, specific to the tourism industry and destination marketing, including Travel Media Relations and Travel Trade.

Sam Moulton is the founder of Outside Brandworks, the award-winning in-house creative agency at Outside Interactive, Inc.

Travis is a dedicated tourism professional with over a decade of leadership experience in the travel industry. He has served as Director of Tourism at Arkansas Tourism, leading the state to record-setting impacts, and as President/CEO of Experience Ruston, where he helped establish the city as an emerging sports destination.

Nancy O’Connor, 30 years park and recreation professional, Director, Parks and Recreation City of Sparks. Previous experience at City of Ventura, City of North Las Vegas, City of Myrtle Beach.

Under his leadership, Black Diamond has become one of the UK’s most trusted full-service agencies specializing in travel and tourism.

Nicole Orsua is the Chief Industry Development Officer for Travel Nevada. The team has three primary pillars: to support the development of tourism destinations in rural Nevada, to support existing tourism businesses in rural Nevada, and to sell rural Nevada to both domestic and international audiences through travel and trade market development.

Alex Pace has achieved great success in two very competitive and challenging markets — the travel industry and the Latin American and Caribbean regions.

Robert Patterson is a seasoned travel industry executive with over two decades of experience helping travel brands navigate digital transformation. As SVP of Tourism Partnerships at Mindtrip, he works directly with destinations and tourism boards to bring their visitor experience to life through an integrated suite of AI tools.

Chris Payne has spent more than three decades in radio, a career that earned him a place in the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame. For the past ten years, he’s also been the emcee for the Reno Aces, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Nicole Porter joined the U.S. Travel Association in 2021. As Vice President of Political Affairs, she leads and develops all grassroots and political programs—leading and developing engagement activities to bolster U.S. Travel’s advocacy efforts.

Heather Sheppard is a vice president and leader within the tourism and economic development practice at Fahlgren Mortine, leading the agency’s PR and Paid Media work for Travel Nevada.

NYT Bestselling Author, Former Google Executive, Expert in Driving Transformational Business Change, Influencing Customers, and Improving Team Engagement