1. COLLOQUIUM AGENDA
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
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5:30 p.m. Registration Opens
5:45 - 6:30 p.m. Networking Reception
6:40 - 6:45 p.m. Opening Remarks
Dr. Linda Livingstone,
Dean of School of Business
6:45 - 7:00 p.m. Keynote Speaker
Ms. Kelly Craighead,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Travel and Tourism
and Executive Director of the National Travel and
Tourism Office, U.S. Department of Commerce
7:00 - 7:45 p.m. Panel Discussion
Moderator: Dr. Hannah Messerli,
Chair of the International Institute of Tourism
Studies
Panelists:
Mr. Neil Ardeshna,
Ms. Carla Portalanza,
Ms. Norie Quintos
7:45 - 8:15 p.m. Q&A Session
8:15 - 8:20 p.m. Closing Remarks
Dr. Lisa Delpy Neirotti,
Director of Master of Tourism Administration
Program
KELLY CRAIGHEAD leads the U.S.
National Travel and Tourism Office in the
Department of Commerce. She oversees
overarching federal coordination of travel
and tourism policies and programs, as well
as greater advocacy and engagement within
the government and among private sector
partners. Ms. Craighead is a U.S. Commis-
sioner to UNESCO and serves on the World
Economic Forum's Council on the Future of
Travel and Tourism.
NEIL ARDESHNA is the Senior Director of
Marriott International’s Business Consultancy
group. His team is charged with leading strategic
initiatives for Marriott’s 6,000 hotels. His work
includes the development of a 120-hotel partner-
ship deal in China, promoting transformative
strategies to respond to industry disruption, and
accelerating Marriott’s global digital growth.
PANELISTS
CARLA PORTALANZA is an Ecuadorian ex-
pert on sustainable development through tourism
with 15 years of experience in marketing and pub-
lic relations. She is a specialist in both strategic
marketing and event management. Before joining
the Embassy of Ecuador in Washington D.C. as
Cultural and Press Attaché, Carla spent 9 years at
the Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism, where she
was instrumental in developing Ecuador’s promo-
tion strategies.
MODERATOR
NORIE QUINTOS is a communications and
content consultant, advising destinations and
travel companies on how to tell their unique
stories. She is an Editor-at-Large for National
Geographic Travel Media and was the longtime
Executive Editor at National Geographic Traveler,
as well as its Interim Editor-in-Chief, leading the
National Geographic Travel content group.
HANNAH MESSERLI, Ph.D., is The Dwight D.
Eisenhower Research Professor of Tourism Policy
and the Chair of the International Institute of
Tourism Studies at The George Washington Uni-
versity. She has more than 15 years of experience
in the private and public sectors focusing on tour-
ism planning and policy, most recently as a Senior
Private Sector Development Specialist in Tourism
at the World Bank.