Visit Anaheim
Strategic Plan

JORDAN YOUNG

InterVISTAS Consulting

With a strong passion for aviation and tourism, Jordan provides insight into his research and analysis. He is part of a team that helps clients translate data into actionable plans and strategies. Jordan holds a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida and is currently working on a Master of Business Administration in Aviation from the same university.

Jordan has a Private Pilot license from one of the top flight schools in North America, and he has achieved more than 200 hours of flying time.

MARIEL AMELIN

InterVISTAS Consulting

Mariel Amelin has extensive experience working in the hospitality industry, including roles in event planning, marketing, and business development. With a keen desire for excellence, Mariel provides analytical support on various projects relating to the industry. She has contributed to a variety of projects involving air service development, survey design, strategic planning and tourism master plans.

Mariel is a key contributor in linking InterVISTAS’ Air Service Development and Tourism Development practices. She has provided support during strategic plan initiatives and asset mapping for clients such as Visit Indy, Visit Denver, the Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Mariel holds a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management with a concentration in Tourism, Convention, and Event Planning from the Eugene M. Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

MEHAK MATOO

InterVISTAS Consulting

Mehak Matoo is an analyst at InterVISTAS Consulting in Vancouver. Initially hailing from India, Mehak moved to Canada in 2014 to pursue a degree in the Bachelor of International Economics program at the University of British Columbia. Having gained experience since then working with many organizations and multinationals, she has developed a passion for economics, data analysis and business development.

PAUL CLARK
InterVISTAS Consulting

Paul has more than 28 years of management experience in the tourism and transportation industries. He has developed strategic plans, marketing plans, and market research solutions for city and resort destination marketing organizations, NTOs and regional tourism groups, tourism sector associations, tour operators, and airport groups in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Paul also has extensive multi-year experience in consumer research programs on travel destinations, with more than 100,000 individual surveys and 50 focus groups conducted with tourism industry representatives and travelers from North America, the Caribbean, South America, Asia, Europe and Australia. He previously held senior research, marketing, business development and strategic planning posts with Tourism Whistler, Tourism British Columbia, Vancouver Airport Authority, and Forbes Travel International, a boutique tour operator and travel agency.

BRENDA OUIMET

Brenda Ouimet, CPA, CA, is the Chief Financial Officer at MMGY NextFactor. After articling with KPMG, she obtained a CFO position in the real estate industry working for a major corporation. For over 20 years,  Brenda provided consulting services to mining, biotech, crown corporations, manufacturing and oil and gas companies. Currently, she works at BC Hydro on corporate governance, internal controls and compliance.

TAI YOUNG LEE

Tai Young Lee, BBA, is the Controller for MMGY NextFactor. After graduating with a degree in Commerce from the University of British Columbia, Tai has been working as a corporate accountant for over seven years. He is experienced in many different accounting fields including: accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, taxation, and accounting system implementation.

ANJA LOETSCHER

During the past 20 years, Anja has held several senior management and leadership positions, notably as Regional Director Europe at TravelClick, a hospitality technology provider, and as Vice President EMEA Sales Kempinski Hotels & Resorts, an international luxury hotel group.

In 2007, Anja moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where, under the auspices of Geneva Tourism, she launched the Geneva Convention Bureau to formalize the city’s convention business. Under her leadership, the bureau developed into one of Europe’s leading Convention Bureaux with a staff of 10. Anja was on the Marketing Board of the Switzerland and Incentive Bureau (SCIB) and was elected to the Board of Directors of the Destinations International (DI) for three years. Anja was also faculty member of the ECM Academy and member of the Meetings Industry Steering group at ECM (European Cities Marketing).

She holds an MBA from Reims University (France) and her interest in wine inspired her to create a 78 km wine trail in the countryside of Geneva, which is much enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. In 2013, she created a platform in Geneva (PURPLEconexion) for senior business leaders to mutually explore best business practices on a regular basis. Her passion for conscious leadership encouraged her to qualify as a professional coach and become member of the International Coaching Federation (ICS).

CARLOS SHEPPARD

Carlos initially joined the team as a summer intern at NEXTFactor where he specialized in destination market research on best practices, case studies and innovative tourism trends. His work also included historical analysis of tourism industry growth trends, both nationally and internationally. He is currently obtaining his Masters in Engineering from Imperial College University in London, England.

CHERYLL GIRARD

Cheryll joined the team in April 2017, bringing with her over 25 years of Account Management and B2B sales experience. Handling everything from day to day client contact, scheduling and project coordination, Cheryll helps to keep the team organized and our projects moving forward.

GRAZIE PADOIN

Grazie is a specialist in business meetings and tourism, destination marketing and management, strategic planning, industry training, and business development. She provides multi-lingual marketing support to inside sales and events organizations, and she has proven abilities in leadership working with private companies and governmental organizations.

Grazie is responsible for producing trade shows and business trips in the U.S., Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Clients include UNTWO, UNESCO, EMBRATUR, LATAM Association of CVBs, DMAI, Vindicia, Simpleview, GainingEdge, SEBRAE and several destinations around the globe, such as Belo Horizonte, Mendoza, Medellín, Lima, Houston and Porto Alegre.

GREGG TALLEY

Gregg Talley is President and CEO of Talley Management Group. He has a broad range of experience from several perspectives and over 30 years within the Association/Event Management Industry. Prior to founding Talley Management Group, Inc. and Talley Consulting, LLC, Gregg worked with a destination marketing organization and for a hotel development company.

With a degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in international relations, Gregg has utilized those skills to plan national and international events, and manage national and international organizations and boards, in an array of industries including healthcare, education, technology and finance around the world. Gregg gained his Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 1999 and his Fellow of the American Society for Association Executives (FASAE) designation in 2008.

Gregg has personally managed literally hundreds of events globally for associations, societies, corporations and religious organizations including one of the largest convention events in North America — the 50,000+ attendee International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous for over 30 years. TMG also managed the World Meeting of Families as part of the Papal Visit to Philadelphia in 2015.

Gregg’s experience in major international management and destination marketing provides a 360-degree view of the stakeholders and pressures facing organizations when planning major international events. Gregg sits on several Customer Advisory Boards and has lead several other destination CAB events. He also understands current trends in event planning and customer thinking about destination sales and service cultures

Gregg has been part of the DestinationNEXT Futures Study Team for three years. He has also participated and led destination workshops and strategic planning sessions for U.S. and global destinations such as Malaysia, Copenhagen, Puerto Rico and Scottsdale. He also consults, speaks and writes regularly on issues within association management, event management and business event strategy for organizations and destinations. Gregg was past National Chair of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and its Education Foundation. He currently sits on the International Section Council of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and is a Board Member for the Meetings Management Sector at the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).

PAUL VALLEE

Paul Vallee is managing director of the BestCities Global Alliance. He is responsible for the successful delivery of the alliance’s strategic plan, performance monitoring and overseeing its operations. Paul is also executive consultant with Gaining Edge, which in addition to managing BestCities, provides consulting exclusively to the convention and meetings market.

Paul recently assumed these responsibilities after serving more than 25 years in a senior capacity with Tourism Vancouver. Paul has served on the boards of BestCities, Destination Marketing Association International, the 2010 Winter Olympic Bid Marketing Committee, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, and the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Task Force.

Paul is also a faculty member in international destination marketing at Capilano University. He has a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, where he specialized in travel attitudes and motivations.

MAURA GAST

A 25-year veteran of the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau in Texas, Maura was named its executive director in October 2003. A leading business travel destination, Irving is home to the world headquarters of ExxonMobil, Kimberly-Clark, Flowserve and Fluor, among other multi-national corporations. Maura led the team that delivered the on-time, under-budget and architecturally distinct Irving Convention Center of Las Colinas, and has oversight of its day-do-day operations, which average more than 301 events annually.

Maura has continuously worked to weave economic development strategy with community planning tenets, along with solid destination sales and marketing, to enhance the standing of DMOs in their community. Maura’s “Building Blocks” have been used by many to build the case for support and investment in destination development, and the should-be-vital role of tourism in any community’s economic health strategies.

Maura is a former chair of Destinations International. She currently chairs its newly established CDME Board of Directors and serves on the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program board. Maura has also served the organization as a past chair of its Education Committee, Technology Task Force, and Futures Study; and served on the boards and task forces for the (then) IACVB Brand Strategic Advisory Group and DestinationNEXT.

SCOTT BECK

Scott Beck is a native of Utah, born and raised with tourism as the driving force in his family. Scott is currently President/CEO of Visit Salt Lake.

Prior to joining Visit Salt Lake in 2005, Scott was the General Manager of the Salt Lake City Marriott City Center hotel, and worked with the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee as a host hotel during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Before that, Scott was the GM of the Cedar Breaks Lodge Hotel and Spa in Brian Head, Utah. He also spent nine years at Sundance Resort as director of both the food and beverage department (4 years) as well as the sales and marketing department (5 years). Scott began his hospitality management career with the Salt Lake restaurant group, Gastronomy INC.

Scott is past international board chair of Destinations International, and a member of the Salt Lake Chamber Board of Governors. He serves on the board of the Downtown Alliance, and previously served on the Foundation Board of the Green Meetings Industry Council. True to his roots, Scott is still an active skier, biker and outdoor enthusiast. He is the proud father to four daughters and lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Angie Welling, and their two rescue dogs.

ANNETTE RUMMEL

Annette served on Destination International’s Board of Directors and the committee that selected InterVISTA Consulting to develop DestinationNEXT. Specializing in the travel and tourism industry, Annette has served 30 plus years as President/CEO of Destination Marketing and Management Organizations, while successfully regionalizing three separate County CVBs into one DMMO. Annette also achieved her PhD in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Resource Management from Michigan State University.

Annette has successfully delivered courses in strategic planning and market development strategies in Zagreb, Croatia; Pristina, Kosovo; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Santiago and Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic; and Rochester, New York. Annette has successfully worked with DestinationNEXT developing the first DMMO Strategic Plan leveraging this program. She has completed DMMO organization reviews and has developed startup plans and business plans for tourism economic development ventures. Annette has facilitated planning retreats, has led community consultation processes and conducted and fully vetted tourism assessment profile academic studies.

During the past three years, Annette served on the DestinationNEXT Advisory Council contributing ideas in support of the team, which delivered this important DI initiative advancing the future of DMMOs.

ANA MARIA VISCASILLAS

Ana María is an experienced professional in the global tourism industry, with particular emphasis on Business Tourism and Meetings Industry (meetings, conventions, incentives and events), Bureaus/DMO operations, destination marketing and hotel management.

Since 2011, Ana María is the Visionary Principal of the company to Business Tourism Services, specialists in strategic consulting, professional support for the development of strong pillars of management and sustainability of DMOs/CVBs. She travels through Latin America presenting impressions on this topic.

Ana María is the past President & CEO of the Puerto Rico Convention Buerau. Among his varied achievements are the successful launching of the Convention Center of Puerto Rico (2005). He has been a member of various management committees including DMAI, BestCities Global Alliance, Latin Association of CVBs, COCAL — current director — (Federation of Congress and Related Organizers of Latin America), USTA, and the Council of Sports Tourism of Puerto Rico, which is a founding member.

She collaborates with InterVISTAS Consulting as an Executive Consultant, and is one of the expert members of the DestinationNEXT team (a major Destinations International initiative highlighting the future of DMOs) who facilitates workshops in Latin America.

SHELLY GREEN

A 30-year veteran of destination marketing, Shelly Green is President & CEO of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, an award-winning DMO in North Carolina where she has worked for nearly 20 years.

In the 1990’s Shelly led the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau and was the founding CEO of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, both of which contributed to a solid foundation in leading small and mid-sized DMO’s.

Shelly is a past chairman of the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) Board, the group that evaluates standards and determines accreditation for destination marketing organizations worldwide. She now serves on the board of Destinations International.

Her leadership on the board of the Destination Marketing Association of North Carolina earned her the Barrentine Special Achievement Award from her peers for significant contributions toward state and national tourism initiatives.  She was awarded the Bill Sharpe Public Service Award by the NC Travel Industry Association in recognition for outstanding contributions to the development and promotion of North Carolina. Shelly was also honored with a Women in Business Award in 2014 by the Triangle Business Journal.

Shelly is involved in a considerable amount of public service outside the travel industry.  She is a founding Board Member and Secretary-Treasurer of Scenic NC. She served as chair, vice chair and commissioner of the Passenger Vehicle for Hire Commission, a quasi-judicial board of the City of Durham. She is a member of the 200+-member Durham Rotary Club where she served as Vice President and chair of multiple committees.