Meet Our Speakers

Travis is a seasoned professional with a passion for elevating the travel and tourism industry through innovative strategies and meaningful partnerships. 

With over a decade of leadership experience, Travis has held prominent roles, including Director of Tourism at Arkansas Tourism, where he spearheaded initiatives that led the state to achieve record-setting tourism impacts. As President and CEO of Experience Ruston, he played a key role in transforming Louisiana’s college town into an emerging sports destination, fostering economic growth and community pride. 

Travis’s expertise spans marketing technology, community engagement, and destination development, driving measurable success and enhancing the image of communities. His ability to integrate cutting-edge technology with traditional tourism strategies has consistently delivered results for the destinations he’s worked with. 

In his current role as Director of Destination Partnerships at Tourism Economics, Travis continues to leverage his leadership experience and industry knowledge to support destinations in achieving their goals. His dedication to advancing tourism operations through data-driven insights and innovative solutions underscores his commitment to the industry’s growth.

Maggie Heller is a certified Professional Destination Marketer and a highly accomplished leader in the tourism industry, currently serving as an Account Director at Miles Partnership. With over a decade of experience, Maggie specializes in driving impactful, measurable growth for state, parish, and city-level clients.

Her career is defined by her unique ability to bridge creative strategy with disciplined project execution. In her role, she leads client strategy and actively cultivates lasting partnerships, resulting in the consistent delivery of award-winning campaigns and large-scale activations.

Maggie’s expertise is rooted in both the agency and Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) environments. Before joining Miles Partnership, she spent several years working directly in the destination marketing space, starting in 2012.

Her foundation in communications began in publishing, where she worked for local and international publications including The Advocate, Southern Living Magazine, and Sports Illustrated. This background in photography, editorial, and storytelling—honed while earning a BFA in Photography from LSU and an MA in Communications from the University of Texas—is the wellspring for her innovative approach to destination marketing today.

When not focusing on client success, Maggie embraces her vibrant Louisiana life. You can find her traveling with her husband and daughter, enjoying any of Louisiana’s 400+ annual festivals, and, naturally, adopting as many poodles as possible.

Eric Morgan serves as President and CEO of Roux Advertising, where he leads strategic marketing initiatives for clients throughout the United States. With over 30 years of experience in advertising and marketing, Eric specializes in developing comprehensive campaigns that deliver measurable results across multiple industries, with expertise in tourism and hospitality. 

Throughout his distinguished career, Eric has provided strategic guidance and campaign development for notable organizations including the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism; Visit Baton Rouge; New Orleans & Co.; LCMC Health; Morris Bart LLC; Hotel Monteleone and the Louisiana Public Health Institute. His integrated approach encompasses traditional media, digital marketing, non-traditional advertising and community outreach initiatives. 

Eric's methodology emphasizes data-driven decision making and strategic planning, ensuring accountability and return on investment for his clients. His expertise spans strategy development, account management, media planning and buying and campaign analytics across tourism, hospitality, healthcare, legal marketing and other industry sectors. 

Jon has 29 years of direct experience in the sports tourism industry having held the top role with three different sports commissions: Tulsa, Denver, and Phoenix. Schmieder began his career with the Tucson Parks and Recreation Department, where he spent two years focused on Senior Olympics programming. Schmieder brings a wealth of experience in sports tourism and economic development having also served in lead staff positions for the Senior Olympic Games and Pop Warner Football and Cheerleading. Schmieder is one of only three two-time Chairmen of SportsETA, formerly the National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC), and was on the organization’s Executive Committee for six years. While Schmieder served as the President of the Phoenix Regional Sports Commission, the NASC chose the organization as the 2012 Large Market Sports Commission of the Year.

Schmieder was named the 2012 CEO of the Year by the Phoenix Chapter of the Organization of Non-Profit Executives. In 2016, Connect Sports honored Schmieder as an industry “Game Changer”. In 2018, the Huddle Up Group was recognized by the NASC with the Superior Service Award, the highest honor a consulting company can receive in the sports tourism and events industry.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Arizona. He also holds a master’s degree in higher education leadership from Northern Arizona University.

Cole served as the manager of Olympic & Paralympic Training Center sport business development for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee from 2016-2020. In this position, McKeel was in charge of generating outside revenue for the Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers in Colorado Springs, Colo. and Lake Placid, N.Y. Prior to his role with the USOPC, McKeel worked as the marketing and media assistant and diversity and inclusion champion for USA Bobsled & Skeleton. In this role, McKeel was responsible for the company’s partnerships with BMW and Under Armour.

McKeel serves as the Vice President of GoEmpire Group, a professional basketball athlete representation firm in Chicago. In this role, McKeel is responsible for international operations, including client recruiting and relations, as well as ensuring the continued satisfaction of GoEmpire clients. In addition, McKeel is an adjunct professor for the sport and recreation management program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He serves on advisory committees for the Southeast Tourism Society and the Adapted Sport Leadership & Business Symposium.

McKeel was the head manager for the basketball team at the University of Louisville, where he graduated with honors with a bachelor degree in sport administration and minors in business administration, finance and marketing. Upon graduation, McKeel furthered his education at UofL, earning a MBA with a concentration in finance. He also has a MS in Olympic Studies, Olympic Education and Organization and Management of Olympic Events from the International Olympic Academy in Olympia, Greece.

Brian Jewell has been newly appointed as CEO and Executive Editor of The Group Travel Leader Inc., a publishing company serving the group tourism market. He oversees the company’s print and online products, including flagship magazine The Group Travel Leader, which reaches 15,000 tour operators, travel agents, group leaders and other travel industry readers; Going On Faith, the national travel magazine for church groups, with an audience of 6,500 church travel planners; and Select Traveler, which reaches 4,100 bank club travel directors, university alumni travel directors and chamber of commerce travel planners. He also hosts the Gather and Go podcast, which helps professionals throughout the travel industry plan, promote and lead better trips. Since 2004, Brian’s work has taken him to 48 U.S. states and more than 25 foreign countries. He resides in Lexington, Kentucky, with his wife Laura and children Daisy and Liam.

888-253-0455 | [email protected] | @GroupTravlBrian

Starting as a European tour guide back in the last century (1998), Penny has 25 years of experience within various segments of the tourism industry.

Penny’s experience ranges from guiding to hotel sales and marketing to throwing people out of perfectly good airplanes while she looked after Skydive Drop Zones operations. Her destination marketing career started with Gate 7 back in 2000, and after an 11-year break in 2004 to explore other segments of the industry, she returned to Gate 7 in 2015.

Penny's strengths include campaign management, product development, strong industry relationships and strategic, long-term destination growth. 

Serena Calabrese

Trade and Marketing Account Manager, Hopscotch Tourism Italy

B World Communication is a communication, press pelations, trade marketing and digital strategy boutique agency founded in Paris. Barbara Boltoukhine, founder and general manager, started her own business in 2020, founded on a solid 20 years of experience in public relations. 

B World Communication is a full member of several tourism associations and participates in the top travel consumer and trade shows in France. 

Neil’s love and adventures within the travel industry started on his return from travelling to Australia, Fiji and the USA almost 20 years and several thousand flown miles ago. Neil joined TTM in 2013, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and experience developed at one of the UK’s largest tour operators. Neil proved a valuable member of the TTM team and became the first Director of the company outside of the owners. Neil is passionate about travel, which is evident when he talks about the amazing experiences and destinations he has been privileged to encounter during his professional career and in his personal travels.

Loves: Spending time with his favorite people, the gym, afternoon tea, visiting new places, country living, Birmingham City Football Club and eating!

Motto best describing Neil’s approach to life: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
 

Annie Holschuh brings two decades of travel and tourism public relations experience to her work helping destinations claim their place on the national stage. As Vice President of Earned Media at BVK, she leads integrated PR programs that blend strategic messaging, strong media instincts, and creative storytelling to drive awareness and visitation.

Annie’s experience includes some of the most recognizable destinations in the U.S. and abroad, including the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism, VISIT Maine, West Virginia Office of Tourism, Wyoming Office of Tourism, Visit Reno Tahoe, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater and Ocean City, Maryland.

Today, Annie proudly serves as the PR Agency of Record lead for Explore Louisiana, partnering closely with the state’s tourism team to elevate Louisiana’s culture, cuisine and communities through national storytelling, creative campaigns, media events and influencer activation. From launching statewide culinary initiatives to bringing the spirit of Louisiana to major markets like New York City, Annie’s passion for this state is matched only by her commitment to helping others experience it.

Kirsty Dillury is the Chief Communications Officer at Travel & Tourism Marketing Ltd, leading the Media team in the UK and Ireland. Kirsty has been in her role at TTM for over 25 years, and has been developing story ideas and pitching media about Louisiana for most of this time. Kirsty sits on the Visit USA Association (UK) board and is the current chair of the UK Visit USA PR committee, responsible for UK’s Meet the Media in January and the Marketplace and Awards in July.

Jen Ackerson is a 25+ year veteran of the tourism industry with deep experience in every supplier category. She is an expert in educating and connecting tourism destinations and suppliers with travel trade buyers and resellers to build successful relationships that drive profits and sustained success. 

Jen spearheads the International Inbound Travel Association/Alon tourism training program “Steps to SuccessTM” and the “Tourism Ready” training program for New York City Tourism + Conventions, the official destination marketing organization of NYC. 

She is an expert public speaker, event planner, and global tradeshow ambassador and has received multiple industry awards, including a recent Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Tourism.

William has been an essential part of the Zehnder team for more than 25 years. His creative insight and talent have earned him numerous accolades, including the Ad Club of New Orleans’ Ad Person of the Year award. A designer, artist, photographer, editor and sound engineer, William continues to mentor young talent while making clients’ campaigns exponentially more successful.

During his time at Zehnder, William has helped produce award-winning work in industries including tourism, banking, education, healthcare, oil and gas, consumer packaged goods and more. He has guided the creative team on award-winning projects for Walton County Tourism, Visit Highlands, Visit Baton Rouge, Explore Brookhaven, Origin Bank, Sazerac Company, Gulf Coast Seafood and The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation. William is actively involved in designing the creative for Explore Louisiana's “Year of Outdoors” campaign and beyond.