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Celebrating Tourism Careers
Organizations are continuing to fill their open positions, members are expanding their horizons by taking on new roles, and others are saying “bon voyage” as they announce their well-earned retirements. Join us in celebrating members’ successes and wishing them luck on their new adventures!
Read on to see who’s going where, plus check out the latest open positions in our industry.
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Nichole Farley, Executive Director, Explore Butte County
Nichole Farley has been named Executive Director of Explore Butte County. Prior to joining the organization, Nichole worked with regional communities and organizations on economic development and stakeholder engagement initiatives that promote tourism and placemaking for ten years across the Western United States. In her new position, she is responsible for inspiring people to visit Butte County, creating tourism opportunities that contribute to economic vitality, and building community through partnership. In 2014, Nichole was the recipient of CalTravel's 30 & Under Emerging Leader Award. She is thrilled to be returning “home” as a California State University Chico Alumni, to continue the success of Explore Butte County. In her new role, she has joined CalTravel's Board of Directors.
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Tyler Garcia, Vice President of Business & Brand Development, Visit Oceanside
Visit Oceanside has hired Tyler Garcia as Vice President of Business & Brand Development. He joins the organization from Oceanside’s new beach resorts, Mission Pacific Hotel and The Seabird Resort, where he served as Director of Sales. His background also includes nearly 15 years as a hospitality sales executive for some of San Diego’s top hotels, including Park Hyatt Aviara, Paradise Point Resort, and Hotel La Jolla. In his new position, Tyler will lead Visit Oceanside’s sales and marketing departments while focusing on product development and strategic partnership opportunities that align with the four pillars of the City of Oceanside master plan: environmental quality, resident quality of life, quality of economy, and visitor quality experience.
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Shae Geary, Director of Communications, Visit Oceanside
Visit Oceanside has hired Shae Geary as Director of Communications. She brings with her over 25 years of experience in strategic hospitality communications. Shae has a strong familiarity with Visit Oceanside having served as the external public relations liaison for the organization since 2012. She honed her professional skills primarily working on behalf of hotels, resorts, and destinations, most recently from her position as Director of Hospitality Communications at San Diego’s public relations agency (W)right On Communications. Shae holds a master’s degree in mass communications from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree from University of California at Santa Barbara.
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Kate Holden, Director of Public Relations, Visit Yosemite | Madera County
Visit Yosemite | Madera County has hired Kate Holden as Director of Public Relations. A Michigan native, Kate moved to California in the spring of 2019 to pursue tour guiding in Northern California and Yosemite National Park. Following her first season, she was named the Brand Ambassador of the year. After falling in love with the area, Kate moved to Oakhurst while managing sales and business development for the same San Francisco-based tour company. In her new position, she is excited to use her extensive knowledge of Yosemite, deep curiosity for the area, and love of local stories to bring travelers to the unique southern gateway.
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Heather Johnston, Executive Director, Visit Dana Point
Visit Dana Point has appointed Heather Johnston as its new Executive Director. She brings more than 25 years of experience in destination management, brand development, and organizational management to her new role. Most recently, Heather oversaw marketing for Mammoth Mountain Ski Areas. Prior to that, she served as Executive Director for the Dana Point Chamber of Commerce and also held positions at Discover Torrance and Disneyland Resort. She now returns to Dana Point to promote the city as a premier coastal destination for group, business, and leisure travelers. Heather’s extensive background in destination marketing and existing relationships with stakeholders make her an excellent addition to the Visit Dana Point team.
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Kris Kelley, Group Sales Coordinator, Visit Huntington Beach
Visit Huntington Beach has hired Kris Kelley as its Group Sales Coordinator. Prior to joining the Visit Huntington Beach team, Kelley worked at The Walt Disney Company for over fourteen years and held roles focused on employee learning and development, operations, and customer experience. In her new position, she will provide support to the entire group sales department and serve as the point of contact for external organizations—enabling the team to focus on bringing more groups and conferences to Surf City USA.
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Claire Muranaka, Public Relations Coordinator, Visit Huntington Beach
Visit Huntington Beach has recruited Claire Muranaka to join the team as Public Relations Coordinator. She brings with her strong writing and media relations skills from her experience at an agency. In her new role, she will support the PR department in media outreach, press trips, and written content development. Claire will play a vital role in expanding the organization’s public relations efforts and sharing the Huntington Beach experience with media and audiences across the globe.
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Rachel O’Neill-Cusey, President & CEO, Visit Laguna Beach
Visit Laguna Beach has appointed Rachel O’Neill-Cusey as its new President & CEO. She joins the team from neighboring beach destination organization, Visit Dana Point, where she served as Director of Sales & Marketing, overseeing all group sales, leisure sales, marketing, and public relations efforts for the organization. Under her leadership, Visit Laguna Beach will continue to develop impactful programs, including a partnership with Leave No Trace exploring a comprehensive stewardship initiative that protects Laguna Beach’s natural resources by educating and empowering visitors, residents, and a network of local partners.
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Cassidy Roosen, Digital Marketing Manager, Visit Huntington Beach
Visit Huntington Beach has hired Cassidy Roosen as its Digital Marketing Coordinator. Cassidy is a Southern California native who specializes in media strategy and content creation. She previously worked in the government and healthcare industry managing digital communications. In her new position, Cassidy will help increase the organization’s digital presence and share the Huntington Beach experience with audiences across the globe.
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Dan Rosenbaum, Vice President of Global Marketing, San Francisco Travel
San Francisco Travel Association has promoted Dan Rosenbaum to Vice President of Global Marketing. A twelve-year veteran of the marketing team, Dan has innovated the company’s digital marketing and forged new partnerships that have consistently expanded San Francisco Travel’s global reach and local impact. In his new role, he will directly oversee the team’s efforts to drive additional private revenue, leisure room nights, and website economic impact. He will also oversee marketing support for the Tourism and Convention Sales & Services teams to help them achieve company-wide goals. Dan is a California native and a graduate of University of Colorado Boulder.
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John Todora, Director of National Accounts, Visit Huntington Beach
Visit Huntington Beach has promoted John Todora to Director of National Accounts. Over his five transformative years with the organization, John has led sales initiatives with the OC Sports Commission, the Pacific Airshow, select service properties, the West Coast DMO Alliance, and IMEX America 2022. He also graduated from the Huntington Beach Robert Mayer Leadership Academy in 2021. His dynamic approach to meeting and exceeding sales goals has greatly contributed to the growth of his department and the entire organization. John’s ability to build relationships nationally has made him an invaluable member of the team.
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Cathy Claesson, Co-Founder & Publisher, Adventure Sports Journal
Cathy Claesson is Co-Founder and Publisher of Adventure Sports Journal (ASJ), California's original outdoor magazine. Since 2001, ASJ has produced millions of copies and shared thousands of stories to a growing readership. They work closely with event producers, athletes, advocacy groups, and non-profits to help tell their stories and encourage people to enjoy and take care of the places we cherish. What started as a free magazine to share adventure trip reports has grown into a reading staple for outdoor sports enthusiasts in California and NW Nevada. Today, Cathy helps connect businesses with ASJ’s targeted audience to build a powerful brandscape of influential companies their readers value and appreciate.
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Dani Hielscher, Marketing Manager, Filoli
Dani Hielscher is Marketing Manager at Filoli, where she oversees advertising, PR, digital media, and group sales. Filoli is an historic estate featuring 654 acres of beauty, including a Georgian revival-style mansion, English Renaissance gardens, a Gentleman’s Orchard, hundreds of acres of natural lands, and an estate trail. Dani is a San Francisco native with a passion for inspiring visitation to the Bay Area. She has been with Filoli since 2018 and has since worked with her exceptional team to ensure that the estate is seen as a source of joy, beauty, and refuge for its ever-widening circle. Dani hopes that Filoli will be a key experience in the San Francisco Bay Area, drawing tourists and locals alike to find inspiration in every season.
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Christine Lawson, President & CEO, Discover Santa Clara
Christine Lawson is CEO of Discover Santa Clara in California’s Silicon Valley. She leads the marketing and promotion of Santa Clara and the Santa Clara Convention Center as a premium destination for conventions, meetings, trade shows, athletics, and group leisure events. Christine joined Discover Santa Clara in October 2022 with the goal of rebuilding the organization and its tourism industry post-pandemic and bringing Santa Clara to the forefront as the destination of choice. She brings 30 years of travel industry experience, including executive and senior vice president positions with Aparium Hotel Group, Cvent, Loews Hotels, and more than 25 years with Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants.
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Andrew Leary, Director of Sustainable Tourism & Partnerships, Leave No Trace
Andrew Leary is Director of Sustainable Tourism & Partnerships for Leave No Trace. As a member of the education team, he builds strong partner relationships with tourism and travel professionals, closely working with them to achieve long-term goals and objectives where Leave No Trace services destination stewardship. Adjacent to Leave No Trace, Andrew brings a perspective from his ongoing work in the adventure tourism industry as an expedition ski guide, as well as his previous experience in sales within the outdoor industry. He has an MS in Parks, Recreation & Tourism from the University of Utah and a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon. Fun Fact: Andrew has walked through every time zone on the globe.
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Randy Lopez, Executive Director, Discover Claremont
Randy Lopez is the Executive Director for Discover Claremont and the Claremont Chamber of Commerce. Previously, he was the Founder and "Chief Instigator" of The Jake Agency, an innovative full-service brand agency. Known as a creative thinker and brand visionary, Randy has held marketing executive leadership roles in brands such as TGI Friday’s and Arnold Palmer Golf Management, and VP of Marketing roles for both Buca di Beppo and Del Taco. He has also developed brand strategies and led the advertising account teams for clients such as Toshiba Medical, Tommy Bahama, Robbins Bros., Coco's, Häagen-Dazs International, and Wolfgang Puck. As a brand and marketing strategist, Randy still speaks to national and local group audiences on brand building and best practices.
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Theresa Smullen, Director of Marketing, Maritime Museum of San Diego
Theresa Smullen is Director of Marketing for the Maritime Museum of San Diego. She is an Emmy-award winning strategic marketing communications executive and has been part of the Maritime Museum of San Diego leadership team for several years—first as a consultant, then joining the organization to lead internal teams in marketing, public relations, sales, events, partnerships, sponsorships, and more. Theresa has more than 30 years of experience in media sales, business development, and integrated digital media strategy, supporting success for a broad range of industries, including multi-media production studios, broadcasters, advertising and public relations agencies, tourism, maritime, retail, franchise, biotech and life sciences, technology, and health and wellness.
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Clay Gregory, Former CEO, Visit Napa Valley
Clay Gregory, who served many roles during a career in the wine industry that spanned three decades, died on February 1 at age 65 from complications related to a form of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. His most recent role before announcing his retirement in 2019 was as president and CEO of Visit Napa Valley.
He helped establish the Napa Valley Tourism Improvement District. He also formed partnerships to support the launching of music and film gatherings including BottleRock Napa Valley, the Napa Valley Film Festival and Festival Napa Valley, and he created various events and marketing programs promoting wine country that included Flavor! Napa Valley, Arts in April and Cabernet Season.
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Where Can Travel Take You?
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We all know how awesome jobs in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries can be, but the next generation of our workforce may not. That’s why CalTravel is launching the “Where Can Travel Take You?” social media campaign to showcase travel, tourism, and hospitality workers across a variety of disciplines, positions, and regions—and how their careers help them lead their best lives.
We encourage you to get creative and show us all the reasons why you love your job—the work, the perks, and the unique experiences.
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Know someone looking for a fresh start? Check out our Tourism Career Opportunities page! This job board serves to connect employers with talented, qualified travel and tourism professionals looking for new opportunities to succeed.
Is your organization hiring? If so, please send us your open positions! We will help you get the word out to our ever-growing network of travel and tourism leaders across the state (at no cost!). To submit an open position, please reach out to gabriella@caltravel.org.
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If you know about about any retirements, promotions, new hires, or other career moves, or if you have any news of your own, please let us know for an upcoming newsletter. Please send news to me at tricia@caltravel.org.
Thanks,
Tricia Alvernaz
Director of Operations
tricia@caltravel.org
408-904-8474
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