Speakers for this year's REBOOT include:
Judi Holler, DES, Owner
Judi Holler, DES, Owner
HOLLA! Productions
Joe Maloney, Partner
Lancey B Cowan, JD, CAE, Senior Director,
Monika Nielsen, CMP, Assistant Vice President of Corporate Events
Charlie Jones, CAE, Senior Vice President, Global Brand Management
Mike Moulton, Executive Vice President, Business Development
Christine Parker, Division Chief, Outreach and Inquiries
Cara Banasch, MBA, Senior Vice President Business Development & Strategy
Gerald Wilson, Director of Public Safety
Jim Kelley, Vice President, Sales & Industry Relations
Judi has worked in the hospitality industry since the age of 13 and has spent the last 15 years working in Sales and Marketing for companies like Marriott, Omni and Starwood. Judi is a Past President of the Chicago Area Chapter of Meeting Professionals International and was selected as Connect Magazines 2014 40 under 40 in the hospitality industry.
As a professional trained improviser and Second City Chicago Alumni, Judi uses her training every day to embrace failure and stay relevant in a world full of constant change.
At Second City, there are no failures...only gifts. This training allows you to remove fear from all situations because no matter what happens...you will always learn something.
Mike Surick, Founder & CEO
CounterThreat Consulting
Mike is a veteran of the United States Air Force. In 2006, he retired from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, after 20 years of service, as a detective specializing in the investigation of bomb threats and explosives-related incidents.
After Mike's retirement, he developed CounterThreat Consulting with the goal of providing first responders, companies and individuals with training related to bomb threat management, explosives and improvised explosive device familiarization and personal risk preparation.
Mike served as a project manager for the Nevada Homeland Security Silver Shield Project, where he was part of a team of experts that conducted vulnerability assessments of critical infrastructure and key resources across the state of Nevada.
From 2012 to 2013, Mike served as a military contractor/advisor, embedded with the United States Army's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division and deployed to eastern Afghanistan.
Mike is currently employed as an operations manager by Last Vegas-based DTA Security Services, a 4th generation security company which specializes in convention and trade show security management. Mike currently lives in South Florida where he continues to focus on CounterThreat Consulting and the development of policy, procedure and training related to active shooter/mass attack readiness and survival.
Joe Maloney, PartnerLocust Street Group
For more than a decade, Joe Maloney has worked with national trade associations and Fortune 100 companies in managing state and federal policy initiatives, having successfully created and built multi-million dollar public affairs operations in the telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing and high-tech industries.
Joe also has held leadership advocacy roles on campaigns at all levels of government, including repeated stints in Iowa for presidential caucus campaigns, and time served working in Washington, DC and across the country for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) on political and GOTV operations. He also served as the Deputy Director of Delegate Floor Operations at the DNCC on behalf of Hillary for America (HFA) in Philadelphia in 2016.
Lancey B Cowan, JD, CAE, Senior Director, Meetings/Awards & Grants
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
Meeting planning is Lancey's third - and favorite (so far) - career. She has been an association planner since 1999 - with ARVO since 2006. Currently, she oversees logistics and programming for the ARVO Annual Meeting and ARVO's awards and grants programs.
During her tenure at ARVO, she has been part of several major changes for the organization, including two executive transitions and moving the Annual Meeting after 40 years in Florida to a rotation model. Current challenges include determining ROI for international meetings and partnerships and managing international perceptions of U.S. policies and their impact on meetings.
Lancey values continuous improvements for herself, her meeting and her team and recently came across the perfect quote from Nelson Mandela on this topic - he said, "I never lose. I either win or learn."
When not working, Lancey can be found either floating in a tube on the Shenandoah River or watching her 11-year-old daughter play softball.
Monika Nielsen, CMP, Assistant Vice President of Corporate EventsAerospace Industries Association (AIA)
Monika Nielsen is the Assistant Vice President of Corporate Events at Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). She is a certified meeting planner with more than 17 years of international event management experience. She produces and executes high-profile events which promote AIA's mission and add value to the members and partners in the aerospace and defense community. Monika joined AIA in August 2014.
Previous to joining AIA, Monika managed event logistics and customer service for the Biotechnology Industry Organization's (BIO) worldwide conference events. Based in Washington, DC, she was involved in all aspects of event execution including pre-event strategy and planning, on-site event management and post-event management and evaluation. She was instrumental in doubling event revenue and increasing member satisfaction.
Before joining BIO, Monika worked for TopRight, a strategic marketing consulting firm where she sold and executed event management services for the company's fortune 500 clients. Her career also includes four years with Fitch, a global bond rating and research company, where she was a marketing manager in the telecommunications line of business. She also founded a Netherlands-based charity, the Tulip Foundation, whose mission is to improve the conditions of Polish orphanages.
Monika has a BA in Finance and Business Management from Loyola University in Chicago. She was born in Europe and currently resides in Northern Virginia with her husband and two daughters.
Charlie Jones, CAE, Senior Vice President, Global Brand ManagementFutures Industry Association
Charlie Jones, CAE, is Senior Vice President of Global Brand Management at FIA, responsible for all marketing, conferences and member services. Prior to joining FIA three years ago, Charlie was Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Membership for six years at Heart Rhythm Society in Washington, D.C. Before he began his career in non-profit management, Charlie worked in the corporate sector at AT&T for seven years where he held various management roles in Washington, D.C., New Jersey and Hong Kong.
As an association executive specializing in building organizational capacity and improving effectiveness in marketing/branding, communications, conferences and events, Charlie's proven leadership has successfully transformed both non-profit and for-profit organizations for over 20 years.
Mike Moulton, Executive Vice President, Business DevelopmentTransportation Management Services
After graduating from West Virginia University, Michael began his career at TMS in 2003. During his tenure at TMS, he has been involved with almost all facets of the transportation industry with experience on over 400 events in his 14 years in the industry. Michael has worked with many different clients at some of the nation's most complex venues. These projects have come with many complex and specific needs with varying degrees of security designations. These events include presidential inaugurations, major political conventions, major golf tournaments, music festivals and some of the largest conventions and tradeshows in the country.
As Executive Vice President, Business Development, Michael leads the sales team and is responsible for growing TMS' business. With the vast knowledge he carries over from his operational experience, he excels at helping clients build their transportation models from the initial planning phases and guides them through the entire process. His ability to consistently deliver quality results and the strong relationships he has built has allowed Michael to help TMS grow new customers and repeat clients alike.
Lauren Parr, Vice President of Meetings
American Geophysical Union
Joining the organization in October 2015, Lauren serves as Vice President of Meetings overseeing the American Geophysical Union's meetings, events and professional development portfolio. As an education and learning design professional with a background in all aspects of event design and management, she is committed to the creation of learner-centered opportunities and environments. Lauren is passionate about connecting formal and informal learning experiences directly to the needs of a community and believes that associations, like AGU, can create dramatic results and benefits for the global population.
Prior to coming to AGU, she spent 6+ years as Vice President of Education and Professional Development for the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) where she led teams working on the development of curriculum frameworks, post-graduate education, executive development programs, online learning programs and global events for healthcare regulatory professionals. Additionally, she spent time with the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) working with the ICAAC and Biodefense scientific programs. Lauren received her master's degree from the University of Maryland in management with an emphasis in nonprofit organizations.
Christine Parker, Division Chief, Outreach and InquiriesOffice of Field Operations, Visa Services, U.S. Department of State
Ms. Parker joined the Department of State's Foreign Service in 2004 and currently works in the Office of Field Operations in the Bureau of Consular Affair's Directorate of Visa Services. The Office of Field Operations supports and monitors visa operations at Foreign Service posts around the world, and coordinates visa policy efforts within the Department of State as well as the interagency community. Previously, she served in Washington-based assignments in the Bureau of Consular Affairs and in the Management Office of Policy, Rightsizing and Innovation. She has served overseas with the Department of State in Ethiopia, El Salvador, and Peru. Before joining the Foreign Service, Ms. Parker worked in the field of educational publishing as an editor and project manager.
Christopher Durso, Executive Editor
Convene, The Magazine of PCMA
Christopher is Executive Editor of Convene Magazine, which is published by the Professional Convention Management Association. During more than 20 years as a professional writer and editor, he has worked on magazines such as Community Associations Institute's Common Ground and the American Medical Student Association's The New Physician, and served as a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Cara Banasch, MBA, Senior Vice President Business Development & StrategyNew Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau
A long term hotelier with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Cara held leadership roles in Global Sales for Canada and Washington DC, opened 16 New Build Hotels across many destinations in the USA, and was an Area Director for multiple hotels in Boston and the South East. Joining the New Orleans Convention & Visitor's Bureau in late 2013, she works with a team of industry partners and professionals with a mission to grow business opportunities for the hospitality industry in the Big Easy.
Continuing to belong to many industry organizations and having held a number of board positions, today Cara sits on the board of the New Orleans Ballet Association and supports local charities such as the Audubon Conservancy, the Louis Armstrong Jazz Camp, and the Louisiana SPCA.
"We are all in this together" is a favorite mantra as is the constant pursuit of winning solutions for stakeholders with "different seats at the table."
Ellen Shortill, Director, Convention and Meetings
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Ellen Shortill is the Director of Convention and Meetings for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). She manages a department of 12, and oversees both logistical and strategic efforts for the growth of the annual convention and meetings of the Association. She has more than 20 years of experience providing leadership in managing complex, high profile teams and programs. She is a skilled strategic thinker, able to identify, prioritize, plan and implement programs and events that surpass organizational objectives. During her career, Ellen has managed and directed more than 300 events, meetings and conferences including local, city-wide and international meetings ranging in size from 200 to 18,000 attendees.
Before joining ASHA, she was a Strategic Account Director at Courtesy Associates. Prior to joining Courtesy, Ellen specialized in large citywide scientific/medical society meetings for the Optical Society of America (OSA), and the American Geophysical Union and had a brief run int he dotcom world in marketing.
Ellen is actively involved as a volunteer, event planner and fundraiser for local metropolitan DC organizations. She has served as a Board Member of the National Capital Chapter of the Professional Convention and Meetings Association (PCMA), served on the Program Committee of the Council of Engineering and Scientific Executives (CESSE), and founded her own charitable organization in 2007 to raise funds for local charities. She has been interviewed and quoted by the Washington Post, New York Times, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and for several books on engaging generations X and Y in philanthropic activities and events.
Gerald Wilson, Director of Public SafetyEvents D.C. / Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Gerald M. Wilson has served as the Director of Public Safety at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (Washington Convention Center) in Washington, D.C. for more than 10 years. His responsibilities include managing the overall security of the convention center for its visitors, attendees and employees; managing the facility's disaster readiness and emergency preparedness programs; serving as the primary point of contact for Washington D.C.'s public safety and emergency preparedness agencies; and overseeing all transportation planning functions at the building. During his tenure, Gerald has integrated his previous experience as a career law enforcement official into his efforts within the hospitality industry.
Gerald has been instrumental in developing the Washington Convention Center's ability to plan for and manage large crows. Incorporating the Incident Command System (ICS) into the event oversight process, he has led the effort to include the use of closed circuit television into the management of large groups, enabling the facility to host multiple events in a safe, efficient, manner.
Karen Kotowski, Chief Executive Officer
Events Industry Council
Karen Kotowski joined the Events Industry Council, formerly known as the Convention Industry Council (CIC), in December 2008 and serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the organization. The Council is a federation of more than thirty organizations in the meetings, events, exhibitions and travel industry. The Council's members represent more than 103,500 individuals and 19,500 firms and properties involved in the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry.
Ms. Kotowski has more than 30 years of meeting planning, education and program management experience for non-profit associations and private sector companies. She has a proven record of strategic and entrepreneurial vision. In 2015, Ms. Kotowski was named a Meeting Trendsetter by Meeting Focus Magazine and an Industry Changemaker for her work on the launch of North American Meetings Industry Day by MeetingsNet magazine.
Jim Kelley, Vice President, Sales & Industry RelationsProduction Resource Group
As Vice President, Sales & Industry Relations, Jim is actively engaged in leading the company's sales team and industry relation efforts while also effectively managing a portfolio of events. Jim is committed to supporting the professional growth of the industry and participates in PCMA both locally and nationally. He serves on the Convening Leaders Content Committee and is on the PCMA Capital Chapter Board of Directors. In 2014, he was honored by PCMA as the "Distinguished Service Professional of the Year". Additionally, he serves as a Board Trustee for the Incentive Research Foundation and chairs the IAEE Senior Executives Programming Task Force. In 2015, he was the recipient of the PRG President's Award.
