Scott Crider
Creative Director
Aristotle Interactive

Scott is a digital creative director and interactive marketing specialist with more than 23 years of experience on the leading edge of digital communications. His background includes the development of numerous campaigns that integrate online, offline, and social media for his clients, as well as authoring and publishing two blogs that received over a million visitors and have been featured by Time, CNN, and CBS News. Scott, a social media "evangelist," firmly believes that tools such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and blogging have forever changed the way people, brands, and organizations communicate.

Session: "Holy Cr@p! Meetings and the Social Media Revolution"

Barbara F. Dunn, Esq.
Attorney and Partner
Howe & Hutton, Ltd.

Barbara Dunn is an attorney and partner with Howe & Hutton, a law firm specializing in the representation of individuals, firms, and organizations in the travel, tourism, hospitality, incentive, and meetings industries; as well as not-for-profit organizations, including trade associations, professional societies, and other related organizations. Dunn works with many individuals and organizations in the meetings industry—including corporate and independent planners, and suppliers. She has written numerous articles on a wide range of legal issues and is a frequent speaker for MPI and its chapters, the MPI Foundation's Platinum Series programs, SGMP, PCMA, HSMAI, ASAE and its affiliated societies, and other groups in the meetings, travel, and hospitality industries. Dunn was the 2005-2006 chair of the ASAE Legal Section Council—the first woman to serve in such a leadership role. She is also a member of the Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys.

Session: "Managing Risk and Liability: A Belt and Suspenders Approach"

Joan Eisenstodt
Owner
Eisenstodt Associates, LLC

Joan founded Eisenstodt Associates, a Washington, DC-based meetings and hospitality consulting company in 1981. She brings 35+ years experience to her work with corporations, associations, hotel companies, and DMOs, to facilitate and design meetings, conduct training, conduct departmental audits, negotiate contracts, and serve as an expert witness.

Active in PCMA, MPI, ASAE, and other industry and non-industry organizations, Joan's passions for life-long learning, meeting preparation, risk anticipation and contingency planning, ethical and inclusivety practices, and meeting excellence have been well-recognized by MPI, HSMAI, IACC, and NSA; as an inductee into the CIC Hall of Leaders; and by the PCMA Foundation for lifetime achievement as an educator.

Session: "Black, White, and Shades of Gray: Ethics in Meeting Planning"

Susan Henderson, DMCP, CMP
President & CEO
GEP Atlanta

Susan has a background that includes teaching in high school, fashion retailing, university fundraising, and theme park marketing. This varied experience has prepared her well for the challenges of the hospitality industry.

Susan joined Atlanta Arrangements (now GEP Atlanta) in 1988. She is a past vice chair of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, a former board member of Southeast PCMA, and past president of ADME. Susan serves as a trustee for the Foundation for Hospital Art and is on the groups and meetings committee of National Business Travel Association (NBTA). She won ADME's "Destination Management Professional of the Year" in 2007.

Session: "Maximizing Value: Using DMCs to Increase Your Meetings’ ROI"

Michael Krouse, CHME, CMP, CASE
Senior Vice President of Sales & Client Services,
LA Inc. - The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau

Michael is responsible for managing LA Inc.’s meetings and convention sales and client services departments. He also has direct oversight of Los Angeles Convention Center citywide convention sales. Prior to joining LA Inc., Michael spent over 20 years in a variety of senior hotel sales management positions with Interstate Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Hotels Corporation. He serves as a board member of the UCLA Extension Executive Hotel Program and Creativity Advisory Council and Los Angeles Hotel/Motel Association. He is also a member of ASAE, MPI, PCMA, and the Convention Liaison Council.

Session: "Tools You Can Use: Maximizing empowerMINT.com as a Planner Resource"

Rhonda Marko, DMCP, CMP, CMM
President & CEO
Destination Nashville

Rhonda has a unique approach to people and destination management. Her early career includes hotel convention services coupled with nine years with three of the country’s leading destination management companies.

In 2007, Women’s Business Enterprise Council named Rhonda as Nashville’s "Woman Entrepreneur Of the Year" and, in 2009, ADME selected Rhonda as the "Destination Management Professional of the Year." Presently, she serves as immediate past president of ADME, commissioner of transportation on CIC's APEX Commission, and on the domestic partners advisory board of Global Events Partners.

Session: "Maximizing Value: Using DMCs to Increase Your Meetings’ ROI"

Sandy Reynolds, CMP
President and Owner
Meetings & Events USA

Sandy is the president and owner of Meetings & Events USA, a full-service meeting and event management firm with worldwide scope and experience. Prior to joining and eventually helming Meetings & Events USA, she worked at SmithBucklin, the world’s largest association management firm, coordinating conferences and trade shows across the country for groups ranging from 25 to 50,000 attendees. Sandy is active in Association Forum of Chicagoland, where she serves on the annual meeting planning committee, and PCMA.

Session: "It’s Not Just A Phase: Adapting to Trends in the Meetings Industry"

Christine “Shimo” Shimasaki, CMP, CDME
Managing Director
empowerMINT.com

With more than 15 years of experience in the destination marketing industry, Shimo facilitates the overall business development goals and objectives of DMAI's empowerMINT.com. She joined DMAI after serving as executive vice president and chief strategy officer for the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau (ConVis). During her tenure at ConVis, she led every division, including convention center sales, hotel meeting sales, marketing, business development, information technology, and operations.

Prior to ConVis, she held positions with several Marriott hotels and resorts, including director of sales. Shimo has distinguished herself in the industry as a recipient of the TWIN Tribute to Women & Industry in 1998 and winner of the Salesperson of the Year 1995 Gold Key Award, a recognition by the San Diego Hotel Motel Association.

Session: "Tools You Can Use: Maximizing empowerMINT.com as a Planner Resource"