Zeek Coleman is President of Ad+genuity, a programmatic media platform built exclusively for destination marketing. Prior to leading ADG, Zeek spent nearly four years as a primary keynote speaker for Tourism Economics, a division of Oxford Economics, traveling the country and across the Americas presenting to state tourism offices, DMOs, and industry conferences on how economic conditions shape travel demand. He brings over a decade of hands-on destination marketing experience to his current role, where he is focused on building a platform that gives destinations full transparency into operating costs, keeps those costs as low as possible, and reinvests the savings into premium digital inventory.

A well-known industry figure with over twenty years of experience in destination marketing, Jay leads Miles Partnerships’ media teams as they plan and execute campaigns for destinations of all sizes, including the West Virginia Department of Tourism. He develops and maintains strong relationships throughout the industry, collaborating with partners to expand knowledge, performance and client opportunities. Jay employs data-driven strategies to identify trends and enhance performance, implementing best practices to optimize return on investments.

Jay has overseen the development and execution of dozens of destination strategies, ranging from rebranding initiatives to campaign and media strategies for a number of national, regional, state and city DMOs. What’s more, Jay is a tourism industry leader in many digital media platforms and a frequent speaker on digital media topics at tourism industry events.

A 37-year veteran of the Travel & Tourism industry, Amir Eylon is President & CEO of Longwoods International, a premier market research consultancy that specializes in the travel and tourism industry.  In this role, he oversees all aspects of daily operations, thought leadership, product & business development, and partnerships for this recognized brand in tourism market research.  Under his leadership, the company has more than doubled in size in terms of clients and team members.

Amir joined Longwoods international in 2015 from his previous role as Vice President, Partner Engagement with Brand USA, the public-private partnership serving as the destination marketing organization dedicated to increasing international visitation to the US. He led the team responsible for helping to increase its partnership base and focused on exceeding service expectation for those partners. During his tenure, Brand USA grew its base from 15 to over 475 partners, comprised of destination marketing organizations, state tourism offices, attractions, hotels, travel brands, airlines, and tour operators.

Prior to joining Brand USA, Amir served as Director of the Ohio Office of Tourism. Under his leadership, the state’s marketing programs realized a tremendous return on investment and contributed to the growth of the state’s then  $40 billion tourism economy. These successful marketing efforts were often cited as the basis for the program’s many awards and recognitions during his tenure.

He has also served as President of the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association, Assistant Director of the Ohio Tourism Division, and Sales & Marketing Manager with the Steuben County Conference and Visitors Bureau.

Amir is a regular speaker on market research and tourism at conferences and events around the country. His thoughts on the tourism industry and travel trends are often quoted in the media, and he has appeared in dozens of interviews among many national media outlets such as CNBC, MSNBC, WSJ, Forbes, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, and is a regular guest on many industry-related podcasts.

Amir has been recognized with a number of Industry honors including Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing award (2014) by the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI); The Ohio Tourism Industry’s Highest Honor, The Paul Sherlock Award; and The State of Ohio Distinguished Service Medal. He is an active member of many Travel Industry committees and task forces, a former Board Member of the U.S. Travel Association, and currently serves as the Immediate Past Board Chair for the Destinations International Foundation..

Amir holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Dayton and resides in Columbus, OH with his wife, Karen, who is also in the travel industry.

Chuck Davison is Vice President of Commercial Strategy & Partnerships at Tourism Economics, where he helps drive the organization’s global growth strategy, industry partnerships, and commercial direction across its portfolio of data, business intelligence, forecasting, economic impact, and attribution solutions serving destinations and tourism partners worldwide. With more than 30 years of leadership experience, Chuck has built a reputation for helping organizations transform data into actionable strategy. A former destination CEO and founder of Visit SLO CAL, he works closely with destination organizations, industry associations, strategic partners, and Tourism Economics’ leadership team to advance innovative solutions that help destinations measure performance, demonstrate value, and make more informed business decisions. He combines his experience as an entrepreneur, destination executive, technology leader, and commercial strategist to help organizations navigate an increasingly complex landscape where trust, transparency, and measurable outcomes matter more than ever. Known for challenging conventional thinking around accountability and destination measurement, Chuck is a frequent speaker on tourism and destination economics, marketing accountability, attribution, destination leadership, and the future of destination leadership. Chuck and his family reside in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Kent Landers, APR, is Vice President – Corporate Communications for Hilton. He is based at the company’s global headquarters in McLean, VA and leads efforts to strengthen and protect Hilton’s global reputation, including overseeing financial, development and enterprise communications, issues and crisis management, and global media relations.

Before joining Hilton in 2022, Kent worked for more than a decade in roles of increasing responsibility for The Coca-Cola Company, including Vice President – Public Policy and Government Relations; Vice President – U.S. West Region Public Affairs and Communications; and Vice President – External Communications for Coca-Cola North America, based in Atlanta; Vice President – Public Affairs and Communications for Coca-Cola Japan, based in Tokyo; and Group Director – Corporate Media Relations, based in Atlanta.

During his Coke career, Kent led key public affairs and communications campaigns for the company including standing up the first-ever combined public policy and federal government relations team for Coca-Cola North America; overseeing all external communications for brand and strategic initiatives within the company’s $10+ billion North America retail business; leading teams to communicate major global strategic developments including the creation of the world’s two largest Coca-Cola bottlers by revenue, the appointment and media introduction of a new CEO, more than 20 quarterly earnings, and a number of global and domestic M&A transactions. 

Before Coke, Kent served for nearly 13 years in key communications roles at Delta Air Lines in Atlanta, and prior to that as an account executive at Thompson & Baker Public Relations in Memphis, TN.

During his Delta career, Kent led planning for the announcement of the merger between Delta and Northwest Airlines in April 2008; served as one of the lead communicators responsible for the campaign to stop a hostile takeover by US Airways – “Keep Delta My Delta” – which was named PR Week’s 2008 Public Affairs Campaign of the Year; oversaw Delta’s external communications strategy for its emergence from Chapter 11 protection and re-listing on the New York Stock Exchange; and planned and executed Delta’s successful campaign to secure government rights to allow the launch of nonstop flights between Atlanta and Shanghai, China.

An accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Kent has held many leadership roles in his professional society locally and nationally. He is a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Martin, a member of the UT Martin Department of Communications’ Hall of Fame, and a recipient of the university’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award (2015). He is also a past national president of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and a member of the PRSSA Hall of Fame and Page Up.  

Sarah Jantz is the Managing Director of Operations Communications for American Airlines. In this position, she leads the airline’s internal communications and media response to high-profile operational and safety issues, as well as day-to-day issues and crisis to protect American’s reputation internally and externally.

She also leads global field communications and workgroup communications for more than 90,000 of American’s team members. In her more than 11 years with American, Sarah has led labor relations communications, as well as communications as American was the first U.S. carrier to return the highly scrutinized Boeing 737 MAX to service and for post-merger integration policy and system changes.

She also managed the overall communications strategy for American’s response to COVID-19, communicating policy changes and critical business updates with team members and media. Prior to joining American, Sarah started her career at Weber Shandwick as an intern in the Dallas office.

During her six years there, Sarah supported American Airlines full-time while also serving other clients. Sarah supported American as it negotiated new contracts with seven represented workgroups, managed a two-year campaign focused on the benefits of non-unionization, provided ongoing communications support as American declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and managed merger-related compensation communications — including leading communications as American distributed more than 33 million shares of stock as it emerged from restructuring. In addition to American, Sarah supported Weber

Shandwick’s crisis and labor communications practices. Sarah graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations.

A born leader and an inveterate traveler, Gina Stouffer has spearheaded the growth of Lou Hammond Group since joining the firm in 1998. A 30-year public relations veteran, she has been instrumental in the development of the agency’s award-winning team and vast collection of destination, hotel/resort and cruise accounts.

Beginning in LHG’s New York office, Gina went on to establish an agency presence in Miami and Charleston and later laid the business development and team recruitment plans for the firm’s expansion into Denver, Atlanta, Tampa, Dallas and Salt Lake City.  An industry force and recipient of HSMAI’s W. Grice Award for Career Achievement, Gina is respected by clients, media and peers alike, transforming her professional contacts into long-lasting relationships.

A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Gina graduated from Baylor University in Waco, Texas with a degree in history and political science.

She is past president of Les Dames d’Escoffier’s Charleston chapter and currently serves as an executive board member for the Charleston Library Society, the oldest cultural institution in the South.

Kim leads the Destination Optimization team at Miles Partnership, where she works with destinations to help local business partners shine online by improving their visibility across Google, major travel platforms, and now, emerging AI tools – so communities can thrive in the digital space.

Kim’s career in digital travel marketing spans from the early days of the web, when she helped launch some of the industry’s first destination websites, to leadership roles in SEO and hospitality marketing at Miles Partnership. She brings decades of hands-on experience to her work today, always focused on making complex technology approachable and useful for tourism professionals.

Deepa Lakshmin is the Head of Social Media & Video at Lonely Planet, where she leads social strategy, video production, and creator marketing — developing and programming content for a combined audience of 14 million travelers worldwide. She was previously the managing editor of Meta (formerly Facebook) and Instagram’s B2B content marketing blogs. As a journalist, she’s reported for National Geographic, MTV News, Vox, Inverse, and NYLON, plus managed both organic and paid social for Atlas Obscura, The Daily Beast, and Tribeca Film Festival, among others. Fun fact: before joining Lonely Planet full time, she wrote several chapters of the brand’s guide to New York City, where she’s based. Follow her own travels on Instagram at @deepa.

Abbey understands partner needs and has been leading and producing award-winning advertising campaigns for over 18 years. She started her career in retail advertising prior to moving to West Virginia, where she found her passion in agency work assisting partners, both large and small, in achieving their marketing goals. While formally trained in print advertising, she is also a skillful writer, director and strategist. Her unique skill set, paired with an understanding of the big picture, means advertising campaigns are executed seamlessly under her direction. She has a B.F.A. from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

As Chief AI Officer and SVP of Innovation at Brand USA, Janette spearheads AI-driven strategies to enhance tourism marketing, streamline internal operations, and foster innovation for the benefit of both Brand USA and the broader U.S. travel industry. She joined Brand USA from New York City Tourism + Conventions, where she oversaw the organization’s paid media strategy, programs and media insights to drive visitation across the five boroughs. Prior to joining NYC Tourism, she spent more than two decades marketing Broadway at organizations such as Broadway.com and AKA NYC.

Pat has over 25 years of professional experience in marketing, sales and advertising, working with companies to develop branding campaigns and media, organic search, paid search and social media strategies. He has a B.A. in sociology from West Virginia University. Pat has been invited to speak by numerous trade and marketing associations including PubCon Las Vegas, PubCon Austin, America Outdoors, La Fleur’s Lottery World Austin, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the Asheville Brewers Alliance, the West Virginia Fairs & Festivals Association and the National Apple Processors Association.

Jenna Green is the Director of Arts for the West Virginia Department of Tourism. She is responsible for administering the division’s arts programs, including overseeing all state and federal grants for West Virginia’s arts organizations, individual artists, and schools. Outside of work, she is a visual artist working mostly in printmaking.

Elizabeth Yeager is the Individual Artist Coordinator for the West Virginia Department of Tourism. She oversees several grant programs geared towards artists in professional development and folk arts. Elizabeth is also the editor of the department’s quarterly magazine-style newsletter, ArtWorks West Virginia, and serves as the coordinator for the First Lady’s special arts initiatives.

Justin is an experienced web and mobile developer, specializing in responsive web development. He got his start in mobile development over 15 years ago, shortly after the launch of the App Store. Justin has his A.A.S. in Information Technology from New River Community and Technical College and his B.S. in Information Technology from Western Governors University. He has

been invited to present about technology at the West Virginia Governor’s Conference on Tourism multiple times, as well as regional and virtual conferences on technology and web development.

Travis is the Senior Director of Partnerships & Strategy at Playfly Sports, focused on helping brands align their media and sponsorship strategies across the sports vertical. Over the last three years, Travis has negotiated 100+ single- and multi-market partnerships across the NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL, MLS, and WNBA.

Prior to joining Playfly in 2023, Travis served on the sponsorship sales teams first with the Charlotte Hornets, then with Tepper Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC. He began his career selling and managing partnerships with the Kalamazoo Growlers of the Northwoods League.

Travis earned his undergraduate degree from Loras College and master’s degrees in Business Administration and Sports Administration from Ohio University.

He resides in Charlotte, NC, with his wife, Jacqui, and sons, Ben and Hank.

Kelly Collins is the Chief Executive Officer of the State Fair of West Virginia, having served in the role for over 12 years. She is an active member of the International Association of Fairs and Expos, a graduate of the Institute of Fair Management, and earned her Certified Fair Executive designation in 2018. In 2025, she was also named the IAFE’S Rising Star. She is a WV Wonder Woman and was recognized in the State Journal’s Generation Next 40 under 40. 

Tom Clark is a native of Webster County, West Virginia, and now resides in Hurricane, West Virginia. Throughout his career, he has devoted much of his life to public service, mine safety, community development, and promoting West Virginia’s fairs and festivals. Tom is a former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and previously served as State Administrator of the West Virginia Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety. He is also a retired employee of the U.S. Department of Labor, bringing decades of experience in the coal industry and mine safety to his work. In addition to his professional career, Tom has been deeply involved in West Virginia’s fairs and festivals for more than 50 years. He served as director of the Webster County Woodchopping Festival for more than 30 years, helping make the event a longstanding tradition in West Virginia. Tom serves on the Board of Directors of the West Virginia Association of Fairs and Festivals for more than two decades. He currently serves as the organization’s treasurer, continuing his commitment to supporting and promoting fairs and festivals throughout the Mountain State.

Krista Snodgrass has served as President of the Putnam County Fair since 2018, becoming the organization’s youngest and first female president. Under her leadership, the fair has experienced tremendous growth while strengthening its commitment to agriculture, youth development, family entertainment, and community involvement. Krista also served for 10 years on the West Virginia Association of Fairs and Festivals Board of Directors and has been inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame. She is passionate about preserving fair traditions while building a strong foundation for future generations.

Shane Jenkins is in his seventh year as President/Executive Director of the West Virginia Strawberry Festival and serves as Second Vice President of the West Virginia Association of Fairs and Festivals. Leading one of the state’s most iconic traditions, Shane applies a meticulous, hands-on approach to modernizing operations; steering the festival through COVID-19, more than doubling its annual budget, and directing the event’s public perception and social media strategy. He offers an authentic look at the intersection of local events and tourism, highlighting how historic festivals drive regional economic impact while navigating pressing funding hurdles in the industry. Beyond event leadership, Shane serves his hometown as a Firefighter/EMT at the Buckhannon Fire Department.

 Amber Miller-Belcher has served the City of Logan since 1998 and as City Clerk since 2007. As a project developer, grant writer and event planner, she has helped secure millions of dollars for her hometown while leading beloved traditions such as the West Virginia Freedom Festival, Hocus Pocus Festival and numerous downtown celebrations. Amber serves on the Board of Directors for the WV Municipal League and is a member of West Virginia Women in Municipal Government. Her honors include the West Virginia Rhododendron Award, the Lydia Main Breaking Boundaries Award and being named a West Virginia Wonder Woman. She is also the owner of Small Town Girl Consulting firm and a proud graduate of Marshall University. Her favorite titles are wife, mom and being the Matriarch of her family. 

Meredith Dreistadt is the Acting Director and Tax Credit Coordinator for the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office under the Department of Tourism. She works to facilitate the adaptive reuse of historic buildings across the state and assist members of the public in preserving the cultural resources that matter to them. In her free time, Meredith enjoys traveling to national parks and belongs to a woodworking club.

 Claire Tryon is originally from Berkeley County, West Virginia, and grew up listening to her grandmother’s stories of Martinsburg during World War II. Through these recollections Claire’s grandmother imparted a love of history, which led Claire to pursue a bachelor’s in history at Shepherd University and then a master’s in public history at West Virginia University. She also served three terms as an AmeriCorps member with both the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia and the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area. Currently, Claire is the Planning & Education Coordinator and the Certified Local Government Coordinator for the WV State Historic Preservation Office. When not working, Claire can be found working on a sewing project or hanging out with her dog, Bailey.