Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau
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Operating Divisions

The Bureau is made up of 5 operating divisions. Click the links below for a brief overview of each division's area of responsibility accompanied by a list of staff.

Administration & Operations
Convention Sales
Convention & Visitor Services
Housing
Tourism Development
Cultural Tourism
Marketing Services
Membership
Public Relations
Seattle Sports Commission



ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATIONS
Responsible for day-to-day functioning of the bureau, including budgeting, funding, finance, personnel and internal operations.

Tom Norwalk, President/CEO
Kathleen Shepard, Executive Assistant
Michael DeAtley, Chief Financial Officer
Mark Nold, Director, Technology/Web Services
Matt Stacey, Senior Accountant
Brandon Hull, Accounting Assistant
Susan Treder, Director, Human Resources
Jenn Miller, Receptionist
Mark Treyens, Systems Services Coordinator

admin@visitseattle.org



CONVENTION SALES
Works to promote Seattle as the best destination for conventions, meetings and exhibitions. The goal is to fill the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, Seattle Center and all other venues and hotels that can host meeting business.

Jerri Lane, VP Convention Sales
Brianna Mark, Executive Assistant
Janet Hunter, Director of Sales
Wendy Petersen, Director, Midwest Office
Alison LaFollette, Director, Washington DC office
Stephanie Soper, National Account Director, Washington DC office
Audrey R. Fan, National Account Director
Shyla Gardner, National Account Director
Cynthia Lydum, National Account Director
Joan Magnano-Damm, National Account Director
Tim Quigley, National Account Director
Tasha Sawabini, National Account Director
Susan Hutton, Account Director
Julia Smith, Administrative Coordinator
Season Hansen, Convention Sales Coordinator
Kim Hall, Convention Sales Coordinator
Annie Pardo, Convention Sales Coordinator

conventions@visitseattle.org



CONVENTION & VISITOR SERVICES
Acts as a liaison between meeting planners and the products and services offered by Bureau members to assure that meeting arrangements are managed successfully.

Kae H. Block, CMP Director, Convention Services
Adriane Friedman, Convention Services Manager
Julianne Gaffield, Convention Services Manager
Kathy Williams, Convention and Visitor Services Coordinator

conventionservices@visitseattle.org



HOUSING BUREAU
Provides centralized reservation services for meeting groups booking large numbers of convention delegates. In addition, it provides a consumer reservation service for individual visitors shopping for hotel accommodations in Seattle and King County.

Susan Ranney, Manager, Reservations & Housing
Kara Cox, Housing Coordinator
Cheryl Fischer, Housing Coordinator
Melissa Mefford, Housing Coordinator

conventions@visitseattle.org



TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
Develops and implements a broad range of marketing programs designed to increase individual, corporate, group and incentive travel to Seattle-King County, Washington State, and the Pacific Northwest from both domestic and international origins. Marketing tools employed in this effort include direct mail; inbound familiarization tours; attendance at industry trade shows; and outbound sales missions targeted at tour operators, incentive Travel Trades, travel agents, and travel media in key international and domestic markets. Sales leads are generated for follow-up by Bureau members to market their products and services directly to domestic and international tour operators, travel agents, and corporate incentive Travel Trades.

Brad Jones, CTP, Director, Tourism Development
-- UK, Europe and Australia
Marj Snyder, Director, Tourism Development
-- USA and Canada
Michael Kurtz, Director, Tourism Development
-- Asia and Latin America
Joshua Ratliff, Senior Tourism Development Coordinator

travel@visitseattle.org



CULTURAL TOURISM
Promotes Seattle and King County as a prime destination to experience arts, history, culture and heritage and to competitively position our region to attract the desirable and sizeable market segment known as cultural travelers.

Tracey Wickersham, Director of Cultural Tourism
Cathy Sander, Cultural Tourism Coordinator

culturaltourism@visitseattle.org



MARKETING SERVICES
Responsible for supporting all SCVB divisions in their marketing efforts through web development, collateral materials, brand execution and strategy. It is our mission to communicate key SCVB messages to customers and clients in various market segments, through advertising campaigns, brand themes and Internet presence.

Elias Calderon, Director, Marketing & Creative Services
Lara Dickson, Creative Services Manager
Sarah Lee, Project Manager

marketing@visitseattle.org



MEMBERSHIP
Provides a variety of programs and services to member companies to help them reach the many visitor markets we serve; including convention meeting planners, convention delegates, independent leisure travelers and professional Travel Trades. The department also operates a visitor center at Sea-Tac International Airport to assist in the distribution of member brochures and Seattle CVB Visitors Guides to arriving passengers. The Confidential Convention Digest is produced by the Membership department for use by Bureau members to market their goods and services directly to convention meeting planners.

Steve Maris, Membership Director
Rosemary Rasp, Membership Services Manager
Ann Peavey, Senior Manager, Seattle Visitor Center & Concierge Services
Cathy Sander, Membership Coordinator

membership@visitseattle.org



PUBLIC RELATIONS
Responds to media requests for information about Seattle-King County and works to generate favorable media coverage for the region. Public Relations offers assistance through story suggestions, feature story writing, press kits, press releases and hosted press trips.

David Blandford, APR, Director of Public Relations
Heather Bryant, Public Relations Manager
Lauren Curtin, Public Relations Coordinator

pr@visitseattle.org



SEATTLE SPORTS COMMISSION
SSC is the newest program of Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau. Created in the Fall of 2002, the Commission was created to position Seattle to be in the forefront of the sports market.

Ralph Morton, Executive Director
rmorton@visitseattle.org
NateSilverman, Marketing and Business Development Manager
nsilverman@visitseattle.org
Shyla Gardner, National Account Director
sgardner@visitseattle.org
Rosie Meyns, Project Coordinator





Download the 2008 Marketing Plan PDF (48 pages, 3.8mb)


Download the 2008 Marketing Plan Presentation PDF held at Bell Harbor Int'l Conference Center on January 24, 2008. (15.9mb)

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