UPCOMING EVENTS
2025 ESD Distinguished Speaker Series, Spring #1
Friday, 28 February 2025 at 1:00 PM EST | 7:00 PM CET
Topic: Hotel Ownership and the Business of Hotels
Speaker: Ms. Lan Elliott, Principal/Cofounder, Acacia Hospitality, LLC
Lan Elliott’s career spans 25+ years as a hotel real estate & transactions executive, leading deals in the U.S. and abroad. Most recently, Lan rejoined Acacia Hospitality LLC, a hotel investment entity she co-founded, which owns interests in four urban convention hotels. Prior to Acacia, she spent 10+ years at Host Hotels & Resorts, and roles at IHG, W Hotels, and KPMG.
Lan is an Interview Host for It’s Personal Stories, recognized by IHI as a Top Hospitality Podcast. She was named to IHI’s 100 Most Inspirational Leaders in Hospitality and Travel. In 2023, Lan launched Athena Leadership Academy, where she also teaches Introduction to Hotel Ownership.
Lan previously served as Co-Chair of Castell@College, for which she was a recipient of the 2022 Industry Recognition Award from ICHRIE, and she led and launched the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance Speaker Directory. Lan is also a speaker and serves on conference and hospitality school advisory boards.
Meeting ID: 898 5735 3176
Passcode: 698075
2025 ESD Distinguished Speaker Series, Spring #2
Friday, 7 March 2025 at 1:00 PM EST | 7:00 PM CET
Topic: Destination Management During a Disaster
Event Guest: Mr. Al Hutchinson, CEO of Visit Baltimore
Al Hutchinson joined Visit Baltimore as president and CEO in November 2016. As the chief executive of the city’s official destination sales and marketing organization, he is responsible for driving positive economic impact for the city through the attraction of leisure travelers and convention business to Baltimore.
Hutchinson boasts more than 30 years of experience in the destination marketing industry in cities from Richmond to Pittsburgh to Mobile. He serves on numerous key industry boards including the United States Travel Association, Destinations International and Tourism Diversity Matters, and is currently serving as the chair of the Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA). Additionally, Hutchinson is active locally with Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, the Greater Baltimore Committee and Morgan State’s School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board, among others.
Hutchinson is a Richmond, Virginia native, University of Alabama alumnus, and with his wife, Unae, a proud father to Asia and Jalen Hutchinson.
Meeting ID: 867 6372 6416
Passcode: 288873
PAST EVENTS & PLAYBACK LINKS
2024 ESD Distinguished Speaker Series, Fall #1
Friday, 27 September 2024 at 03:00 PM Eastern Time (NY)
Topic: 2025 ESD Undergraduate Research Symposium: Research Paper 101 - Would you like to learn more about how to conduct research and present your findings in a research paper? Join students and leading research experts!
Event Guests: Godwin-Charles Ogbeide, Ph.D., MBA, Han Wen, PhD, CHE, WSET III, and Willie Tao, PhD, CHE
Passcode: yb.Gd294
2024 ESD Distinguished Speaker Series, Spring #2
12 April 2024 at 1:00 PM EDT (NY)
Event Guest: Becky Smith, Vice President Talent Acquisition, MGM Resorts International® shared how to stand out in a competitive employment market.
Passcode:1z6yL8@!
2024 ESD Distinguished Speaker Series, Spring #1
