SARAH BERMAN
PresidentThe Berman Group
As Founder and President of The Berman Group, Sarah works to identify challenges and develop creative communications programs that increase business and reach new audiences. Sarah works with the firm’s clients—from Fortune 500 companies to trade associations, government agencies and nonprofits—to develop winning publicity and marketing strategies based on her philosophy that successful campaigns are based on strong relationships.
Sarah has built a firm rooted in the construction and real estate industries and known for its vast network of construction, design and real estate connections. Sarah works actively with major mass media outlets as well as with regional and trade publications serving business-to business markets.
Sarah earned her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in Urban Planning and Master of Urban Planning from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service of New York University.
T.JACK BAGBY
PrincipalCooper Carry
Inspired by his love of travel and having worked in the hospitality industry, T.Jack understands the end-users' perspectives. He is driven by the opportunity to craft both the guest and employee experiences. He believes that excellent hospitality design is alluring and memorable.
T.Jack has worked on a diverse collection of project types from mixed-use to performance spaces, master planning to retail. His experience has honed his skills in delivering complex projects incorporating great design while striving to exceed client expectations. He is sough out for his attention to detail, collaborative approach, and client service.
Some of his notable projects include the Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel in Charlotte, the Plaza Hotel at Pioneer Park in El Paso, and the Grand Bohemian Lodge in Greenville.
LEAH S. BLANK
Director of MarketingThe Hardy Group
In 2021, Leah S. Blank assumed the role of Director of Marketing at The Hardy Group. In 2023, Leah was invited to join the Advisory Committee, contributing her insights to assist the organization in making well-informed and strategic decisions, thereby fostering growth and development. Leah has also assumed the full responsibility of Radical Innovation, a competition that challenges the hotel industry to elevate the guest experience by calling for new ideas in design and operations. Radical Innovation was conceptualized by The Hardy Group in 2006.
Leading the charge in marketing, communications, public relations, events, and business development efforts for HARDY, Leah infuses the team with energy, creativity, and a profound understanding of the industry to both commemorate past successes and strategize for future endeavors. Her strategic marketing campaigns and communication initiatives are focused on both celebrating and fortifying the company’s growth, acknowledging individual accomplishments, and showcasing project milestones. Leah brings over 17 years of Marketing, Public Relations and Business Development experience and has a track record of creating high-performance teams, successfully creating and executing campaigns, growing the brand, and building the sales pipeline. She has worked alongside some of the biggest names in real estate, architecture, interior design, product design, media, and luxury. Her career began at the New York Design Center, spending 12 years creating marketing campaigns and events. Leah became Director of DNA Strategic Consulting, a marketing, branding, public relations, and business development firm. Leah transitioned to be the Director of Business Development & Marketing for MATTEC Interiors an Italian based manufacturer specializing in custom-made millwork and furnishings.
Actively participating in industry conferences and events, her involvement allows her to stay well-informed about industry developments, engage with existing clients, and explore opportunities to connect with new clients. Leah brings over 17 years of Marketing, Public Relations and Business Development experience and has a track record of creating high-performance teams, successfully creating, and executing campaigns, growing the brand, and building the sales pipeline. She has worked alongside some of the biggest names in real estate, architecture, interior design, product design, media, and luxury. From developers to architects to designers globally, Leah has harvested strategic marketing plans, produced successful events, generated invaluable connections, and celebrated the architecture, design, and real estate industry.
Leah graduated from University of Hartford with a BA and attended continuing education courses at NYU. Leah is an active member of ULI (Urban Land Institute), and holds the position of Co-Chair for Programming Committee of Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI).
Erika dray
Partner, Managing DirectorWatts & Dray
Extensive expertise in clothing development, jewelry, and object design with a fresh and imaginative approach to interior design. Strong team manager, ensuring clarity from our team that all elements integral to each design align with the overall concept. Adept at translating a client's vision into reality while maintaining budgets, timelines, and logistics.
KEVIN CAREY
Interim President & CEO and Chief Operating Officer and Senior Executive Vice President
AHLAKevin Carey serves as AHLA’s interim president & CEO and senior executive vice president & chief operating officer. He works closely with AHLA’s board and executive team to lead the association, which represents more than 30,000 members from all segments of the industry nationwide – including iconic global brands, 80% of all franchised hotels, and the 16 largest hotel companies in the U.S.
Kevin is responsible for all of AHLA’s revenue generating operations, including membership engagement, partnership & business development, and conferences & events. He leads both strategic planning and financial operations oversight of AHLA and its Foundation. Kevin also supports AHLA’s officers, Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and its numerous committees and councils.
Prior to joining AHLA, Kevin held senior executive leadership roles at American Express Company and American Express Global Business Travel. Most recently, he served as managing director and head of the Americas region and was responsible for the largest strategic customers and revenue generating region in the global business travel joint venture company. He spent more than two decades rising through the ranks at American Express, beginning his career in public affairs as a member of the company’s government affairs office in Washington, D.C., before transitioning to client management and sales leadership roles in the company’s card, merchant services, and travel business units.
Kevin has a breadth of experience across the travel and hospitality industries through his service as a board and executive committee member for numerous travel and tourism industry associations, including U.S. Travel and the Travel Business Roundtable. He also serves as an advisory board member at both Johns Hopkins University and Penn State University.
JUN AIZAKI
FounderCRÉME Architecture & Design
Jun hails originally from Japan. As the child of a journalist, he grew up in New York and Japan, and traveled extensively with his family. While studying Architecture at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, he felt disconnected from academic and theoretical tendencies, but discovered his newfound love for restaurant design offered him more instant gratification. This lead him to the acclaimed Rockwell Group, where he spent the next five years leading the design for a number of award-winning projects. In 2004, he decided to set up his own shop, in a sublet loft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
As he continues to make his own mark within the hospitality-specific design industry, Jun leads with the belief that the desire to do good for others is at the core of hospitality, and that this approach can be applied to other design disciplines.
At CRÈME, Jun encourages a culture of collaboration and an idea democracy. He truly believes that no idea is to small and that thinking outside the box leads to rethinking limitations and creatively pushing the envelope. He strives to lead by example; he loves to get his hand dirty and champions the hands-on approach.
Jun is a registered architect in New York State, where he currently lives with his wife, Fanny Allie, and their son, Luka.
TIFFANY COOPER
Chief Development OfficerAimbridge Hospitality
KELLIE K. SIRNA
Principal & FounderStudio 11 Design
As Owner and Principal of Studio 11 Design, Kellie Sirna’s entrepreneurial and creative spirit has been inspired by decades traveling the world and designing some of the hospitality industry’s most inspiring spaces. Since the firm’s beginnings in 2011, she has led boutique and renown projects such as Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Caesars Entertainment, Starwood and Thompson, as well as countless award-winning Food & Beverage, Lifestyle hotels and resorts. Her client focused approach coupled with a penchant for powerful leadership has led to the creation of a team that is talented, nimble and energetic.
Never one to sit still, Kellie has overseen the launch and growth of Studio 11 Design’s two verticals: Brand Bottega, a brand identity and design component, as well as Lou Verne by Studio 11 Design, an in-house creative team specializing in art curation, creation and styling. As a multidisciplinary design firm, Studio 11 Design is well-equipped to produce compelling narratives that tell the holistic story of a space.
A tastemaker in her own right, Kellie serves on the Hospitality Design Magazine board and has judged the HD Awards and Wave of the Future Awards. She’s a gold-level recipient of American Business Awards’ Woman of the Year and has been covered as a leading entrepreneur by various notable media outlets including Boutique Design, Hospitality Design, CNN, Conde Nast Traveler, Forbes, and Wall Street Journal.
As Studio 11 Design’s national footprint continues to expand, Kellie maintains her connection to Dallas. She’s involved in NEWH, the Dallas Women in Business Enterprise, Young Leaders in Hospitality, and volunteers for Delete Blood Cancer DKMS – a cause close to her heart. She holds a degree in Interior Design and Merchandising from University of North Texas.
With the direction of the firm top of mind, Kellie is excited and focused on the future and the industry as a whole, while still staying true to the same class and care Studio 11 has maintained over the last decade-plus.
Rachel hunter
Marketing ManagerThe Hardy Group
Rachel joined the Hardy Group in 2022 with a variety of experience in projects having served in the titles of Content Marketing Associate/Organic Social Media Manager, Marketing Coordinator/Office Manager, Realtor, Tulane Marketing Liaison/Marketing Coordinator, and Recruiting Assistant. She is an ambitious marketing manager offering diverse experience in multiple industries, performing varied marketing initiatives, with a focus on social media marketing, to drive market growth and company profits. Rachel is adept at tracking ongoing marketing activities, evaluating the results of marketing efforts, and interpreting results. She is articulate and driven, with high energy and an engaging personality, and the ability to develop and nurture relationships.
She has worked for Roofstock, Pomegranate Hospitality, Latter and Blum Inc, Tulane University Dining Services by Sodexo, and New York Life Insurance Company. In her most recent role with Roofstock, Rachel focused on content marketing and managed the organic social media presence, organized sponsored conference efforts, wrote copy, and created an organizational system for marketing projects.
Rachel has earned her Bachelor of Science in Management from Tulane University, New Orleans, LA with a focus in Marketing.
NINA GRONDIN
Managing PartnerCurioso
As the Managing Partner and Co-founder of Curioso, Nina oversees the strategic direction, business operations, and creative processes to ensure the delivery of meaningful human-centered design projects that propel the businesses of our clients. With more than a decade of experience in the hospitality industry and a background in business, economics, and finance, Nina’s unique perspective guides her work in both high-level thinking and day-to-day operations. Nina is passionate about projects that uplift and propel communities into the future, inspired by creative strategy and brand storytelling that connects people to place and to one another.
Curioso’s list of collaborators includes major hotel brands including IHG, Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton, among independent boutique hoteliers and developers from across the US, Mexico and the Caribbean. Their work ranges from uniquely-inspired fast-casual dining experiences in Chicago to resorts in the Riviera Maya Mexico. With projects in Seattle, Portland, Nebraska, Miami, The Bahamas, Spain – and more – Curioso’s work helps clients build inspired, impactful experiences, no matter where they reside.
Having lived and worked in Chicago for over 15 years, Nina is passionate about the success of this city and its communities. Her love for Chicago drives her commitment to helping it shine in the eyes of the greater global community. In addition to her role at Choose Chicago, Nina sits on the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Board of Directors, working to positively impact the economy and tourism of Chicago. Through this work and beyond, Nina hopes to help every visitor of Chicago experience and understand all this beautiful and dynamic city has to offer. Additionally, Nina is an Executive Board Member of the Hospitality Diversity Action Council (HDAC) working to grow equity and inclusion in the hospitality industry.
DANIEL LESSER
Co-Founder, President, & CEOLW Hospitality Advisors
Daniel H. Lesser has more than forty years of specialized experience worldwide in hospitality related: real estate appraisals, economic feasibility evaluations, investment counseling, asset management, receivership, and transactional services of hotels, resorts, conference centers, casinos, mixed-use facilities, spa & wellness properties, and timeshare/fractional ownership properties.
Mr. Lesser offers a 360-degree, cross-functional and multi-disciplinary lodging industry perspective. Proffering innovation and strategy, Mr. Lesser serves as a third-party advisor and independent expert witness, neutral arbitrator, business model canvasser, asset manager, property/business receiver, and as a principal investor, borrower, guarantor, and franchisee. Mr. Lesser provides services to corporate, institutional, municipalities, and individual clients on all facets of hospitality real estate including site evaluation, highest and best use analysis, appraisals for mortgage, acquisition and portfolio management, workout strategies, operational analysis, property tax assessment appeal evaluations, economic impact studies, market and feasibility analysis, strategic planning, management and/or franchise company selection and contract negotiation, deal structuring, and fairness opinions. Mr. Lesser has served as a Court Appointed Receiver in connection with dozens of hotels throughout the U.S.
An international authority and thought leader with ironclad credibility on the topic of hotel feasibility and property valuation, Mr. Lesser has served as an expert witness under oath through depositions and testimony in court and arbitration hearings in U.S. federal and state courts, and domestic and international arbitrations in connection with a wide variety of matters including bankruptcy, solvency, valuation analysis, interest rate and plan confirmation feasibility, brand area of protection, condemnation, construction defect and/or delay damages, ground/property rent reset, management dispute, partnership/joint venture conflict, property tax certiorari, and lodging industry standards, customs, and practices to evaluate legal liability.
Mr. Lesser always bases his opinion(s) and/or conclusion(s) on thorough research conducted with an objective perspective. Furthermore, rather than limiting his litigation-related engagements to one type of stakeholder, he has been retained by counsel to hotel owners, lenders, investors, and management companies, thus enhancing his credibility with finders of fact. Mr. Lesser has balanced his practice with service as a neutral panelist in commercial arbitration disputes.
Prior to his hospitality advisory experience, Mr. Lesser held operational and administrative positions with Hilton Hotels Corporation and Eurotels-Switzerland. He is highly sought after to speak at lodging and real estate events, as well as lectures at prestigious institutions of higher education, including American University Washington College of Law, Columbia University, Cornell University, New York University, and Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Lesser is widely published and quoted in major newspaper, internet, business, real estate, and hospitality industry periodicals, and has or currently serves as a columnist for HotelNewsNow.com, HotelBusiness.com, GlobeSt.com, and Hotelsmag.com.
Mr. Lesser earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University and attended the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne Switzerland, and Baruch College – City University of New York. Mr. Lesser holds the following professional designations: MAI (Member of the Appraisal Institute), FRICS (Fellow of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), CRE (Counselor of Real Estate), and CHA (Certified Hotel Administrator). Mr. Lesser is a Certified Part 36 Judiciary Receiver in the State of New York.
Mr. Lesser is a member of and/or has served on numerous committees for the Counselors of Real Estate, the Appraisal Institute, the American Hotel & Motel Association, and the Board of Directors of the New York City Chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society. He is a former Advisory Board member and member of the Fundraising Subcommittee for the New York University Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. Mr. Lesser is an advisory board member of Mosaic Real Estate Investors, LLC and 1st Service Solutions, Inc. He is a member of The Penn State School of Hospitality Management Industry Advisory Board and served as the school’s Fall 2015 Walter J. Conti Visiting Professor. Mr. Lesser is a founding member of the Lodging Industry Investment Council (LIIC), the hotel industry “think tank.” He is a member of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Panel of Neutrals. Mr. Lesser is an advisory board member of the annual Radical Innovation Award. He served as an Honorary Committee Member of the annual UJA-Federation New York Hotel & Hospitality Division Dinner and was a founding member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Real Estate Division. Mr. Lesser has served on the fundraising committee for the Shatterproof Challenge at the 2016 through 2022 Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS). Mr. Lesser serves on the Board of Directors and as a Senior Advisor to the Founder and President of The MirYam Institute, a U.S. based, non-profit NGO with official 501(c)(3) status.
Vito f. lotta
FounderLOTTA Hospitality Design
Vito Lotta, a well-respected leader in the hospitality design industry, is sought after for his insights into meaningful design, brands’ ethos, evolving expectations of guests and forward-thinking solutions balancing ownership, operator, brand dynamics. He is a featured speaker at hospitality industry events, serves as a juror in design/innovation award programs and is a trusted advisor to industry experts. Holding state licenses in Architecture and Interior Design, along with LEED Accreditation, Vito earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
During his distinguished 14+ year tenure at Hilton, Vito served as the Vice President of Architecture & Design, leading a dynamic team that shaped designs for Signia by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Curio Collection, Tapestry Collection, and DoubleTree. Vito played a pivotal role in establishing new brands, refreshing existing ones, and advancing R&D innovations in design and technology. He spearheaded the creation of design narratives for each brand, differentiating the ethos and establishing unity while fostering a diverse array of unique hotel experiences. Supporting hotel owners and their design consultants, Vito’s team reviewed and guided all hotel projects in North America, leading to official design approvals.
Mindful of the architect/design firm's vantage point, Vito led Gensler's Regional Hospitality Practice in Chicago for 9 years, building his hospitality design career upon the foundation laid at the renowned The Gettys.
JENNIFER CHESEK
VP of Hospitality & Senior LivingBeyer Brown & Associates
DANNY FORSTER
President & FounderDanny Forster & Architecture
Architect. TV host. Producer. Director. Speaker. Professor. Danny Forster is all these things, and through them all he has become a global advocate for architecture. The field of architecture may not appear to need much help: buildings surround us. But that very ubiquity has made it almost invisible; we move in and around buildings but barely notice them. Through his persistent and passionate advocacy, Danny gets people to notice, understand, and value the built environment.
This quest began when Danny was hired, while still pursuing his master’s in architecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, to host a television show about impressive feats of construction and engineering. The show would become Build It Bigger, one of Discovery Channel’s most popular series, and run for nine seasons, during which Danny traveled to more than fifty countries, exploring everything from record-breaking skyscrapers to cutting-edge sports stadiums, from airports to tunnels to impossibly long bridges. Besides offering a matchless education for an aspiring architect, Build It Bigger taught Danny how to talk about architecture so an audience wouldn’t just understand how and why a building was designed a certain way, it would care. The key was inviting them inside the process–not just saying what’s important, but showing them in concrete and engaging ways.
In 2010, Danny conceived and co-produced with Steven Spielberg a six-part documentary on the aftermath of 9/11: Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero. The Emmy-award-winning series brought viewers behind the scenes of the massive building project and helped them wrestle with its historic and emotional significance. As a New Yorker, Danny was grateful to be able to respond to the seismic event he and his city had experienced. And he was honored that his firm, Danny Forster & Architecture, was chosen to design a tower adjacent to the World Trade Center campus.
In approaching that project, Danny brought with him the ambition and sense of unlimited possibility created by years of exploring the most incredible architecture on earth. His frame of reference was simple: greatness at the global level. To him, that’s what architecture was, and is.
If your frame of reference is that wide, even building codes and zoning laws seem more like challenges than like limits. His only inflexible rule is to build something that both meets and transcends its program, contributing to the life of its city and to the discipline of architecture.
The resulting, award-winning tower catapulted him and his firm into an era of high-octane productivity that saw Danny designing towers at Hudson Yards and Columbus Circle in New York, master plans in Charlotte and Dallas, a five-star resort on the island of Nevis, and the tallest modular hotel in the world. He brings to each project that original sense of limitlessness–as well as with the energy, intensity, and engagement that viewers responded to in his Build It Bigger days. The man hanging off the side of a skyscraper in Kuwait, gesticulating about the wonders of architecture, is the man clients encounter in conference rooms and on construction sites, working with them to make their buildings better than they thought possible.
Danny also continues to find ways to promote architectural literacy–to teach people how to read a building, not just look at it. He teaches graduate architecture courses at Harvard and Syracuse, as well, and he is happy to keynote professional conferences, but he is particularly driven to speak on behalf of his profession rather than to it. He speaks all over the world, from the TED stage to the fourth-grade classroom, and produces and hosts TV projects about architecture and culture. How China Works I & II dive deep into the Chinese building boom and subsequent social upheaval; Prefab Nation explores the growing modular building trend; PBS’s Revolutions investigates inventions that transformed worlds.
Sometimes that involves disrupting the traditional way of doing business. In several of its more recent projects, DF&A has embraced modular construction as a way to merge deep functionality with beauty and import. The firm’s modular tower in Manhattan is a perfect example of why this underutilized building technique should command the respect of the industry and the public. Since investigating post-Katrina houses a decade ago, Danny has been a committed proponent for modular construction; as an advocate he hopes to get people to discard their preconceived notions of pre-fab and see the potential of modular. But as an architect, he’s aware that, ultimately, it’s his buildings that will do the talking.
JULIA MONK
PIP
MInternational hoteliers recognize Ms. Monk as an industry pioneer. She created a global design brand known equally for its award-winning expertise in architecture and interior design. Today she continues to challenge the hospitality design industry status quo.
As an exceptional architect and interior designer, her projects have been as varied as the parts of the world in which they are located. She has worked with over 40 hotel brands, from the ultra-luxurious The Peninsula to a limited-service Doubletree. She has collaborated with entrepreneurial chefs to create atmospheric, shoestring-budget diners and with gaming magnates to design 4,000-room Las Vegas Strip casino hotels.
As an industry thought leader, Julia is a recognized speaker and panellist at high-profile events including the AIA National Convention, Asia Hotel Forum, Boutique Design New York, China Hotel Investment Conference, CoreNet, HD Expo, Maison et Objet Asia and ULI’s Asia Pacific Summit. She lectures on hotel design and development for Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design Executive Education.
As a global leader in hospitality design, Julia is the recipient of the profession’s highest honours, including Platinum Circle and Fellow in both the AIA and IIDA. She co-founded and co-chaired the AIA New York Architecture of Hospitality Committee. She serves on many other boards and committees. Julia also has been a juror for the distinguished AIA Interior Design Awards, Hospitality Design’s Gold Key Awards, Sleeper ‘s AHEAD Awards and The Hotelier Awards.
As a contributor she has been a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Network for Executive Women in Hospitality (NEWH) and Urban Land Institute (ULI), where she is active in the Hotel Development Council and Women’s Leadership Initiative. She is an advisory board member for HD Magazine and Radical Innovation Award (RIA).
As a mentor Julia guided her talented, passionate teams to be the next generation of hospitality architects and designers and help them develop into leaders as firm principals and owners, hotel operators, architects, and designers.
After 45 years of leading in the hospitality design industry, Ms. Monk turned her talents from commercial practice to benevolent pursuits; from VIP to PIP, previously important person. In this role she uses her wisdom to support the success of those just starting out.
MAKI BARA
President & Co-founderThe Chartres Lodging Group
Maki Nakamura Bara, President & Co-Founder of The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC and Chairman of the Board for affiliated management company, Sightline Hospitality, is a leading expert in investing in and repositioning urban hotels and resorts. Since the formation of Chartres Lodging in 2002, she has acquired and repositioned $3 billion+ of lodging assets in the U.S. and Japan and completed more than $1 billion in the redevelopment of these assets. In recognition of her extensive experience in the lodging sector, particularly in acquisitions, asset management, development management and her role in the growth of the two companies, Ms. Nakamura Bara was recognized as the top "40 Under 40" by M&A Advisor, received the ''Best Executive" Stevie Award for Women in Business, was named a "Woman of Influence” in commercial real estate by Real Estate Southern California magazine, was a three-time honoree of Bisnow’s Power Women LA and honored as one of Hotel Management’s 2021 Influential Women in Hospitality. She is also a frequent speaker at various industry conferences and has served as a judge of multiple hotel design awards. Ms. Nakamura Bara is a member of the ULI HDC and the ALIS Design Advisory Board. Ms. Nakamura Bara’s previous experience includes participating in the formation and growth of the lodging activities of Lend Lease Real Estate and Strategic Hotel Capital. She has also worked at Oxford Capital Partners, Inc. and PricewaterhouseCoopers in the hospitality consulting division. Ms. Nakamura Bara is a graduate of UCLA and is fluent in spoken Japanese. She has a daughter in college and a son in high school. Ms. Nakamura Bara's interests include watching her son or the Los Angeles Kings play ice hockey, watching NFL football, cooking, eating and traveling.
David Ashen
Founder & PrincipalDash Design
Robert Rippee, ph.d.
Executive Director, Black Fire Innovation and the UNLV IncubatorThe University of Nevada, Las Vegas
· Executive Director, UNLV Black Fire Innovation Hub & UNLV Incubator powered by Hughes Center
· Assistant Editor, International Journal of eSports Research
· Former Director, Hospitality Innovation Lab, UNLV
· Former Director, esports Lab, UNLV
· Co-founder RM Labs LLC
· Board Advisor and Director
Dr. Robert Rippee is a distinguished entrepreneur and academic currently holding the position of Executive Director at UNLV's Black Fire Innovation Hub and the UNLV Incubator powered by Hughes Center. In this capacity, he leads diverse teams consisting of students, faculty, staff, and stakeholders, driving economic development and diversity through innovation, acceleration, and commercialization initiatives. Dr. Rippee's leadership at the Black Fire Innovation Hub has facilitated collaboration between prominent research institutions and industry partners to create rapid-market solutions that promote growth and innovation within the hospitality sector. His extensive network and skills have enabled Black Fire to secure sponsorship, donations, and support from over seventy tech companies, fostering an environment for over 100 startups—a previously non-existent ecosystem in Las Vegas and at UNLV.
Furthermore, Dr. Rippee has successfully established and overseen a startup incubator at UNLV, propelling the launch of more than 40 startups across various industries since its inception in November 2021. The UNLV Incubator, powered by Hughes Center, was established through a collaborative effort led by Dr. Rippee, alongside The Blackstone Group and Blackstone Launchpad. Prior to his current role, he served as the Director of the Hospitality Innovation Lab and esports Lab at the International Gaming Institute at UNLV, fostering early-stage innovation in hospitality, gaming, and entertainment.
Dr. Rippee's academic proficiency and interdisciplinary approach to innovation have established him as a highly sought-after advisor and researcher in various fields, innovation and organizational change. Before joining UNLV, he enjoyed a successful 25-year career in the private sector, culminating in his role as Senior Vice President for Las Vegas Sands Corporation. Dr. Rippee is also a decorated United States Navy veteran, serving as a pilot, and he pursues his interests in bicycling and fitness during his leisure time.
For additional information about Dr. Rippee, please visit Robertrippee.io.
Vanja Bogicevic
Clinical Assistant Professor
NYUVanja Bogicevic, Ph.D., is a Clinical Associate Professor of hospitality marketing at the NYU SPS Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality and the director of the Hospitality Innovation Hub Experiential Learning Lab. Her research explores the role of design, technologies, and labor issues in hospitality and tourism. Her academic work has been featured in peer-reviewed publications, including the Journal of Business Research, Tourism Management, the International Journal of Hospitality Management, as well as in the popular media. She collaborates with hospitality companies and consulting agencies, including Boston Consulting Group, PwC, Stayntouch, and others on projects investigating digital transformation, labor issues, and responses to macroeconomic changes in hospitality and travel.
She serves on the editorial board of the Psychology and Marketing journal. Her research has been highly commended by the Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards. Previously, Dr. Bogicevic served as a visiting assistant professor at The Ohio State University, as well as a design consultant and practitioner. During her time at The Ohio State University, she developed a Virtual Reality Laboratory and designed the first Healthcare Environmental and Hospitality Services certificate program.
Robert d. Kline
CEO & Co-Founder The Chartres Lodging Group
Robert D. Kline ’84 is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Chartres Lodging Group, LLC, a private equity investment firm, which is focused on the lodging sector. Kline is recognized as a proactive turnaround investor and a leading asset manager in the lodging sector. Kline was among the first investors to evolve an institutionally recognized program of asset management systems and procedures and is a Founding Director of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association.
Kline began his career in 1984 upon graduating from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration (SHA) and has since led over $12 billion in transactional activity. He pioneered the establishment of a preeminent lodging investment and asset management advisory practice under The Yarmouth Group/Lend Lease, and conducted extensive business throughout the U.S., Asia, Mexico, and Europe. Kline previously served as the initial head of acquisitions for Strategic Hotel Capital during its formative years, where he oversaw their purchase of $2 billion of luxury hotels across three countries. In 1998 he began investing directly as a principal and has successfully invested over $7 billion of capital on his own behalf and a select group of private investors and institutional funds.
Mr. Kline sits on the boards of AH&LA, AH&LA’s Education Foundation, and WildCare of the Bay Area. He’s an Advisory Board Member of Cornell’s Center for Real Estate Finance and the Dean’s Advisory Board. He established No Reservations Giving Foundation – a non-profit charitable program and sits on the Hotel Investment Roundtable where he developed the Lodging Confidence Meter in 2010. Mr. Kline is a frequent lecturer and contributing author to Hotel Asset Management, and spearheaded HAMA’s first international expansion into Japan and the creation of the Certified Hotel Asset Manager program.
Matthias Winkler
Director of Hospitality Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
Matthias Winkler, AIA, Dipl.-Ing., ISHC, is the Director of Hospitality at Carrier Johnson + CULTURE, an award-winning architecture, interior and landscape design firm offering entitlements, master planning and full service from its offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and Atlanta. He has been leading the design, production and construction of high-end resorts, hotels, clubhouses, villas, and estates for more than two decades. Has was educated as an architect in Europe and the United States including being a Fulbright Alumni.
His passion for hospitality design has taken him from Europe to high-end design firms in the Pacific Northwest and on several of the Hawaiian Islands before settling in San Diego. While gaining a broad array of experiences in multiple climates and communities around the world and building expertise in design work and operations, Matthias is a skilled project manager and business development leader for hospitality creating authentic and memorable experiences for every guest in any destination.
Notable projects for which he has been principal in charge or an integral part are: Puerto Laguna Mitla, Marriott and Renaissance Resorts Xiamen, Hilton Linzhi Resort Tibet, Curio Sanya Resort, Palau Wyndham Global Resort, all-inclusive Rixos and HYDE Nha Trang with Accor.
Missy Goldstein
Hospitality Business Development LeaderDLR Group
Leading business development for the hospitality studio at DLR Group, Missy is an integral growth leader, responsible for engaging clients and driving new business. She brings over a decade of experience across the worlds of fine art, real estate, and hotel development, informing her multi-faceted understanding of the industry, spanning design intricacies to technical operations. Missy’s holistic approach and education, enables her to maximize collaboration across many verticals of the industry, driving innovation and research within the firm to foster stronger partnerships.
Passionate about expanding her reach and exploring creative ideas, Missy consistently seeks to connect with individuals across diverse networks, leveraging connections to help her clients realize and build upon their goals. With her personal interest rooted in material culture and environmental influence on social dynamics, Missy is committed to helping reshape the future of the AEC industry by continuously pushing the envelope with each new relationship and project she brings to the firm.
Eran Chen
Founder, Executive Director ODA
Bashar Wali
Founder & CEOThis Assembly
A born leader and a bit of a rebel. Bashar can speak to the ins and outs of the Hotel Industry because he’s done it all. Most at home on the road, he eats, sleeps and breathes this calling we call hospitality. Some might say he’s obsessed with hotels. But it’s really the humans behind them that drive him. Well, that and a vintage Land Rover Defender.
Chad sorensen
Managing Director & Chief Operating OfficerCHMWarnick
Chad F. Sorensen is Chief Executive Officer of CHMWarnick, the leading provider of hotel asset management and owner advisory services. Chad is Chair Emeritus of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (“ISHC”), an invitation-only society comprised of prominent hospitality consultants from around the world. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (“HAMA”) and is a designated Certified Hotel Asset Manager (“CHAM”).
With over 25 years of experience in hospitality real estate within asset management, advisory services, and leading hospitality organizations, he has become an industry leader in providing best-in-class service for clients ranging from sovereign wealth funds through high net-worth individuals.
Chad is committed to charting the future path for the asset management discipline and for the next generation. He sits on the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board, Michigan State Real Estate Investment Management Advisory Committee, and is a founding member of the Boston University Hospitality Real Estate Advisory Council. He is an alum of the Harvard Business School, The University of Illinois Chicago, and Iowa State University.
Vanessa watts
Partner, Creative DirectorWatts & Dray
Recognized industry expert in hospitality design, object design and design project management. Extensive work experience with major clients such as the Hyatt Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Starwood Hotels, MGM and Turnberry, with emphasis on implementation of client design standards within strict budget and schedule constraints. Seasoned presenter and decision maker with strong experience building and managing an effective team. NCIDQ Certified.
robert stiles
Managing Director & PrincipalRobertDoulgas
Mr. Stiles is a Founding Principal of RobertDouglas and brings more than 25 years of domestic and international experience in structuring and executing capital solutions and property sales for hotel investors and owners. Prior to co-founding RobertDouglas, Rob was the Co-Head of the National Hospitality Group at Cushman & Wakefield and previously held senior leadership positions as a principal at Sonnenblick-Goldman and as the founding Group Managing Director of HorwathHTL in Asia.
Mr. Stiles joined Sonnenblick-Goldman as a Managing Director and Principal in early 1999 and has since completed many of the largest and most complex capital raise, asset sale, financing and development transactions internationally.
Mr. Stiles serves on both the Leadership Group for Urban Land Institute’s Hotel Development Council and the International Advisory Board of HOTELS Investment Outlook magazine. He also was the co-founder of HICAP, Asia’s premier hotel investment conference for more than 30 years based in Hong Kong. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Business by Johnson & Wales University and graduated from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration with a focus in development and finance and Johnson & Wales University with a degree in Culinary Arts.
A resident of Marin County, just over San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Rob enjoys mountain biking and remains addicted to fishing.
richard gomel
PartnerTwo Sigma Real Estate
Rich Gomel is a Managing Director at Two Sigma and Chief Investment Officer of Two Sigma Real Estate. He was most recently the Managing Partner of WeWork’s real estate investment platform. Prior to WeWork, Rich served as Partner and Senior Investment Officer at Junius Real Estate Partners, a specialized real estate investment unit of JPMorgan Asset Management.
Before that, Rich was a Managing Director at Starwood Capital Group, during which he also served as CEO of Groupe du Louvre, an owner and operator of over 1,000 hotels around the world across all market segments. Rich also held various senior positions at Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Rich has a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Rich previously served on various boards including Groupe du Louvre, Baccarat, 21C Museum Hotels and Hersha Hospitality Management.
kevin erickson
Founding Principal & Professor KNE studio | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, School of Architecture
Kevin Erickson is an architect and founding principal of KNE studio based in New York City, and an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he held positions of Program Chair and Director of Graduate Studies. He was previously a member of the Van Alen Institute’s Program Leadership Council, a visiting professor at the Mackintosh School of Architecture in Glasgow, and an artist-in-residence at the Geoffrey Bawa Lunuganga Trust in Sri Lanka.
KNE studio is an ideas-oriented design practice, with a strong belief that design should be simple + forward thinking, while adding value on multiple scales. The studio has been invited by Bette Midler's Foundation, The New York Restoration Project (NYRP), to participate in a design competition for a boathouse and outdoor classroom in upper Manhattan, they won the Warming Huts Design Competition to build a winter pavilion alongside Frank Gehry in Winnipeg, received an honorable mention in the Tokyo Fashion Museum on Omotesando Competition, and were a finalist in the urbanSHED International Design Competition to redesign street scaffolding throughout NYC – a project which is currently under construction. The studio has received an AIANY Design Award, multiple ACSA Design Awards, an A’N Best of Design Award, a Global Architecture & Design Award, the S.Arch International Design Award, and the Next Landmark Award at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale.
Erickson has conducted sponsored research with US Army Corps of Engineers, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory and his professional and academic work has been published and exhibited by: MIT Press – Boston, Thames & Hudson – New York, Phaidon – London, ThinkArchit Group – Beijing, Dalhousie Architectural Press – Nova Scotia, Global Architecture – Japan, AD Architectural Design – London, and Clog – New York; Cranbrook Academy of the Arts, New Orleans African American Museum, Pratt Institute, the Center for Architecture, Waseda University, L’Ordine Degli Architetti, Vancouver Art Gallery, Kent State University, Rhode Island School of Design, OMI International Arts Center, Winnipeg Art Gallery, The Chicago Architectural Foundation, and the Global Architecture Gallery Tokyo.
glenn nowak
Associate ProfessorUNLV
Glenn NP Nowak, Associate Professor of Architecture, is the founder and coordinator of the Hospitality Design (HD) Concentration at the UNLV School of Architecture. Since the HD Studio’s inception in the fall of 2010, the entertainment capital of the world has become an extension of the academic studio for students interested in collaborative explorations in design research with leaders in the hospitality industry. Additionally, Glenn serves as the graduate coordinator of the M. Arch program and serves on the board of The AIA Las Vegas Chapter and other non-profit organizations. His work and design research often involves community-integrated projects that focus on social, environmental, and economic sustainability. He earned his Master of Architecture from Cornell University and his Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design from Ball State. He is a licensed architect in Nevada
jean-gabriel neukomm
PrincipalJG Neukomm Architecture
Jean-Gabriel Neukomm has designed successful and innovative projects for a range of luxury residential, institutional, hospitality, commercial, and retail projects for more than 25 years. Some of Neukomm’s professional work included residences for clients such as Calvin Klein, hotelier Ian Schrager, creative director Fabien Baron, and most recently for collector Yana Peel for whom he designed a signature residence in the West Village featured in Architectural Digest. Neukomm has been able to translate his keen eye for detail, cultivated in his work on luxury residential projects, to large-scale urban projects in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles for major developers such as Blackstone, CIM, Ian Schrager Company, The Gotham Organization, F&T Group, Greenland USA, The Dermot Company, Rockrose, Greystar, and JBG Smith.