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Education Descriptions
Jan McInnis, The Work Lady

For McInnis, life is full of “finding the funny.” She and the audiences who continually rate her programs “hilarious” wouldn’t have it any other way. Over the past 23 years, she’s spoken at hundreds of conferences, employee retreats and banquets, and was featured in The Wall Street Journal as one of the top convention comedians whose material is clean and in The Washington Post for her clean comedy writing. She’s sold comedy material to “The Tonight Show,” greeting cards, radio stations and event guests on the “Jerry Springer Show” and has authored two books. Born in Washington, D.C., McInnis was in charge of the “Joke of the Day” for her junior high school lunch table. Not surprisingly, she majored in communications at Virginia Tech, where she was a DJ for the local radio station.

Katie Denis, U.S. Travel Association

Denis leads “Project: Time Off,” an initiative of the U.S. Travel Association to prove that vacation travel is valuable and necessary for strong relationships, creative thinking and better health. She is the author of Project: Time Off’s studies that look at vacation trends and workplace culture. Katie has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, and has been a guest on CNBC and NPR.

Ned Donkle, AFEX

Donkle has been in the foreign exchange industry for 23 years and has held leadership roles with Thomas Cook, Travelex and Western Union prior to AFEX. As North American partnership director, his team works to provide education and international payment strategies to AFEX’s many partners. Donkle is from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and a graduate of the University of South Carolina with an MBA. He has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the past 25 years.

Melanie Mathos, Lou Hammond Group

Mathos is senior vice president at Lou Hammond Group and has been with the firm since 2014. Specializing in integrated marketing, public relations and social media, she oversees a portfolio of accounts representing industries ranging from technology to real estate and nonprofit to travel. Previously, she directed public relations for Blackbaud Inc., the leading global provider of software and services for nonprofit organizations. Mathos also brings extensive travel industry expertise, specializing in luxury brand marketing. She is a former travel blogger and editor/writer for a lifestyle publication and destination guidebook. She’s been honored as 40 Under 40 Charleston and 15 “Can Do” Social Good Women. Mathos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University and currently serves on the marketing committee of the Coastal Community Foundation.

Jeff Ment, The Ment Law Group, LLC

Ment is the founder of The Ment Law Group. With more than 26 years of experience representing travel companies, he is able to best represent the many facets of the travel industry. Jeff represents tour operators, vendors, DMCs, travel agents, transportation companies and trade associations. He counsels clients on our industry’s best practices, including contract terms, compliance with government regulations, risk assessment, crisis response and employment issues. He also represents travel companies in litigation throughout the country. His background in the travel industry includes working as a travel agent, tour guide and as a sales manager for two airlines.
Thom Singer, The Conference Catalyst

Singer has more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience. He’s an expert in branding, positioning and networking, and has trained thousands of professionals in the art of building contacts that lead to increased business. Singer is an author and entrepreneur who has written eight books and numerous articles for business and marketing publications.

Gina Stouffer, Lou Hammond Group

Stouffer is president of Lou Hammond Group’s Charleston office and recently celebrated her 20th anniversary. She began her public relations and marketing career in Washington, D.C., working for Odyssey Cruises and for the White House Personnel Security Office before moving to New York to join LHG in 1998. In 2002, she moved to Florida to open LHG’s Miami office and develop the agency’s brand in the Southeast, Caribbean and Latin America. She now oversees accounts in the tourism, consumer products, culinary, arts and culture, and technology industries. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Stouffer graduated from Baylor University with a bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science. She currently serves on the College of Charleston Department of Communications Advisory Council and is president of Les Dames d’Escoffier International’s Charleston chapter.

Karen Tan, Tempe University

A native of Singapore, Tan has close to 10 years of professional experience in tourism and hospitality consulting. She started her career by joining Horwath HTL, one of the most prestigious consulting firms in Asia Pacific. Before the age of 30, she then took on the role of vice president in the China office of Jones Lang LaSalle (Hotels & Hospitality Group), a Fortune 500 company. She’s now pursuing her PhD in tourism management as a fulltime University Fellow with the Temple University Department of Tourism & Hospitality Management. Drawing upon her professional experiences on both supply and demand dynamics of the tourism and hospitality industry, she is well-equipped to conduct research that holds practical applications while contributing to the broader knowledge base.

Thomas Widman, Identity Fraud Inc./BIZLock Insurance Services

Widman helped pioneer identity protection and cyber insurance products that originated in 1997. As founder, president and CEO of Identity Fraud, Inc. (IFI), he developed the business model, products, partners and advisors to help establish one of the nation’s first consumer focused identity protection companies. Once established, Widman created the nation’s first business identity fraud insurance policy, the nation’s first Data Theft Risk Purchasing Group and the nation’s first online quote-bind-print cyber insurance underwriting platform to help make the procurement and delivery of cyber insurance more efficient and affordable to small businesses on a nationwide basis. More recently, Widman created and helps lead the BIZLock Cyber Insurance solutions group.

 

  • Travel Exchange is worth every penny. The networking is great, and there is always business to be made to show ROI for your decision makers. The investment is worth the reward. Cory Mace, Badger Bus
  • What NTA does is provide the right buyers. They provide the right people who make decisions. This is what makes this organization one I can’t afford to take off my list. John Stachnik CTP, Mayflower Tours, NTA member since 1979
  • I came to NTA to build a business, and that’s exactly what it did for us, as sales came in. For me, it’s the only outlet for new ideas. Matthew Squire, Select Travel Service (UK), NTA member since 2002
  • The No. 1 member benefit of NTA has to be all the great professional and personal connections we’ve made over the past decade. Taunya Wolfe Finn, CTP, Wolfe Adventures & Tours, NTA member since 2005
  • We have not found a more reliable, more profitable or more consistent tourism venue in which to acquire new business than NTA. Diane Hohnstein, Hospitality Management Services, NTA member since 1999
  • You guys at NTA have the best bunch of members I have ever come across. I had one of my best shows ever. Everybody was so nice and welcoming, and the organization of the event was spectacular. I am so happy to be a member and be assured of my continued support in the future. Bernard O'Reilly, Joe O'Reilly Ireland DMC
  • NTA events provide us with beneficial networking with many top tour operators. It’s national and international in scope providing a global perspective. Tim and Elaine Moulder, Brilliant Edventures, NTA member since 2015