NHLA has always had robust and productive committees and 2026 will be even better. Take a look at our new NHLA committees, returning committees and the leaders for each. We welcome new members for our committees, join us.
Emerging Leaders
Our Emerging Leaders committee will be led by co-chairs Louis Orozco, Executive Director Housekeeping and EVS, Resorts World and Rick Walter, Assistant Chief of Facilities, The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. Both of these leaders have been involved in the Emerging Leaders division of NHLA for quite some time. We look forward to a fun and energetic year for our Emerging Leaders.
Women in Lodging
WIL is an NHLA program that is designed to support and provide leadership resources for women growing in their careers in hospitality. The WIL committee helps to create programs, events and activities that are relevant and productive…and always fun…for our WIL members. This division of NHLA will be led by co-chairs Jay Yao, Assistant Director Hotel Operations, Resorts World and Victoria Iori, Business Development Director-Americas, Buzz Products. Great plans in the works for next year.
Mentor Program
NHLA is launching a new mentor program in 2026. With the success of our two previous mentor programs – WIL and Emerging Leaders – we are now opening up our mentor program to all NHLA hotel members. Take a look. The program will run 10 weeks, beginning in February, and will have some great new features. The mentor program co-chairs for 2026 will be Lynn Gray, Strategic Accounts Director, Boca Terry and Bita Soleimani, Assistant Hotel Manager, Palms Casino Resort. Both Lynn and Bita have significant experience in our mentor programs and will ensure our new format is a huge success for all.
Safety and Security
Our new safety and security committee will be led by co-chairs Rachel Rojas, VP Enterprise Security, Boyd Gaming and Lisel Westlake, Security Academy Sr Manager, MGMRI. Our co-chairs have extensive experience and knowledge in the safety and security realm and along with the committee being formed will bring a wealth of information and resources to our members.
Behind the Scenes
Our Behind the Scenes tour activities are popular, fun, and enlightening. We typically offer 1 – 2 tours per month where our members have the opportunity to visit venues, hotels and attractions within the city. We are then able to learn about these sites and help promote them with guests, colleagues and contacts. They are fun, usually have an extra component of hospitality provided by the venue and fill quickly. This committee will be led by Andy Ginsburg, Director Environmental Services, Resorts World and Owen Calvin, Restoration Management Company.
AI Exploration
Our newly forming AI exploration committee will provide education and resources on the fast-growing and vast area of AI in the hospitality industry. This committee will be led by Dr. Sherrie Tennessee, UNLV, and the AI committee team. The purpose is to help our members learn about AI in depth (from a knowledge standpoint not from a sales platform) as it pertains to the industry, create related sessions and events and provide useful resources.
Technology
The NHLA Technology Committee, led by Shannon McCallum, VP Hotel Operations, Resorts World and Susan Ryan, Lead Production Manager IT, Technology, Digital and Data, MGMRI, serves our members by ensuring new industry trends, technologies, current issues, and resources are made available to all of our members. The committee creates, manages and executes the NHLA Annual Tech Conference in Q4 each year. The conference has robust sessions, speakers, Shark Pool, and many other engaging and informative activities. Our 2025 Tech Conference will be held Dec 3; register to attend.
Sign up for one of the NHLA committees now
Each one of these committees will have members who can contribute expertise, creativity, knowledge and assistance in creating events and providing information and resources. We welcome NHLA members interested in participating on a committee next year to contact us.