Speakers

Kay Ivey, 54th Governor of the State of Alabama

Governor Kay Ivey, who became the 54th Governor of Alabama in 2017, is committed to raising the quality of life for all Alabamians. A native of Camden in Wilcox County, she embarked on a career of public service to benefit her fellow Alabamians. During her time as governor, Alabama has seen record high employment and its lowest jobless rate. Her focus on economic development has attracted over $32 billion in capital investment and 65,000 new jobs. She is committed to offering economic development opportunities to rural Alabama and the metro regions alike. With the same level of passion, she is leading Alabama toward a more prosperous future through infrastructure investments and an improved education system.

Lee Sentell, Director, Alabama Tourism Department

Lee has overseen tourism revenue growth in the state from $6 billion in 2003 to almost $ 23.5 billion in 2023. This is his fifth term in the Alabama Governor’s Cabinet.

Under his leadership, the department has pioneered yearly campaigns spotlighting such diverse themes as small towns, the arts, barbecue, natural wonders and the Alabama Bicentennial celebration, winning the national industry’s coveted Mercury award six times in 12 years. Most recently, their U.S. Civil Rights Trail campaign received the International Travel and Tourism Award for best regional promotion at the World Travel Market in London, becoming the first U.S. state tourism agency to be honored.

Previously, he was the first director of marketing at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville and recruited the first 100,000 students to Space Camp. The journalism graduate from Auburn University was city editor at The Decatur Daily before becoming founding director of the Decatur Tourism Bureau.

In related projects, Sentell assisted Monroeville novelist Harper Lee in the launch of her second novel, reopened the closed Alabama Music Hall of Fame, and sponsored the London premiere of the motion picture “Selma.” The Alabama tourism office is working with the National Park Service to nominate a number of civil rights landmarks as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Sentell has served as a board member at the Alabama Historical Commission, Alabama Humanities Foundation, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Rosa Parks Museum and the space museum in Huntsville.

A native of Ashland, he launched his book The Official U.S. Civil Rights Trail: What Happened Here Changed the World on June 23, 2021 at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta.

Abbie Stockard, Miss America 2025

Abbie Stockard, Miss America 2025, is a 22-year-old dancer, choreographer, and proud Alabama native. A senior at Auburn University, she is a member of the Tiger Paws Dance Team and a dedicated student in Auburn’s College of Nursing. With plans to pursue a career as a pediatric nurse, Abbie will fully fund her education using the $89,000 in scholarships she earned through the Miss America Opportunity.

Abbie’s commitment to service extends beyond health advocacy. She has worked with state and national leaders to advance impactful legislation and plans to continue using her platform to amplify awareness for CF while demonstrating the powerful influence of women in leadership. A dedicated Mission Partner and Best Buddies Champion, Abbie has also raised funds for the American Heart Association (AHA) and was recognized with the prestigious AHA Go Red for Women Leadership Award during the Miss America Competition.

As a member of Auburn University’s Tiger Paws Dance Team, Abbie has experienced the transformative power of an active and balanced lifestyle. This passion inspired her personal initiative, High Five for Kids, which promotes the importance of establishing healthy habits early in life. Guided by five key pillars of health, the program teaches children that wellness is not a set of rules but an exciting and attainable way of life. Through High Five for Kids, Abbie encourages children, including those with chronic illnesses like CF, to embrace their potential and make positive choices that will serve them for a lifetime.

Inspired by her best friend, Maddie, Abbie is a passionate advocate for Cystic Fibrosis (CF). She was honored as the “2024 Hero of Hope” by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and named an Official National Ambassador for the organization. Her advocacy efforts have raised over $200,000 for CF research, including leading Alabama’s largest CF fundraiser and collaborating with researchers nationwide to accelerate progress toward a cure.

Abbie exemplifies the organization’s mission of service, scholarship, and leadership. She strives to empower ambitious young women, leaving a legacy of advocacy and purpose while continuing her relentless fight for a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

Beth Ziesenis, Author. Speaker. Nerd

Since her first Motorola RAZR flip phone, Beth has made a verb out of the word “nerd.” She’s here to help you filter through thousands of apps, gadgets, widgets and doodads to find the perfect free and bargain technology tools for work and home. Although the only real trophy she ever won was for making perfect French fries at McDonald’s in high school, Beth Z has been featured on Best Speaker lists by several organizations who write best speaker lists. She has written a whole shelf of books on apps and has spoken to more than 100 thousand audience members just like you. And if you’re puzzling over why she goes by “Beth Z”… it’s because she only finds about three people a year who can pronounce her last name.

Col. Alan Miller, CEO American Village

Alan Miller of Chelsea, Alabama previously served as Chief Assistant District Attorney for the Eighteenth Circuit District Attorney’s Office in Columbiana. His prior work included establishing and serving as Executive Director of Shelby County COMPACT 2020. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law.

Mr. Miller is a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, with experience in the Marine Forces Europe (Republic of Georgia), 4th Marine Logistics Group (New Orleans, LA), Force Headquarters Group (New Orleans, LA), and 3rd Battalion 14th Marines (Chattanooga, TN).

Alan and his family reside in Chelsea, Alabama, where they have lived since 2003.

Grey Brennan, Deputy Director, Alabama Tourism Department

Grey Brennan joined the Alabama Tourism Department in 2001. He serves as the department’s Deputy Director and head of the marketing department. Under Brennan’s leadership, Alabama’s international marketing program has grown from just one country to multiple international markets. In addition, Alabama had the #1 growth rate in the nation for international visitors between 2008 and 2018. Brennan established a program to showcase the state’s step-on guides at select tourism trade shows to continuously grow the domestic group tour market. Brennon holds both Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Alabama in marketing and communications. Prior to joining the Alabama Tourism Department, Brennan worked in the broadcasting industry in the state.

Kristy Durso, Owner of Incredible Memories Travel

Featured public speaker, accessibilities advocate, entrepreneur, Army veteran, and military wife Kristy Durso owns and operates Incredible Memories Travel, a full-service travel agency that assists everyone, including those with accessibility needs. She has three children, one who has autoimmune issues and food allergies, another on the spectrum, and another with cognitive and intellectual disabilities. She knows first hand about many of the issues that can come up concerning disabilities and travel.

Founded in 2018, Incredible Memories reflects Kristy’s years of experience in the travel industry, as well as her passion for customer care and providing customized, premier travel experiences.

Kristy and her agents have sent clients on customized trips all over the world, including North America, Caribbean, Europe, South America, Africa, and more!

Kristy is a featured speaker at the 23rd Annual Family Café conference in Orlando, FL in June of 2021, and at the Abilities Expos in Houston and the New York Metro area.

Lee Lawson, President and CEO of Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance

Lee Lawson has served as the President and CEO of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance since
2012. The Alliance leads all economic development efforts for one of the fastest-growing Counties in the U.S.,
Baldwin County, AL. Those efforts include marketing the county to corporate decision-makers, aligning its workforce
development efforts, and working with existing businesses and industries to help catalyze their growth.

Before accepting the position at the Alliance, Lee worked as an economic development representative for
PowerSouth Energy Cooperative from 2008-2012. During his time at PowerSouth, Lawson managed
PowerSouth’s domestic and foreign economic development efforts for its 39 County Alabama service territory.
Lawson has also held positions with the Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority in Birmingham
and the Madison Chamber of Commerce in Madison, Alabama.

Lawson is a native of Montgomery, Alabama, and a 2003 graduate of Troy University, where he lettered in Men’s Basketball and received a bachelor’s
degree in broadcast journalism and public relations. Lawson resides in Montrose with his wife, Regan Ware Lawson of Mobile, and is the father of son Knox and daughters Greer, Libby, and Ann Garrett.

Michelle Russ, Vice President of Sales, Sports and Events, Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism

Born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, Michelle Russ, STS, TMP, has more than 25 years of hotel and destination sales experience. Russ served as a meetings sales manager for Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism from 2000-2005 during which she helped create the Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Sports Commission (now Alabama’s Beaches Sports & Events). She returned to the tourism office in 2007 serving in various sports sales roles and has served as the Vice President of Sales, Sports and Events since 2021, where she oversees the meetings, sports/events and international markets and a team of eight. This lifelong Gulf Coast resident has saltwater in her veins and enjoys spending time with her husband and adult children and being actively involved in the community.

Beth Gendler, President/CEO, Gulf Shores Tourism

Beth Gendler, CMP, CDME, serves as president and CEO of Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism. She joined the organization in 2002 and held roles as Director of Sales and Vice President of Sales and Sports before becoming the organization’s second CEO in 2021.

Throughout her tenure, Gendler played a key role in expanding the meetings and group travel markets along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. She was instrumental in the development of the Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Sports Commission (now Alabama’s Beaches Sports & Events), which officially launched in 2007. This team oversees a dynamic sponsorship program that supports and enhances events in the region. As CEO, Gendler continues to drive innovation and strategic growth for the organization, which has served the destination for over 30 years.

Before joining the tourism industry, Gendler worked in advertising sales in South Bend, Indiana. She also held roles in convention sales with Marriott and worked in the mental health field.

Tiffany Gallagher, VP of Operations, Civitas

Tiffany Gallagher serves as the Vice President of Operations for Civitas, a consulting firm specializing in funding mechanisms for the tourism industry, which offers expertise and services from the perspectives of both the DMO and the lodging industry, as well as lawmakers and local governments.

With over twenty five years of experience in the tourism industry, Ms. Gallagher provides unparalleled expertise in community consensus building, tourism industry funding analysis and strategy, capital improvement funding mechanisms, special assessment district establishment, legal document drafting, legislative drafting and political strategy/support. Ms. Gallagher has shown a strong commitment to the tourism and business community, working out of Upstate New York, where she leads, initiates, and manages projects nationwide.

Steve Jones, Gulf Shores City Council Member

Steve Jones moved to Gulf Shores from Guntersville, Alabama in 1991 and worked in the hospitality industry, real estate operations management, and real estate sales before joining the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber as Vice President of Special Events and Community Relations in 2019.  Prior to that he lived and worked in hotel management in communities such as Fort Lauderdale, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Birmingham, Montgomery, Ozark, Jekyll Island, and Dallas. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Jones moved to Montgomery, Alabama in 1962 where he was raised and educated. After graduating from Auburn University in 1978 with a degree in Business Administration, Steve worked in restaurant management in Auburn before transitioning into the hotel business in 1982.

From day one he has involved himself in our island community starting with membership in the Kiwanis Club, and has since served as Chairman of the Board for the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber, the Coastal Baldwin Educational Enrichment Foundation, and the Zoo Foundation which recently opened their new facility Oak Road East. Jones has received numerous community service awards for his involvement in many service organizations outside his service as a City Council Member.

He served as a volunteer Chairman for the Annual National Shrimp Festival for many years until being hired to produce it, and has become a champion of the environment by working to produce the Regional Annual Electronic Recycling event for many years, and worked behind the scenes to help effect the “Leave Only Footprints” initiative and our curbside recycling routes.

Steve believes that service is “the rent we pay for the space we take up.”

Phillip West, AICP, is the Director of the City of Orange Beach’s Coastal Resources Department

Phillip West, AICP, is the Director of the City of Orange Beach’s Coastal Resources Department, and manages responsibilities for interagency coordination, special projects, the Wildlife Recovery Center, natural resources and beach management.  Phillip is past vice-chair of the Alabama Trails Commission and currently sits on the Outdoor Recreation Council for Innovate Alabama, is Vice-President of the Backcountry Trail Foundation, serves on the Editorial Board for Alabama Wildlife magazine, and is a board member of the Central Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association and the Gulf Coast Center for Ecotourism and Sustainability.  He previously worked as Planning Manager for the City of Albany and Dougherty County, Georgia, after having worked as a refuge planning consultant for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and field biologist for HawkWatch International in the Rocky Mountain West.  Today, Phillip resides in Orange Beach with his wife, Beth and their three children, Larkin, Anne Russell and Lucy Elizabeth.