The Event Service Professionals Association (ESPA) welcomes Paola Bowman, CMP, CMM, as its new president at its 2022 annual conference in Kansas City.
Bowman is destination services manager at the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau in Arlington, Texas.
“This is an important time for our industry and our organization,” Bowman said, “to continue to elevate our profession and role, while helping the industry rebound to better days. ESPA has a unique opportunity to shape the future of our industry—first with a new training program, later followed by a certification program—for event service professionals.”
In 2021, ESPA invested in the creation of foundational training for individuals new to event/convention services—and experienced professionals at convention centers, hotels and CVBs looking to broaden their understanding of event service across segments. The association plans to launch the new program after the conference.
ESPA’s mission is to prepare event and convention services professionals for pivotal roles in innovative and successful event execution. As a forum for CSMs and an educational and networking resource, ESPA advocates for the role and impact that event service professionals have on the success of events and destinations, hotels, and convention centers.
During her tenure, Bowman plans to focus her energy on growing membership with outreach targeting properties and destinations. She also wants to make the organization’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts more about practice than theory, while supporting the industry’s next generation of event services leaders.
“My vision is for our members to come together and build upon the foundation we had pre-pandemic to regain momentum and reconnect with our audience,” Bowman said.
ESPA will thank outgoing president Julie Brakenbury, former director of destination services for the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (GRCVB) in Raleigh, N.C, for her unparalleled leadership, as well as outgoing director Casey Gwin, CMP, a former senior convention services and housing manager at Destination Cleveland, for her devoted service.
Also, ESPA will welcome the following new board members and a new officer:
- Eric Logan, CMP, Convention Services & Housing Manager, Virginia Beach CVB, ascends to the office of Treasurer
- DeShawn Fitzpatrick, CMP, Senior Client Services Manager, Visit Houston
- Lindsay Clapp, Event Manager, Tech Factory
- Taia Lionetti, Convention Sales & Services, Connecticut Convention and Sports Bureau
