Presenting the 2026 Smart Women in Meetings Award Winners

Meet the leaders building a legendary hospitality community

The meetings and events community pulses with remarkable leaders—women whose impact reaches far beyond ballrooms and boardrooms. This year’s Smart Women in Meetings Award nominations were nothing short of inspiring: stories of resilience, creativity, mentorship and vision that reminded us just how much brilliance fuels the production of live events.

Our founder, Marin Bright, believed in the transformative power of recognition—that when we celebrate excellence, we spark more of it. Eleven years ago, she noticed something missing: no one was truly shining a spotlight on the women shaping hospitality with heart, purpose and courage. So she launched the Smart Women in Meetings Awards to honor those extraordinary stories and the leaders behind them.

What began as a simple act of respect has grown into a movement more than 1,000 women strong. During Women’s History Month and all year long, we are grateful for the leaders who grace the following pages.

Rising Stars stepping into their power

Stellar Performers working behind the scenes to nurture meeting magic

Industry Leaders creating space for the transformative power of gathering

Entrepreneurs flexing their Event Boss muscles

Innovators inventing solutions that weren’t in the world before

Visionaries bringing us all into a better future

Hall of Fame honorees represent the role models we need right now

This year, we received a record number of nominations, each one a testament to how deeply these awards resonate. Narrowing the field was no easy task. The leaders featured here shared the three words that describe their hospitality career momentum, along with their powerful lessons they’ve learned along the way. You can read their entire story, including their biggest wins and how they are lifting up everyone around them at the link below.

We hope their stories inspire you as much as they inspired us—and serve as both a celebration and a roadmap for what’s possible.

We can’t wait to applaud the 2026 winners in person along with the rest of the leadership community at Smart Woman Summit and Smart Women in Meetings Awards Gala Aug. 19–20 at JW Marriott Las Vegas, where we will come together to toast their achievements and the incredible legacy they are leaving.

Congratulations to all of our honorees and thank you for all you do to create a welcoming future.

— The Smart Meetings Team

2026 Inductees to Smart Women in Meetings
Hall of Fame

Marsha Flanagan, IAEE

Kelly Gleeson Smith, Caesars

Nicola Kastner, ELX

Sasha Lee, Circa

Courtney Mesmer, U.S. Travel Association

Robin Preston, American Institute of Architects

Stephanie Turner, New Orleans & Company

Angie Smith, Invision

Chantal Sturk-Nadeau, PCMA Insights

Lynn Whitehead, Meet Hawai’i

All-Time Hall of Fame

Jorah Anderson, Miraval; Jenn Artura, Jenn Artura Consulting LLC; Danielle Babilino, Hard Rock International; Austin Bagwell, Fontainebleau Development; Cara Banasch, Audubon Nature Institute; Carina Bauer, IMEX Group; Jaclyn Bernstein, Empire Force Events; Valerie Bihet, VIBE Agency; Cathy Breden, IAEE; Cindy Brewer; LEO Events; Yvette Campbell, Meetings Made Easy; Tammy Canavan, Visit Seattle; Janice Cardinale, Event Minds Matter;  Jennifer Carlisle, Hosts Global; Alexandra Carvalho-Lukachova, Kaiser Permanente; Kelly Cavers, The Palm Beaches; Catherine Chaulet, Global DMC Partners; Janine Chicourrat, Portola Hotel & Spa; Julie Coker; New York City Tourism + Conventions; Jil Dasher, Corsica Partners; Carrie Davenport, Altria; Aoife Delaney, DMC Network; Jennifer Dela-Cruz, RBC; Rebecca DeLuca, LVCVA; Pepper Dombroski, Rancho Bernardo Inn; Sepideh “Sepi” Eivazi, Elevated Meeting Solutions/ Global Wellness Institute; Dahlia El Gazzar, Dahlia+Agency; DeLauren Everett, MKTG; Zoe Fernandez, Merkle; Megan Finnell, MGMA; Amanda Fox, Visit Rochester; Carrie Freeman Parsons, Freeman Company (2024 Marin Bright Legacy Award); Nikole Fridenmaker, Fridenmaker Consulting; Debbie Garcia, VirsiTour; Michelle Gilman Jasen, Accor; Jenn Glynn, Meeting Encore;Tiffany Goodyear, Scentex; Polly Grieger-Rossi, Meeting Achievements; Wendy Haase-Roberts, Travel Santa Ana; Karen Hartline, VentureBeat; Reina Herschdorfer, Caesars Entertainment; Sarah James, Live Nation; Mahoganey Jones,Event Specialists; Tracy Judge, Soundings; Andrea Kasnic, Hyatt Regency Chicago; Rachel Klar, Intuit Canada; Desiree Knight, Altria; Mariles Krok, Visit Sacramento; Christy Lamagna, Strategic Meetings & Events; Devin Lewis, AJC Meetings & Events; Stefanie Maragna, RingCentral; Heather Mason, Caspian Agency; Michelle Mason, ASAE (2025 Marin Bright Legacy Award); Anna MacDiarmid, W Fort Lauderdale; Casandra Matej, Visit Orlando; Lisa Messina, Visit Orlando; Faith Morris, National Civil Rights Museum; Sonali Nair, Segment Agency; Kim Napolitano, Hilton; Rhanee Palma, Rhanee Palma & Co.; Lauren Parr, American Geophysical Union; Kate Patay, Terramar US; Dee Patel, The Hermitage Hotel; Jennifer Patino, Hosts Global; Cheryl Payne, INNOV8 Meetings + Events; Jacquelyn Powell, Dayton Convention & Visitors Bureau; Anna Marie Presutti, San Francisco Travel; Renee Radabaugh, Paragon Events; Rachael Riggs, Maritz Global Events; Sonia Robinson, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; Cheryl Rogers, All About The Experiences; Martha Sheridan, Meet Boston; Claire Smith, Vancouver Convention Centre; Jennifer Squeglia, RLC Events; Gabrielle Spanton, GAB & Co.; Julie Stovroff, Teneo Hospitality Group; Julie Stow, Cedar Rapids Tourism Office; Karen Strgacich, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board; Tracy Stuckrath, Thrive! Meetings & Events; Valerie Sumner, VRS Meetings & Events; Stephanie Tanpure, Sands Resorts Macao; Christina Taylor, TaylorMade Experience; Susie Townsend, Visit Indy; Stephanie Turner, New Orleans & Company; Melissa Vilders, SAP; Valerie Ulrich, First Republic; Shelli Vasser Gilliam, Vasser Gilliam LLC; Amanda Voss, Bellagio; Joanna Walling, JMW Events; Desi Whitney, HPN Global; Amanda Young, Media.Monks; Toni Zoblotsky, Hilton Hotels, Janet Zaldua, Marina del Rey Tourism

This article appears in the March 2026 issue.