howard tietjen assumes as chair of EFTI Industry advisory board

The Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute has gone through some exciting changes this summer, including on our Industry Advisory Board. Howard Tietjen, professional with around 20 years of experience in the Travel and Tourism industry and a passion for new challenges, has started his term as IAB Chair this July. Howard is currently the Director of Tourism Sales at Epsilon-Conversant, a global leader in interaction management, and was previously the Senior Vice President and Partner with Madden Media, helping to build a company that is recognized as one of the premier digital marketing companies in the industry.  

Mr. Tietjen transitions from Vice-Chair succeeding Alice Norsworthy, who chaired the EFTI IAB for the past three years. With strong focus on progress and increasing the participation of the EFTI advisory board on the department’s curriculum and education, Howard affirms “Our goal for the EFTI IAB is to continue to position the University of Florida’s Department of Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management (THEM) and the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute (EFTI) as the most prominent educational institute in travel and tourism. Florida is one of the premier vacation destinations in the world so the University of Florida should be a leader in tourism education in the U.S. and abroad.”  

Howard has been involved with the institute since 2017, and is exited to work with colleagues who have been in the board for years as well as incoming members, “I aspire to work with our current board members to continue to grow our institute, bringing more board members and partners. My goal is to continue to increase what we have accomplished in the past years and make UF the number one university in the travel and tourism education.”  

Join us welcoming Howard in his role as Chairman of the EFTI Industry Advisory Board!

We have recently announced that Dr. Rachel J.C. Fu is joining us as the Director of EFTI and Chair of the Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management (THEM) at the University of Florida. You can read her Welcome Letter here. Furthermore, we are extremely excited that our team is growing, and we will be introducing new Industry Advisory Members to you soon.