efti is growing its industry partnerships! Five new board members joined us in August

As always, we are grateful for the volunteer participation of industry leaders on our Industry Advisory Board, sharing experiences, providing real research needs, and bringing valuable input and contributions to the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute.  

During July we announced three new board members, and during this month of August we are proud and thankful to announce another five individuals who have accepted our invitation to serve on our Industry Advisory Board.  

Get to know a little more about them:  

Kristy Chase Tozer - She recently took on the role of Chief Marketing Officer for the Department of Defense Warrior Games (December 2018-present), an adaptive sports competition for wounded, ill and injured veterans. The UF Tourism alumna has previously worked in Marketing, Sales and Promotions roles at recognized companies in the industry including ZooTampa at Lowry Park, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Busch Gardens and SeaWorld Orlando.

Richard Goldman - He is the president and CEO of St Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches CVB. As a UF Advertising alumnus, he previously worked as the VP of Marketing at Ryder & Schild Advertising, and later was the Chief Marketing Officer of Amelia Island Plantation. He has been with St. Augustine CVB for almost 10 years. Richard served as the chairman for Visit Florida Board of Directors, and currently is part of the Visit Florida’s Marketing Committee and Florida Tourism Council of Leaders.  

Joni Newkirk – She has been the CEO at Integrated Insights for the past 10 years, an analytics firm that focuses on providing data-driven insights and decision analytics to help organizations overpower the competition, with significant expertise in the travel, entertainment and leisure industry. The UF Statistics graduate has previously worked as the SVP of Business Insights and Improvements at Disney, and assumed strategic planning roles at Lockheed Martin and Orlando Health.  

Tracy Vaughan- She has recently become the Senior VP of Tourism and Travel Industry Sales for the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB. Tracy has over 27 years of management and leadership experience in DMOs and private sector tourism businesses, including Explore Georgia, Georgia Department of Economic Development, Visit Florida, and The Mark Travel Corporation. She has expertise in developing and implementing tourism marketing and sales efforts globally, with strong relationship building skills.  

Jay Wolszczak – He is the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for First Watch Restaurants. As a double gator, Jay graduated with a BS in Finance and a JD from the Fredric G. Levin College of Law. Jay was the Senior Vice President of Business Affairs & General Counsel for Hard Rock International for more than 20 years. He has extensive expertise in advising hospitality companies with US and international operations, with in depth knowledge of diverse areas of corporate law, intellectual property, employment law, real state, etc. 

We are looking forward to the great contributions they will make as members of our Industry Advisory Board!