Speakers

Governor Sandoval comes to his office after a long career in public service. He was appointed United States District Judge for the District of Nevada by President George W. Bush in October 2005, becoming the state’s first Hispanic federal judge. He was elected Attorney General of Nevada in 2002.

Prior to his election as Attorney General, Sandoval served as a member and chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, which oversees Nevada’s gaming industry. At age 35, Sandoval was the youngest person ever to serve as the state’s chief gaming regulator. He also served for three years as Nevada’s at-large member of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (“TRPA”) Governing Board. The TRPA is a bi-state agency that governs land use policies at Lake Tahoe.

Before his Gaming Commission and TRPA appointments, Sandoval served two terms in the Nevada Legislature where he served on the Judiciary, Taxation and Natural Resources Committees and sponsored 14 bills that became law. As a legislator, he also served on the Nevada Legislative Commission, the Advisory Commission on Sentencing, the Juvenile Justice Commission, the Advisory Council on Community Notification of Sex Offenders and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Oversight Committee.

As a private practitioner, Sandoval had a varied law practice, where he engaged in litigation, administrative and adoption matters. Throughout his career, Sandoval has received several awards and certificates, including the Hispanics in Politics’ 1996 “Broche de Oro Award,” the Anti-Defamation League’s 2003 “Torch of Liberty Award,” the Nevada State Bar’s 2004 “Access to Justice Public Lawyer Award,” the Latino Coalition’s 2004 “Most Influential Hispanic in the U.S. Award,” the 2004 University of Nevada “Alumnus of the Year Award,” and the “Excellence in Leadership Award” from the Latino Coalition in 2010.

Governor Sandoval received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nevada in 1986 and his law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 1989.

Governor Sandoval and his wife, Kathleen, have three children. Governor Sandoval enjoys running, traveling and spending time with his family.

As Chairman of the Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT), Krolicki has the oversight responsibility for a variety of important projects and programs designed to enable the tourism and hospitality industries to remain the financial foundation for our state. NCOT’s strategic plans has been substantially overhauled to reflect the challenging realities facing our state, nation and world, and are focused on the critical missions of attracting visitors to the state of Nevada – generating both revenue and jobs.

Brian Krolicki’s call to public service is deeply personal and was born from tragedy. On Labor Day Monday, September 3, 1990, Krolicki was traveling in a twin engine airplane with four others. The plane was loaded with the enthusiasm and hopes of two winning political campaigns when the flight crashed in the Nevada desert on the outskirts of Fallon. The accident tragically took the life of Judy Seale, and severely injured former State Treasurer Bob Seale and Lieutenant Governor Sue Wagner. Krolicki, who was volunteering on the Seale campaign, was ejected from the aircraft upon impact, and, despite his injuries, managed to reach help at a farm house several miles away. In the months that followed the accident, several of the survivors endured numerous surgeries and emotional heartaches, and Seale’s ability to physically assume office was questioned. It was decided shortly prior to inauguration day that Krolicki, with his private sector banking and investment experience, would join Seale in the State Treasurer’s Office as the Chief Deputy State Treasurer to assist during the transition period. Although this was only expected to last about ninety days, Krolicki is now in his 19th year of public service.

Krolicki went on to serve eight years as Nevada’s Chief Deputy State Treasurer and as the Secretary to the State Board of Finance. When Treasurer Seale decided to step away from his public service, Krolicki found himself in a position to himself seek elected office – and did so successfully. Krolicki served two terms as State Treasurer. Among his many accomplishments, Krolicki considers his efforts to make a college education more affordable for Nevada families a cornerstone of his administration. He created the Nevada College Savings Plan and the Nevada Prepaid Tuition Program. Krolicki was also responsible for the “roll-out” and administration of the Governor Guinn Millennium Scholarship, a program that has helped enable tens of thousands of our state’s best and brightest students achieve their dream of attending college.

During Krolicki’s tenure as State Treasurer some of the largest corporate failures occurred – such as Enron and Worldcom – which threatened many public funds which had invested heavily in these and many other troubled assets. Under Krolicki’s supervision, Nevada taxpayers never lost a dime of their money in these or other investments because the state treasury had eliminated its exposure to these companies before they collapsed. Krolicki also pro-actively divested the state’s investment portfolios of approximately $500 million in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac holdings prior to these entities being shown to be largely a “house of cards,” which soured due to poor accounting practices and excessive sub-prime mortgage holdings. He provided special testimony to the Governing Board of the New York Stock Exchange urging that the iconic Wall Street marketplace enact improved governance, trading and transparency practices. Krolicki was instrumental in requiring the now bankrupt Las Vegas Monorail to secure insurance from AMBAC Financial Group guaranteeing the repayment of $649 million in Monorail debt, safely shielding Nevada’s taxpayers from this liability. Krolicki also advocated unsuccessfully to sell Nevada’s then projected $1.2 billion share of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement in 2001. These annual payments have subsequently been reduced by 20% over the past decade, costing the state many millions of dollars in revenues – a reduction which now threatens the primary funding source of the Millennium Scholarship and multiple healthcare related programs.

Krolicki secured upgrades to the state’s credit ratings for the first time in almost 30 years, saving Nevada’s taxpayers millions of dollars in interest expenses. During his tenure, Nevada earned a credit rating just one level below the highest possible mark held by just a handful of states. During his service, Nevada became the first state treasury in the country to receive the Certificate of Excellence in Investment Policy awarded by the Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada. It was also awarded the Nevada Taxpayers Association’s prestigious Cashman Good Government Award – the only public entity directly led by an elected official to win this prize.

Throughout his career in public service, Krolicki has been widely recognized for his leadership and ideas through national awards, advisory positions and leadership posts. His lieutenant governor colleagues from across the nation have selected Krolicki to serve on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Lieutenant Governors Association and he is currently Chairman of the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association. In 2006, Krolicki was honored to join two dozen other elected officials from around the country as a member of the prestigious Rodel Fellowship Program in Public Leadership at the Aspen Institute. This fellowship program convenes regularly to provide a bi-partisan forum for those individuals the Aspen Institute has identified as being the “true rising stars” in American politics – bringing together “this nation’s most promising young political leaders to achieve their fullest potential in public service.”

While State Treasurer, Krolicki was unanimously elected by his peers in 2002 to serve as president of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST). During his term as president, Krolicki founded the NAST Committee on Corporate Governance and established the NAST Foundation, which promotes financial literacy and education throughout the nation. In 2003, Krolicki was appointed by President George W. Bush’s Administration to serve as a member of the United States Intergovernmental Advisory Committee on Trade (IGPAC), a position he was reappointed to in 2009. In 2004, Krolicki was selected by his state treasurer colleagues to receive the nation’s “Most Outstanding State Treasurer Award.” In 2004 his peers in the State Debt Management Network honored Krolicki by awarding him the distinguished “Award for Excellence in Public Finance,” given to a public or private sector individual for their demonstrated excellence in the municipal finance industry. Krolicki’s expertise in public finance even led to him providing expert testimony to Members of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill.

As Lieutenant Governor, Krolicki has also taken on the important cause of highlighting the service of our state’s military men and women and addressing the unique needs of these individuals and their families. Recognizing that every Nevadan should do all they can to embrace our returning service members who have been directly or indirectly deployed in support of combat operations since the attacks of September 11th, Krolicki has pursued a broad range of veterans’ initiatives within his office. These include co-hosting annual Global War on Terrorism Veterans Conferences since 2008 with the Nevada Office of Veterans Services; joining the Governor and the Nevada Adjutant General in participating in a Community Covenant signing ceremony; and compiling oral histories from those who have served or lost loved ones in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The oral histories will soon be published in a book entitled Battle Born: Nevada War Stories.

Other activities and community service for Krolicki include: Planning Commissioner for Douglas County, Nevada from 1990-1998; Member of the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Task Force in 2009; Member of the National Association of State Treasurers Foundation from 2002 to present; and as a Board Member of the Davidson Academy in Reno, Nevada – a school dedicated to educating the most profoundly gifted young students in this country.

Prior to Krolicki’s entry into public service, his private sector experience included working at Banker’s Trust Company in New York City, NY and Smith Barney in both San Francisco, CA and Manama, Bahrain – the Persian Gulf. He is a graduate of Stanford University. Brian Krolicki and his wife, Kelly, have three daughters.

Prior to joining U.S. Travel, Dow advanced through the ranks at Marriott International in a career that spanned 34 years. His many accomplishments for the company included development of Marriott Rewards, the world’s leading frequent traveler program. Dow was recognized as the Association Executive of the Year, an honor presented by Association Trends magazine. He has been named to the Convention Industry Council’s prestigious Hall of Leaders, was recognized by Meeting Professionals International (MPI) as one of the industry’s top leaders, was honored by the Destination and Travel Foundation with its Spirit of Hospitality Award, was selected by MeetingNews as one of the 25 most influential people in the meetings industry and has been honored by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) with its Academy of Leaders Award. In 2009, Dow was presented an honorary degree from Johnson & Wales University (Doctor of Business Administration in Hospitality Management).

Dow frequently speaks on leadership, sales, marketing and management at conventions and corporate meetings. He has co-authored two books: Turned On - Eight Vital Insights to Energize Your People, Customers and Profits and The Trust Imperative – The Competitive Advantage of Trust-Based Business Relationships.

He serves, or has served, on the Board of Directors of ASAE, PCMA, ASAE Foundation, MPI Foundation (Chairman), GWSAE, the Travel Institute and RE/MAX International as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Committee of 100 and on the Advisory Boards of Arizona State University’s Center for Services Leadership and University of Richmond Robins School of Business.

Dow and his wife, Linda, reside in Potomac, Maryland.

In this key leadership position, Amir works in collaboration with all members of the Brand USA team, as well as representatives in Brand USA’s international markets, to promote and develop programs that maximize partner efforts to market their destinations and attractions to travelers worldwide.

An integral part of Amir’s responsibilities is building alliances with destination marketing organizations, convention and visitor bureaus, and travel brands across all travel segments to leverage the combined resources and expertise as industry marketing programs are developed and implemented.

Amir brings a wealth of experience in the travel and tourism industry to Brand USA. Under his leadership as State Director of the Ohio Office of Tourism, the state's marketing programs realized a tremendous return on investment and contributed to the growth of Ohio’s $40 billion tourism economy. During his tenure at the Ohio Office of Tourism, the marketing programs he developed leveraged industry and nontraditional partnerships that generated $14 in new taxes for every $1 invested and included active participation by thousands of Ohio’s tourism-related businesses.

A graduate of the University of Dayton with a B.A. in Political Science, Amir and his wife, Karen, have two children—Emily (13) and Ben (10).

A graduate of Denison University in Granville, Ohio, Jones entered the travel industry in 1971 as a travel agent with Vega Travel in Chicago. He later served five years as a vice president of Travel Advisors, a company specializing in business travel to Eastern Europe and the USSR, with offices in Chicago and Moscow.

Jones is managing principal of Essential Ideas, a consultancy he co-founded to help companies in their transition to the digital economy. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Kayak.com, and is on the boards of LuxuryLink, Smart Destinations. and Rearden Commerce. He is a venture capitalist with General Catalyst Partners and the Sierra Angels. Jones is also Chairman of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival and serves on the National Information Technology committee of the Boy Scouts of America.

TAMS Inc. was formed in June of 2005 in response to the growing demand for new market approaches and cost-effective distribution solutions. We provide outsourced aviation, hotels, destination and travel representation in the areas of sales and marketing specifically for the travel Industry. Our focus is on international market expansion and revenue development for all of our clients.

As one of the leading tourism representation companies in Korea, TAMS Inc. has various experience, massive database and knowhow accumulated for 30 years in Meebang Air Agencies, Ltd. who is the mother company of TAMS Inc. TAMS Inc. is an outsourced solution for airlines, hotels companies, tourism destinations and PR representation etc. Our capabilities are diverse and specifically geared to our clients’ needs.

Gate 7 is a multi-award-winning marketing agency solely focused on destination marketing. Based in Sydney, with a territory spanning Australia and New Zealand, Gate 7 is the leading, full service destination marketing agency Down Under. With a desire to market the world’s most attractive and exciting travel destinations while working with smart, driven people, in March 1998 Gate 7 was born.

Launched as a tourism representation specialist in the fields of sales, marketing and public relations, today Gate 7’s core competencies also include MICE, consumer marketing, events and social media.