Jennifer Attersall, Director of Incentive Travel, Destination Canada

FICP Chat LIVE! Tapping Into Your Destination's Cultural Richness to Elevate Event Experiences

Jennifer Attersall joined Destination Canada in January 2020 with two decades of experience in the business events industry. In her role as Director of Incentive Travel, she inspires a global audience to host their incentives across Canada’s diverse destinations. Among her key responsibilities, Jennifer has developed and implemented the organization’s first-ever global incentive strategy, which has increased awareness of and improved Canada’s ranking as a top incentive destination. She has also been pivotal in expanding the country’s incentive portfolio.

With a communication style that’s at once inspirational and informative, Jennifer is a sought-after speaker in the incentive travel industry. She has moderated thought-provoking panels and spoken at major global conferences on topics that span from cultural sustainability to the latest trends in incentive travel. Jennifer has also received her Certified Incentive Specialist designation.

Jason Cohen, Executive Director, Global Corporate M&E Sales, Accor

Mastering the Art of Contracting: Insights From Industry Leaders

Bio coming soon!

Chelsea Crowe, Director, SMM Procurement & Industry Relations, Ameriprise Financial 

Mastering the Art of Contracting: Insights From Industry Leaders

With a distinguished career spanning two decades in sales and hospitality, Chelsea had the privilege of spending a rewarding decade with Marriott International, where she honed her expertise in building relationships and connecting people. Most recently, Chelsea thrived in a global sales role, managing financial and insurance accounts, crafting valuable connections in the process. This rich experience naturally led her to her current role as Director, SMM Procurement & Industry Relations for Ameriprise Financial. In her current capacity, Chelsea excels at sourcing and skillfully negotiating over 100 contracts annually, ensuring successful partnerships for our organization.

Drawing from an extensive 20-year background in sales, Chelsea seamlessly transitioned into the world of event planning and procurement, bringing a unique perspective to the table. Her dedication to personal growth and collaboration is exemplified be her 12+ year membership with FICP.  As a testament to her commitment, Chelsea has served the past 2 years on the MPI SoCal Board of Directors as their Director or Special Events and currently holds the position of Vice President of Marketing on the SITE SoCal chapter. 

Krystina Enquist, CMP, Assistant Vice President and Head of Global Wealth & Asset Management Events, North America, John Hancock Life Insurance Company

Economic and Travel Forecast: Adapting to Market and Talent Volatility

Bio coming soon!

Rutger Hoorn, CIS, CITP, DES, Vice President Global Sales and Strategic Partnerships, Ovation Global DMC

Economic and Travel Forecast: Adapting to Market and Talent Volatility

Rutger Hoorn is an accomplished event industry professional, content creator, relationship builder, explorer, and father of 3. Traveling throughout the year to connect and build lasting relationships, Hoorn ensures that memorable event experiences are created for his 100+ Ovation Global DMC destinations, as Vice President Global Sales & Strategic Partnerships.

Neen James, Executive Strategist and Keynote Speaker, Neen James, Inc.

Attention Pays^TM: Drive Profitability, Productivity and Accountability

Neen James is the author of Folding TimeTM and Attention PaysTM. She has been named one of the Top 30 Leadership Speakers by Global Guru several years in a row because of her work with companies like Viacom, Comcast, and Virtuoso Travel among others. Neen has boundless energy, is quick-witted and always offers powerful strategies for prioritizing focus in what matters most — all so you can pay more attention, create more significant moments and increase productivity at work and home. Whether presenting in person or virtually, Neen is the kind of speaker that engages, educates, entertains, and delivers the real-world solutions that apply in your organization, your home, and your community. She also provides one-on-one consulting in a variety of leadership topics and loves serving her audiences.

Adam Kahan, Senior Vice President, Empire Entertainment, Inc

Mastering the Art of Contracting: Insights From Industry Leaders

Adam Kahan is the Senior Vice President of Empire Entertainment, Inc, a full-service event production company and entertainment booking specialist. A graduate of NYU School of Law, Adam produces events and secures headline talent for projects worldwide.  Adam has had the pleasure of partnering on fantastic programs with FICP planners from Liberty Mutual, Cincinnati Insurance, Thrivent, Pure Insurance, Prudential, Nationwide, U.S. Bank, Cigna, and more. He has traveled to Russia to present Lionel Richie on a yacht in Moscow, contracted Duran Duran to perform a private show at Kensington Palace in London, presented both Andrea Bocelli and Pitbull at the world-renowned Sporting Club in Monaco, and has even had Michael McKean reprise his character David St. Hubbins from “This Is Spinal Tap” at a private event. Adam has been the Executive Producer of The Webby Awards every year since 2006, an event which has included onstage appearances by Prince, David Letterman, Kim Kardashian, Dave Grohl, David Bowie, Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, and others. Adam has worked with Lizzo, Robert Redford, Malala Yousafzai, John Mulaney, Kevin James, Flo Rida, Seth Meyers, Sebastian Maniscalco, Imagine Dragons, James Taylor, OneRepublic, Janet Jackson, Jim Gaffigan, Janelle Monae, and hundreds more, and has produced events for clients including Target, About.com, Thrillist, BuzzFeed, Bustle Digital Group, Architizer, and BJ's Wholesale Club.

Lindsay Maloni, Global Sales Director, DMC Network

Creative Career Pathing and the Importance of Community and Advocates

Lindsay Maloni-Kuntz is a Director of Global Sales for the DMC Network. Based in Western Massachusetts, Lindsay primarily serves the FICP market and the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the US, and also brings with her a wealth of previous corporate experience. Lindsay’s past career highlights include time spent as an event manager for two Fortune 100 companies as well as four years of service on the FICP Board of Directors. Above all else, Lindsay is passionate about using her sales and strategic event management skills to increase brand awareness and support the delivery of high-quality events. When she’s not hard at work helping to evolve the events industry, Lindsay can be found pounding the pavement as an avid runner or cheering on her three boys at a wide range of sporting events — including hockey, basketball, lacrosse, soccer and golf! 

Jennifer O’Hare, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Belle Box Co; Strategic Retail Consultant

Mastering Strategic Gifting: Unveiling Missed Touchpoints and Essential Trends

Jennifer O'Hare is a multi-passionate entrepreneur with 18 years of experience as a retail & merchandising expert and strategic gifting partner. She spent 14 years mastering merchandising & strategy development at the TJX Companies, sourced over $700M worth of product, and has worked with hundreds of clients on developing bespoke gifting and retail strategies that elevate brands and align with business goals. She is currently a retail industry consultant to fortune 500 companies and the founder of Belle Box Co, a corporate gifting company that helps businesses and organizations build meaningful connections and create memorable experiences.

Wayne Robinson, Staff Vice President Events and Multimedia, FM Global

Creative Career Pathing and the Importance of Community and Advocates

Bio coming soon!

Jason Sabin, Director of Group Sales - East Coast America, Canada and Mexico, Langham Hotels & Resorts

FICP Chat LIVE! Are You Prepared to Manage Your Next Event Crisis?

Bio coming soon!

Amanda Sherman, CMP, CMM, Lead Team Member Experience Specialist, Credit Acceptance

Creative Career Pathing and the Importance of Community and Advocates

Bio coming soon!

James Spellos, President, Meeting U

Navigating the AI Toolkit: Essential Tools and Proven Tips

James Spellos is the President of Meeting U. whose mission is to help people become more productive and comfortable with technology.    

In 2022, Meeting Professionals International included Jim on their 50 most influential persons list in the hospitality industry in honor of their 50^th anniversary celebration. In 2021, Glisser named Jim one of the most influential people in virtual events.  A few years prior, Jim was named one of the Meeting Industry’s trendsetters by Meetings Today magazine.  He was a faculty member at New York University for 25 years receiving both their Award for Teaching Excellence and their Outstanding Service Award.

Jim is on the Board of Directors for Rock and Wrap It Up, an anti-poverty, anti-hunger organization which recovers excess food from events.  Jim co-created their Whole Earth Calculator app. He also speaks about food recovery and sustainability at events.  In 2018 & 2019, BizBash named Jim one of their top 500 people in events for his work in sustainability.

He also has a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutritional Studies, is a certified Food for Life instructor through the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and is on the staff of Plant Powered Metro New York, helping to educate people about a healthy diet and lifestyle, which helped to save his own life.

Jim is an accomplished musician and songwriter who released his first solo album, Stroke of Genius in 2020. 

Jennifer Squeglia, CMP, Independent Contractor, RLC Events

Facilitator for FICP Chat LIVE! Sessions:

• Tapping Into Your Destination's Cultural Richness to Elevate Event Experiences
• Are You Prepared to Manage Your Next Event Crisis?
• Event Design that Prioritizes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Best Practices

As head of RLC Events, Inc. since 2007, Jennifer partners with clients from the financial and insurance industries as well as defense and health care. Jennifer collaborates with her business partners and colleagues working on their event strategy to meet their goals and objectives for the best possible event outcomes. She has led teams from 2 to 50 producing events throughout the country and has been a proud and active member of FICP since 2000 and became a member of the Board of Directors in January of 2019 and is now serving as FICP Chair. Jennifer’s career started in the hospitality industry over 35 years ago, specializing in operations, catering, and conference services. She transitioned to corporate meeting professional in 1999 moving to Boston and working on the great planning teams at John Hancock and Fidelity Investments.

Jason Thomson, Keynote Speaker, Workshop Creator, Radio Host and Content Coach

Powerful Communication: How to Amplify Your Impact, Build Trust and Drive Results During Tough Talks

Connect. It’s your secret sauce to winning business, winning over audiences and winning with communications.

When it comes to connecting better, smarter and more deeply – you want to know communications leader Jason Thomson.

For more than a generation as a TED-level keynote speaker, workshop creator and facilitator, copywriter and content creator, radio show host and Creative Director, Jason has helped brands, leaders influencers to shift mindsets, inspire new thinking and activate audiences. 

As a self professed “Swiss Army Knife of Communications,” Jason fuels the trajectory of the world’s most important brands, IBM. Cirque du Soleil. TD Bank. Intel and Abbott Pharmaceuticals.