Raquel “Rocky” Dufauchard, CMP is a respected hospitality industry leader with more than 30 years of experience in destination sales, meetings and events. As director of national accounts for New Orleans & Company, she leads business development efforts for the financial and insurance, association and corporate markets, helping organizations create impactful experiences in one of the world's most distinctive destinations. Known for her deep industry expertise, passion for client service and commitment to fostering meaningful partnerships, Rocky has built a reputation as a trusted advisor and advocate for the meetings profession.

An active industry volunteer and community leader, Rocky served as chair of the FICP Hospitality Partner Advisory Committee (HPAC) in 2024 and is a member of the 2026 FICP Annual Conference Event Team. She also serves on several community boards in New Orleans and is dedicated to advancing diversity, inclusion and professional excellence across the hospitality and events industry.

Walt Leger is the president and CEO of New Orleans & Company, the official destination marketing and sales organization for the tourism industry of New Orleans. Representing over 1100 member businesses, New Orleans & Company’ is the tourism and hospitality industry’s official destination sales, marketing and trade organization, responsible for driving billions of dollars of diverse annual business to the regional cultural economy. New Orleans & Company works to inspire, promote and encourage travel, business meetings, conventions, sporting and special events to New Orleans in a highly competitive global environment for the economic, social and community benefit of New Orleans, Louisiana and their people. Founded in 1960, New Orleans & Company is committed to celebrating the richness of our culture, while creating jobs, building careers and enhancing the quality of life for every New Orleanian.

Walt is a strategic thinker and dedicated advocate, having served as an assistant district attorney in New Orleans and later as an attorney with Leger & Shaw, where he built a reputation as an aggressive, fair and effective prosecutor of violent crime and drug offenses. A graduate of Louisiana State University and Tulane Law School, and former Louisiana State Representative and Speaker Pro Tempore, he is widely recognized as a results-driven leader, passing over 125 pieces of legislation and earning national recognition for his work in public policy, infrastructure, education and criminal justice reform.

Walt was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board to advise the Secretary on current and emerging issues in travel and on government policies and programs that impact the travel and tourism industry. Walt serves as an executive Board member of the U.S. Travel Association, on the Board of PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association), Louisiana Travel Association, Anti-Defamation League South Central Board, Goodwill Industries of Louisiana, Louisiana Appleseed, Agenda for Children, Early Partners, The Loyola University Institute of Politics, The Audubon Institute, the Business Council of New Orleans, GNO, Inc., the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce and the Louisiana Children’s Museum. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Judicial College and has lectured regularly over the years at Tulane University School of Law, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, LSU Law School, Tulane University, the Loyola University Institute of Politics and at conferences around the country. Walt is also an adjunct professor of Law at Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law.

Leger currently resides in New Orleans with his wife, Danielle, and daughters Cate, Caroline and Camille.

Elyse Dawson, CMP, CPCE, DES is a strategic event leader with more than 15 years of experience designing and delivering impactful experiences in the financial services industry. As senior event manager at HB Wealth, she leads the firm's client, prospect, partner and sponsorship event strategy, creating innovative experiences that strengthen relationships, enhance brand affinity and drive business results. Known for her expertise in experiential design, attendee engagement and partnership development, Elyse oversees an annual portfolio of events that ranges from exclusive client receptions to large-scale industry experiences. She is passionate about blending creativity, operational excellence and data-driven insights to create meaningful connections and memorable moments. Her contributions to the profession have earned her recognition as a 40 Under 40 honoree and a Smart Women Innovator Award recipient.

A dedicated advocate for professional development and community engagement, Elyse currently serves as the 2026 Chair-Elect of the FICP Board of Directors, helping shape the future of the meetings and events profession within the financial and insurance industries.

Monique Ruff-Bell, recently recognized as one of BizBash's Most Influential leaders for 2025, serves as chief program and strategy officer for TED, where she oversees global programming and strategic initiatives. With over 20 years of experience, she has led transformational growth across media, technology and social impact organizations.

Ruff-Bell's strategic expertise spans organizational transformation, revenue optimization and global community building. Her leadership achievements include a remarkable turnaround at Money20/20 USA, where she drove record-breaking performance and industry-leading attendee satisfaction while scaling the event to become the premier fintech conference in North America. At TED, she has expanded global reach while maintaining the organization's mission-driven focus on transformative ideas.

Her approach combines operational excellence with visionary leadership, consistently delivering both immediate business results and long-term sustainable growth. Ruff-Bell serves on the board of Events Venture Group and is an active investor in the event industry and event technology startups. A regular keynote speaker and podcast host based in New York, she is passionate about advancing diversity in leadership and actively mentors emerging executives.

Kelsey Nicol is vice president of strategic accounts at One10, a visionary partner with incentive and reward solutions that unlock human potential by engaging teams, motivating high performance and driving business success.

With 20+ years in the industry, Kelsey brings a comprehensive perspective to the design and execution of incentives, events and recognition programs. Her diverse background spans operations, purchasing, account management and business development — across both the buyer and supplier sides of the business.

She has served on the Incentive Research Foundation Board of Trustees for the past five years.

Andy Schwarz is the vice president of content and communications at the Incentive Research Foundation, an organization that funds and promotes research to increase the understanding, effective use and benefits of incentives to businesses globally.

Andy works with a team of researchers to distill complex research and data into accessible, actionable insights. That research is the basis for reports and education programs delivered both virtually and at incentive-level live events. Each year the IRF releases 10-12 studies on industry trends, benchmarks, best practices and insights.

Katrina Kent, CMP, CMM believes events are one of the most powerful and versatile ways to build trust, grow community and celebrate people. She leads Liberty Mutual's meeting management and event strategy team, overseeing leadership programs, rewards and recognition experiences, and customer and sponsorship events. Before joining Liberty Mutual in 2020, she ran TD Ameritrade's event group, shaping event-channel strategy across the enterprise.

A life-long creative who's happiest when big ideas meet flawless execution, Katrina lives in the Garden State with her husband Sean, their two kids and a mini-Bernese.

Katrina is also a member of the FICP Board of Directors.