Board of Directors 2023

Suzanne is the Director of National Accounts for the Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas. She has been in hotel and resort sales for over 25 years and has been fortunate enough to work for some amazing incentive destinations: Hilton Head, Savannah, St John and Park City, Utah and now the Bahamas – all while being based in Atlanta. Suzanne has been a member of SITE Southeast for 8 years and has served on the SITE Summit Committee, Triple Crown Event Committee and has spent the past 2 years as VP of Member Engagement.

One of her greatest passions is volunteer work and serving. Whether it is volunteering at SITE, at her child’s school, in the church or in the community, she feels that when you serve others you will start to look at people and situations with an eye for what you can offer them, and not vice versa. A quote she has on her desk is “All you can take with you is that which you’ve given away” from her all-time favorite movie.

Suzanne resides in Peachtree City with her husband and four children. She is a breast cancer warrior, avid reader, travel enthusiast, taco lover an enjoys a glass of red wine at the end of the day.

Benny Williford, CITP is founder and CEO of Pinnacle Speakers Bureau. This has given him the opportunity to curate speakers and entertainers for customized programs for meeting and incentive professionals for over 20 years. He is an experienced industry executive and has served on boards and in leadership positions in several meetings industry organizations, including MPI-Carolinas, IASB (International Association of Speakers Bureaus), AENC (Association Executives of NC), NSA (National Speakers Association).

Benny is passionate about SITE, its value and unique position in the meetings industry. He believes strongly in the powerful impact of events to drive professional and personal development, build relationships, and achieve business objectives. As a business owner one of Benny’s core values is building close relationships with clients and becoming a partner in their success. He thrives on feeling inspired and motivated and is always open to new ideas and new experiences.

Benny is a graduate of The University of North Carolina, and an avid TAR HEEL fan. As a service-based business owner Benny’s professional pursuits align with his most important service and relationships, those with his family, especially his nine (9) beautiful, handsome, and talented grandchildren, who call him Poppy. 😊

Robyn Davis, CITP, CMP is a 20 year + veteran incentive travel and meeting planner. She has held industry roles including Director of Youth Activities, hotel Sales Manager, Account Coordinator, Account Manager, and now CEO. Corporate Incentive trips planned and operated by Robyn won both the SITE Crystal award and the Incentive Marketing Association Circle of Excellence award.

In 2017, Robyn’s dream came true and the WBENC woman owned company, Global Eventures, was born. Since its inception, Robyn and her team have planned over 350 leisure vacations and corporate events worldwide. Robyn is known for her attention to detail, tireless work ethic, and her drive to exceed her clients’ expectations. Her philosophy is that there is always a solution, and the easy way is not always the best way.

Robyn takes every opportunity to share her passion for travel with her husband and two beautiful children, taking worldwide vacations whenever possible. When she is not working or traveling, you can find her in her craft room creating on her embroidery and Cricut machines.

Dawn is passionate about helping clients use the power of travel to motivate and engage their attendees and works to tailor unique travel programs to each individual group. She has extensive destination knowledge and never hesitates to jump on a plane to learn about the best options to offer clients.

She has been a member of SITE Southeast since 2007 and enjoys the personal connections and industry expertise that SITE has to offer.

In her spare time, Dawn is passionate about serving future female leaders through her role as a troop leader for Girl Scouts of North Central Alabama. She often uses her event planning and cultural knowledge to create exciting experiences for the girls.

Dawn resides in Hoover, Alabama with her husband and two daughters, though she will always be a Tennessee girl at heart.

LeeAnne is Vice President of Operations at Peerless Performance, a woman-owned performance improvement, incentive, and culture engineering agency. Her role includes managing multiple projects within the company and industry, monitoring overall business performance, and striving to meet company strategic goals, missions, values, and beliefs.

Prior to working at Peerless, she had fifteen years of experience in the healthcare industry, where she worked building programs for employee engagement and corporate culture. Her focus was on establishing a systematic measurement program that evaluated the organizational performance of the client centers, as well as assimilating new employees into the culture of the company and building team unity. Her passion is helping to create inclusive, trusting, and cheery workplaces that encourage both personal and professional growth.

In her leisure time, she loves spending time with her family and enjoys participating in outdoor activities, water sports, and attending sporting events and concerts.

Joe Capone, CIS has been an award-winning Director of Sales specializing in global meetings, events, incentives, and business development for over 25 years with Hilton Hotels, Melia Hotels International, and now with McVeigh Global Meetings and Events (MGME). He has been an active member of his SITE Southeast chapter for 10 years as well as the GAMPI and MPI Carolinas Chapters.

As a highly dedicated and resourceful sales director and team leader, he is skilled in planning and executing all phases of the sales process, expediently identifying, and converting leads in all stages of development into closed, multi-million-dollar contracts. Joe is recognized by his peers as an experienced customer service-based representative always putting the needs of his clients first. With his constant positive upbeat disposition, Joe is excited to be taking on the role of V.P. of Sponsorship for the 2022-chapter year.

A graduate of Johnson and Wales University with a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, Joe resides in Georgia with his partner and their three dogs, living the “Green Acres” life.

Karen has over 30 years of hospitality experience specializing in corporate meeting & incentive travel sales and marketing of international destinations. In her current role, Karen is responsible for Business Events Montreal’s business development in the southern United States from North Carolina in the east to California in the west including Alaska and Hawaii territories.

A Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and a Certified Incentive Travel Professional (CITP), Karen has always been active in her professional communities as a member and volunteer for Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and for the Society of Incentive Travel Executives (SITE) Southeast Chapter. She has been recognized by the MPI Georgia chapter with the Shining Star and Phoenix awards, and by SITE Southeast with the Luminary Award and as Sponsor of the Year.

Heather McLeod is VP of Global Sales at Hosts Global—A best in class collection of Destination Management Companies that help visionary planners produce experiences that make hearts soar, heads nod and businesses thrive around the world.

She is passionate about delivering the highest standard of engaging, creative and motivational solutions to every program. As a solution provider, Heather works to find ways to make the impossible a reality, for every client. She credits her creativity, logistical strength, collaboration, and teamwork as the corner stones of her success. Heather brings over 20 years of meetings, incentives, conferences, and events to her role at Hosts Global.

In her spare time, Heather is enthusiastic about serving the special needs community dedicating her time to Special Olympics and the UMAR Arts program where her sister and friends are avid participants.

She resides in Charlotte, NC with her three adorable daughters and husband and can be found on field hockey and lacrosse fields cheering them on to victory all over the south. She loves a nice long morning run and hanging out with friends and family on the weekends where she tries not to cook, but she certainly enjoys trying every new restaurant!

Toni Nunn, Global Sales Executive with American Express Global Business Travel, is a dynamic, knowledgeable, goal-oriented professional with a demonstrated ability in relationship building and sales team management. As an AMEXGBT Pacesetter, Toni is an award-winning producer with a proven track record of developing successful collaborations and creative marketing and sales strategies.

Toni manages the sourcing process for large global accounts for AMEXGBT and truly enjoys all phases of the sourcing process, particularly partnering with the many industry suppliers that help to make the process a success. Toni is excited to be involved in SITE Southeast as the VP of Finance for 2022 and knows that the industry relationships she has built over the years will help her to be successful in her new role with SITE SE.

Toni’s two daughters have both caught the travel bug and all three love to explore different parts of the world together during college spring breaks and summers. College sports is also one of Toni’s passions and she truly enjoys the fun family rivalries that take place with her girls at Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

Mary Jane is the Co-Owner of Reilly Resort Representatives, a family-run company that specializes in luxury resort representation. Through her leadership, Reilly Resort Representatives was able to gain significant partnerships with luxury resorts all over the world – including a national partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

Mary Jane began her hospitality career working for a Fortune 500 company on their events team, but her true start in this industry began when she was ten years old while globetrotting with her mother hosting events.

As a young leader, Mary Jane is passionate about the hospitality industry and introducing this unique career path to rising professionals.

When Mary Jane is not traveling, or onsite on a program, you can find her spending time at home in North Carolina exploring the outdoors.

Isabella Rusike is with EMC Meetings & Events specializing in global meetings, events & incentives. She has been in the hospitality industry for over 20 years and has worked in the past for Hilton & IHG Hotels, Business Development Roles and for various TMCs to include Amex and CWT. She partners and contracts with various corporate companies and manages their meetings & incentives. Isabella has been an active member of SITE Southeast for 4 years as well as GAMPI and GBTA Georgia.

One of Isabella’s passions—besides traveling—is volunteer work and serving others. She not only volunteers at SITE and her local community, but she also mentors young ladies at her church. Isabella is an experienced customer service-based leader with extensive destination knowledge and she is always eager and ready to share best practices and exceed her client’s expectations.

Isabella resides in Georgia and enjoys outdoor activities, water sports, attending sporting events and concerts, and discovering new restaurants.

Lauren is a Senior Director for Lamont Associates, a comprehensive site selection and meeting resource firm. A graduate of James Madison University with a Hospitality Tourism Management degree, she spent 23 years representing high-profile convention hotels and resorts in the U.S. and offshore before joining Lamont Associates in 2021.

The hospitality world allows Lauren to help connect people, and her extensive understanding of hotel sales and operations – and being a self-professed contract nerd - allows her to assist her clients to secure the best experience for their groups. Lauren has been an active member of SITE Southeast for the past 6 years and is excited to spearhead CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and Sustainability initiatives for the chapter.

Lauren lives in Smyrna with her husband Ron, their cats Miso and Bitty, and has twin 17-year old stepsons Ethan and Austin. She is an adventurous eater, bourbon afficionado, animal lover, and has 5 different library cards to keep her Kindle full at all times.