Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau Announces New Board Members

Six Connecticut residents have been elected to the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) for its 2020-2021 fiscal year. The CTCSB is the State of Connecticut’s only statewide sales and marketing organization for meetings, conventions and sports events.

The six new Board members are (bios below):

·       Scott Dolch, the Executive Director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association;

·       Peter Murphy, a Partner at the law firm of Shipman & Goodwin LLP, who also is a new member of the CTCSB’s Executive Committee;

·       Julie Nash, the Director of Economic and Community Development for the City of Milford;

·       Alex Peterson, the Manager of Government Affairs, and the Assistant to the Executive Director for the Connecticut Airport Authority;

·       Mia Schipani, the Chief Marketing Officer for RMS Companies in Stamford; and

·       Fletcher Williams, the General Manager of the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale.

“All six of these new Board members bring extensive and important specific experiences to our organization, and will be great assets as we sell Connecticut to meeting planners and sports promoters across the U.S.,” explains Thomas Madden, Chair of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau and the Director of Economic Development for the City of Stamford, Conn.

“The composition of our Board of Directors reflects expertise in many professions and businesses that affect the hospitality and meetings industries,” adds Robert Murdock, President of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau. “We look forward to the insight and perspective of these six individuals as we market Connecticut to retain existing and attract new conventions, meetings and sports events to our state that will benefit our economy.”

Scott Dolch is the Executive Director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, representing the state's $8.9 Billion restaurant industry, with more than 8,500 locations and 160,000 jobs. Prior to this job, he spent more than 15 years in the athletics industry with specific roles in marketing, communications and sales, and building relationships with the media and community leaders. The Simsbury, Conn. resident worked for the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship, the University of Connecticut, the University of Massachusetts Lowell and, most recently, as the Senior Associate Athletics Director for the University of Hartford.

Peter Murphy is a Partner at Shipman & Goodwin LLP, where he counsels private employers and non-profit organizations daily on the full range of issues affecting their workplaces and represents both public and independent schools in education and employment matters. The West Hartford, Conn. resident serves as a factfinder, arbitrator, and attorney trial referee in the Connecticut Superior Court. He is the current Chair of the Hartford Hospital Young Leaders Advisory Council, is an Executive Committee member of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Section and he serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations.

 Julie Nash is Director of Economic and Community Development for Milford, Conn. and is responsible for obtaining and managing over $20 Million in grant funds for various City projects. The Milford, Conn. resident created and leads the City’s Tourism Task Force that includes hotels, business, the arts, and marinas to increase tourism dollars in Milford through advertising campaigns, relationship building, and strategic initiatives. She manages Reopen Milford Advisory Group and the City’s Economic Development Commission, to attract and retain business, she oversees all City social media accounts to engage residents and visitors.

Alex Peterson is the Connecticut Airport Authority’s Manager of Government Affairs and the Assistant to the Executive Director. The Hartford, Conn. residentleads the agency’s partnerships with local, state, and federal officials, builds coalitions to advocate for the state’s quasi-public agency system, and he represents the Authority on various community groups. He is an active member of Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs, the New England Knowledge Corridor, and the Bradley Development League. Prior to joining the CAA in 2014, he was a legislative aide in the Connecticut General Assembly, campaign manager for a State Senate campaign, and a legislative intern in Sen. John Kerry’s Washington, D.C. office.

Mia Schipani leads and directs all strategic brand marketing, media relations, public relations and business development efforts for the hospitality, multi-family, residential and property management divisions of RMS Companies in Stamford, Conn., a vertically integrated real estate development firm. The Stamford resident was instrumental in launching the Hotel Zero Degrees brand in 2009, and the success of the Stamford and Norwalk hotels from their inception. She is developing The Lloyd hotel brand in Stamford, a full-service boutique hotel, to open this August, and spearheads all marketing efforts for The Goodwin, The Blake Hotel, Hotel Zero Degrees Norwalk and Danbury, and all other RMS real estate properties.”

Fletcher Williams became General Manager of the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale in June 2018, bringing more than 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry. During his career, the Cheshire, Conn. resident has held a variety of line level, management, and executive management positions in boutique properties and resort, airport, convention, destination, and city center hotels across the U.S., and has managed several major renovations and projects. He also has served as a board member and/or marketing committee member of CVB’s in Kissimmee, Fla., St. Louis, Mo., and New Orleans, La. Fun fact: the Ohio native began his career in 1985 working as a valet at the Omni Netherland Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati.

Working in partnership with the state’s businesses, institutions, nonprofit organizations, and their surrounding communities, the Middletown-based Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) markets all of the state – convention and meeting venues, hotels and attractions, and sporting venues – as a premier destination for international, national, regional and statewide conferences, conventions and major sports events. The Connecticut Sports Advisory Board, a division of the CTCSB, focuses its efforts on attracting and serving international, national and regional sporting events. For more information about the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau, visit www.CTmeetings.orgor call 860-728-6789.