Black Meetings and Tourism

November/December 2021

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B M & T ••• November/December 2021 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com with the City of Alexandria and the Office of Historic Alexandria, Visit Alexandria continues to expand the lens through which it frames African American history through new content like Great Walk in Alexandria, which highlights the City's walkability in themes such as the Duke Street Black History Trail, and A Courageous Journey Alexandria Black History Driving Tour, a reimagined eight-site driving tour that explores how African American history shaped Alexandria and more. In 2021, Patricia lead Visit Alexandria's expanded marketing to diverse audiences with a new "Drop In" campaign targeting Black travelers and featuring iconic and new travel experiences, a Spanish-language campaign, new content supporting AAPI-owned businesses, Latino-and Latina-owned busi- nesses, Indigenous history and experiences and more. Two years ago, Patricia led the launch of the King Street Corridor Initiative a public/private partnership focused on beautification, programming and marketing for historic King Street and the waterfront. As part of the Initiative, Patricia secured private sector partners, and launched Portside in Old Town waterfront program- ming and a new regional advertising campaign. Patricia serves on the board of the Alexandria Arts Alliance and is part of the Northern Virginia Tourism Partnership comprised of the five Northern Virginia DMOs. Before moving to Alexandria in 2012, Patricia worked for more than a decade as vice president of cultural tourism at the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (now known as Visit Philadelphia) where she worked on major citywide history, music, art, neighbor- hood tourism and outdoor recreation initiatives. Before entering the travel and tourism industry, Patricia worked in philanthropy as a program officer at the William Penn Foundation in Philadelphia where she worked on Arts & Culture and Children, Youth & Families initiatives. Prior to that, Patricia served as an assistant city solicitor in the City of Philadelphia Law Department and as program director for the Painted Bride Art Center a multidisci- plinary arts organization in Philadelphia. Patricia has a JD and BFA from Howard University. TWILA JONES Twila Jones currently serves as Senior Sales Manager for Experience Columbia SC – The Real Southern Hot Spot in the capital metropolitan city of the state of South Carolina. Twila's primary role is to create connectability and profit between all levels of meetings and our Midlands partners. A proud native of Columbia, Twila has guided hundreds of seasoned Faith, Ethnic, Fraternal, and Cultural planners through the process of booking meetings and conventions throughout the city. More recently, her management responsibilities expanded to the territory of Tennessee and six other southeastern state territories. Twila is a part of a diverse company of professionals and was appointed Co-Chair of the Midlands Authority for Convention Sports & Tourism Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council in 2020. Jones has bridged the gap between sales, faith, diversi- ty, and the arts for more than 16 years, lending her skills to multiple notable organizations in the pursuit of industry accomplishments and regional economic impact. During the 2020 COVID pandemic, she received her Cvent Certified Supplier certification and earned her CFMP (Certified Faith Meeting Planner) credentials. In 2011, Jones graduated from Leadership Columbia and in 2008 was awarded the Presidential Award from the SC Baptist Congress of Christian Education Auxiliary. Jones is a frequent presenter on the college circuit and has served as an industry guest speaker at Columbia College, University of South Carolina, and Allen University. Her talents have afford- ed her the opportunity to conduct educations sessions for Richland School District One, Religious Conference Management Association, Christian Meetings & Conventions Association, National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals, International Association of Hispanic Meeting Planners, 7th Episcopal District of the AME Church, and a host of other organizations, ministries and learning institutions. Jones has been spotlighted in a variety of industry publications and continues to network and reach new audiences. Prior to establishing a career in hospitality, Twila held several state administrative positions. Twila attended Winthrop University and in 2017 was appointed to serve on the Advisory Board for the Hospitality & Tourism Management pro- gram at Columbia College during its creation and debut year. Twila's professional motto is: "Every relationship and connec- tion has contributed to my success. If I've met someone in my line of work, they matter. In this stage of my career, I'm trying to men- tor as many students in this field as I can. I want them to be equipped, encouraged, enthusiastic, creative, and ethical about their work. I believe their successful introduction into this industry will build an even stronger foundation of hospitality professionals for brands all over the world."

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