Chris Erickson is the general manager for the Heathman Hotel in Portland. He has been in the hospitality industry for over 25 years. After graduating from the University of Washington in 1991 and earning his certification in Hospitality Management from Washington State University, he began his career in Seattle, WA, with WestCoast Hotels at the Camlin Hotel where he served in various positions including general manager. His experience brought him to 4 states and 7 different cities in a seven year period, landing at Portland’s Paramount Hotel in 1999. In 2006, he joined Rim Hospitality as the GM of the Heathman Hotel. Chris currently serves on the Oregon Tourism Commission to which he was appointed to by the Governor in 2008. He also serves on the Metropolitan Exposition Recreation Commission (MERC), Travel Portland Executive Board, the Board of Directors of the Oregon Historical Society, and the Board of Directors for the Oregon Lodging Association. Chris received his Certificate of Hotel Administrator (C.H.A.) in 1999.

Jatin serves as the Regional Director of Lodging Management LLC. With recent partnerships and acquisitions, Jatin and partners operate over 750 rooms in the Portland Metro market from Hillsboro to Troutdale. Jatin started his lodging career at his family's Hampton Inn Hotel in Gresham, Oregon as a houseman at the age of 16. He attended Mt. Hood Community College’s Hospitality and Tourism Management program and was the first graduate from PSU to graduate from the transfer program. Patel serves as an officer on the Tri-County Lodging Association Board of Directors.

Gus is the general manager of The Mark Spencer Hotel in Portland. He is past president of the Tri-County Lodging Association and also serves in the Advisory Committee for Portland Center for the Performing Arts (PCPA). Gus was born in Cartagena, Colombia. He began his career in the hospitality industry while conducting undergraduate studies at the University of California Los Angeles. Gus became general manager for The Mark Spencer Hotel in January 2001. His prior experience included a general manager position with the Red Lion Hotel in Salem and manager for the Heathman Restaurant. He resides in Tigard with his wife Karen and two children. Gus has also enjoyed a varied career previous to hospitality as a dancer with Oregon Ballet Theater, Portland Opera, and Oregon Children’s Theater.

Steve has been general manager of the Doubletree Hotel Portland since 2004. His hotel career goes back to 1986, when he started with the Medford Red Lion as a busboy.  He worked his way through the hotel ranks with Red Lion, and the company transition to Doubletree in 1996, spending time in San Jose, Modesto, San Diego and Scottsdale along the way.  The Doubletree Portland strives to be a leader in Sustainable Hospitality, and the hotel has been recognized locally and nationally for their efforts. Steve currently serves as chair for the Travel Portland Board of Directors, and is a board member for both the Oregon Lodging Association and the Tri-County Lodging Association. He is also a board member with the Green Meetings Industry Council.
 

Tracy is the General Manager of Hilton Portland & Executive Tower. With over 27 years of hotel management at eight Hilton properties across the country, Tracy’s experience speaks for itself. He started with Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1982 at the Washington Hilton in food and beverage and was nominated F&B Director of the Year in 1994 in the Washington Metropolitan area. Tracy received a BS in Business Administration from the University of Maryland and attended both the Culinary Institute of America and Cornell University. He also attended continuing education classes at the Culinary Institute of America and Cornell University. Tracy previously served as chair of the Oregon Lodging Association and as a board member for the Oregon Restaurant Education Foundation. He currently serves on the Portland Utility Review Board and the Portland Jazz Festival Board in addition to Tri-County Lodging Association's Board of Directors.

Randall Thayer is the executive vice president for Pollin Hotels, owners of the new  aLoft Portland Airport at Cascade Station, Sheraton Portland Airport and Hampton Inn all at Portland International Airport. Randall is a 30 year veteran of the hotel industry, having held the general manager position in hotels all across the country during that time. He has been in Portland the last 8 years and is a board member of Travel Portland, the Columbia Corridor Association, and the Cascade Academy Foundation, of which he is a Founding member.