A B O U T
SECSA CHRIE 2026

Dear SECSA Community

 

Hi there. My name is Kate Price-Howard and I am thrilled to step into the role of President of the SECSA federation for the upcoming academic year!

 

As an Associate Professor in Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management in the Sorrell College of Business at Troy University, I am immensely committed to advancing and innovating hospitality and tourism education. The main avenue for this progression of advancement has been networking and I have found no better organization to do that than ICHRIE!

 

Welcoming our 2025-2026 Board – I am delighted to welcome our new board members:

• Trishna G. Mistry, Vice-President

• Jessica Wiitala, Secretary

• Seden Doğan, Director of Industrial Relations

• Haemi Kim, Director of Marketing

 

And I would also like to extend a great amount of gratitude to our continuing team:

     James A. Williams, Fang Shu, Suzanne Bagnera, Wei Wei, Eun-Kyong (Cindy) Choi, and Soyoung Park

 

I would also like to express our deepest thanks to the board members who have served SECSA for the past several years and who have recently stepped down from the board:

   Andrea White-McNeil, Mark Traynor, Lisa Cain, and Tim Flohr

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Key Initiative and Highlighted Events:

 

SECSA 11th Annual Conference - March 19-21, 2026

 

This is our main event of the year and we will be hosted by USF – Tampa, FL. We will come together for a two-day conference to share ideas, present research, encourage each other with new and innovative pedagogy techniques, and enjoy amazing networking opportunities with our fellow education and industry professionals from more than 30 different universities and companies. This is an event that you do NOT want to miss!

 

Our quarterly newsletter, H.E.A.T. (Hospitality Educators’ Accolades and Triumphs)

 

Our newsletter allows us to share with our members the latest accomplishments about what’s new in your programs, professional milestones and personal accomplishments, research and education hot trends and tips, health and wellness tips, and important dates and announcements. Make sure to contribute and celebrate by submitting your achievements and ideas with all of us!

 

Please stay tuned for more exciting news and updates coming to our members and make sure to follow us on LinkedIn at SECSA CHRIE; and Facebook, SECSA Federation of ICHRIE. We welcome any suggestions, questions, recommendations — and remember, you do not have to be on the board to be involved! Please let us know if you would like to get involved in SECSA! We look forward to an amazing year; please come join the journey alongside each of us!