PHILADELPHIA, PA, 2012-10-26 — /travelprnews.com/ — After a nationwide search, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB) today announced Nicole Johnson-Reece as the new executive director of the Philadelphia Multicultural Affairs Congress (MAC), a division of the PCVB responsible for increasing Philadelphia’s share of the multicultural meetings, conventions and tourism markets.
“Nicole possesses stellar leadership skills and is a respected professional in the multicultural arena,” states William Wilson, chairman of the MAC board, who also chaired the search committee. “She is a strategic thinker who brings great experience, energy and leadership to her new position. Throughout her accomplished career, she has demonstrated her skills as a coalition builder and an expert in multicultural and diverse markets. She will be an asset in our mission to promote our diverse city as a premier destination. I look forward to working with Nicole in her new role.”
“MAC is an important differentiator for Philadelphia and the convention and visitors bureau, so Nicole’s role is a key one; within the organization as well as in the community and with our customers,” says Jack Ferguson, president and CEO, PCVB.
Nicole will work with the PCVB team to promote Philadelphia to a multicultural client base that includes religious organizations, family reunions, national and regional associations, fraternal organizations, and professional and trade associations. She will also work with the hospitality community to encourage business, employment and training opportunities for multicultural professionals within Philadelphia’s tourism and hospitality sector.
“I am extremely pleased to be joining the Multicultural Affairs Congress. I am excited for the opportunity to apply my many years of diversity and inclusion experience towards increasing Philadelphia’s presence both nationally and globally,” states Johnson-Reece. “By bringing signature events to Philadelphia and continuing to leverage the board as key influencers in the city and nationally, I look forward to using this platform to continue attracting multicultural conventions and visitors to Philadelphia.”
With over 20 years of experience in finance, consumer marketing, brand strategy and talent management, Nicole brings a bottom line, focused approach to the PCVB and MAC. She has valuable professional relationships within the multicultural convention market among leading PCVB-booked national organizations, such as the National Council of La Raza and the National Urban League.
Her ability to develop and implement diversity and inclusion strategies allows organizations to reach untapped markets, deliver culturally appropriate messages, increase inclusive behaviors in their leaders and positively impact the company’s revenue stream.
Nicole has served as the first diversity leader for two Fortune 500 companies, most recently, as vice president, global diversity and inclusion for ARAMARK Corporation. During her tenure with ARAMARK, Nicole created the first global diversity and inclusion strategy, which provided an enterprise-wide, comprehensive approach to adapt to the ever-changing needs of a global marketplace. Key initiatives included the launch of an Executive Leadership Council, the first company Diversity Report, a Women’s Leadership initiative and Leading Inclusion education sessions for the top executives.
Prior to joining ARAMARK, Nicole served as the vice president, diversity and inclusion, with the Cendant Hospitality Group (Wyndham Worldwide), again serving as their first focused diversity leader. Prior to that, she held a variety of positions in multicultural marketing and finance with Verizon and AT&T. She was named one of the “Top Blacks in the Lodging Industry” by Black Meetings and Tourism magazine and one of the “Top 100 Blacks in Corporate America” by Black Professionals magazine.
She has served on the advisory boards for MAC and Dress for Success Philadelphia, the board of the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance and is currently the co-chair of the National Diversity Advisory Council of the American Red Cross.
Nicole possesses a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Rutgers University.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Headshot available.
Media Contact
Khaila Edward
215-636-3412
khailae@pcvb.org