Industry Advisory Council

Chris Adams

Council Chair

Chris is the director of online marketing for Miles Media Group, the largest destination tourism publisher in the US. He has extensive experience in sustainable tourism, new technology, and media from around the world, having been CEO of a Convention & Visitor Bureau in New Zealand where he developed one of the world’s first long-term Sustainable Tourism Plans. He was also head of marketing for the South Pacific’s largest tourism publisher, Jasons Travel Media Ltd. He has served as director of e-commerce at a leading Colorado web technology company, Circadence, and as assistant to the general manager at BSkyB in London. Chris is a board member of the Renewable Energy in Tourism Initiative—an environmental not-for-profit focused on promoting renewable energy in the tourism industry

Marilyn Ball

Marilyn is president of 12Twelve Collaborative Solutions and a leading expert in creating partnerships through cooperative marketing strategies. With 20 years experience in the tourism, economic development, and hospitality industries, Marilyn’s formidable experience in media and public relations campaign development supports her ability to guide clients in the most efficient use of marketing funds. Yet, it is her keen instinct and vision that business leaders recognize as her most valuable asset. Not only does she demonstrate an impressive record of creativity and problem solving, it is her gift to motivate and inspire that makes her a sought after strategist and mentor.

Elan J. Blutinger

Elan is the managing director of Alpine Consolidated, LLC, a merchant banking partnership focused on simultaneous restructuring, acquisition, merger, and initial public and private offerings of fragmented service companies. He serves as a director for Great Wolf Resorts and was director for Hotels.com and the founder and director for ResortQuest International.

Suzanne Dorsey

Suzanne began her duties as executive director of the Bald Head Island Conservancy in January 2005. She earned her doctorate in coastal oceanography from State University of New York at Stony Brook. She has also done extensive work in Barbados, and her other academic degrees include a BA in biology from Drew University and an MS in marine-estuarine environmental science from the University of Maryland. Suzanne is a native of the metropolitan DC area and was raised in Potomac, MD, but spent seven of her first nine years in Holland. She enjoys sailing, horseback riding, kayaking, and biking, and both she and her husband, Steve Brock, are accomplished scuba divers.

Mike Kelly

Mike is a native of Elizabeth City, NC, and the owner of four businesses on the Outer Banks: Kelly’s Outer Banks Restaurant and Tavern, Penguin Isle Southside Grill and Bar, George’s Junction, and Mako Mike’s. He holds memberships and is active with the NC Restaurant Association, the Dare County Restaurant Association, the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, the Outer Banks Community Foundation, and the Dare County Tourism Board. A graduate of East Carolina University (1972), Mike has been a member of the ECU Board of Trustees, serving as secretary in 2005. He resides in Nags Head with his wife, Willo.

Tim Lampkin

Tim currently serves as the director of sales and group services for the Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau. He has 25 years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry. In his current role, he has led the sustainability efforts of the Asheville Tourism Community with the creation of a project-oriented “green task force,” the area’s first National Tourism Week summit on sustainable practices, and the development of a green funding program to assist Warren Wilson College’s Insulate program. Tim serves on the steering committee of the Mountain Green Conference and is also a member of the Asheville Civic Center Commission. On weekends, you can find Tim and his beagle, Daisy, out hiking the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Chris Metzler

Chris, president of Verde Evolution, has worked with companies to “green up” their facilities as well as their day-to-day business practices in ways that benefit the bottom line. This has led him to also work with city and county economic development departments as they try to figure out how to attract new businesses to older buildings. Chris earned his international MBA from the University of South Carolina with a concentration in finance. He also has a commercial real estate broker’s license and a NC general contractor’s license. Chris also teaches for the EcoBroker Designation, an internationally recognized real estate organization, and he frequently gives talks and presentations to various groups and organizations about green and sustainability.

Kim Schaefer

Kim has been CEO for Great Wolf Resorts for the past 11 years and has spearheaded its growth and evolution as America's largest family of indoor waterpark resorts. She has more than 20 years of accounting and hotel operating experience, and holds a BS in accounting from Edgewood College in Madison, WI, where she sits on the advisory board for the school of business.

Beth Sinnott

Sustainability Education & Engagement Director Corporate Workplace Bank of America Beth Sinnott is a LEED Accredited Professional within the Corporate Workplace division of Bank of America. In her role as the Director of Sustainability Education and Engagement she has developed a comprehensive sustainability resource center that offers a variety of ways for Bank of America associates to participate in educational opportunities, engage in conservation projects and encourage others to get involved and become environmental stewards.

She has spent the last four years working in sustainable building and operations with responsibilities including community outreach and education, employee engagement in sustainability, environmental education, LEED implementation and execution, marketing and communications. Her most recent work experience prior to joining Bank of America was with the Quaintance-Weaver Hospitality Company which developed the world's first LEED Platinum hotel. She acted as an adjunct professor for the last three years in addition to her full time responsibilities.

She holds a Master's degree in Humanities with a focus in environmental studies and a Bachelor's degree in Marketing/Communications; both from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the Center for Sustainable Tourism and served a few years on the Executive Committee of the Piedmont Triad North Carolina USGBC Chapter. She is very passionate about sustainability and environmental issues and takes every opportunity possible to engage others in environmental conversations.