Stephen Shields
Gallup
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Peta Hellman
World Bank Group
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Rodney Harrison
Ogletree Deakins
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Rodney Harrison is a shareholder with the law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart. He has practiced in the areas of labor and employment law since 1995. In addition to advising clients on a wide variety of labor and employment related topics, Rodney has assisted numerous employers in developing and implementing legally defensible reimbursement programs for the use of personally owned automobiles by employees to make deliveries to customers. In addition, Rodney has defended both franchisors and franchisees in numerous federal and state wage and hour class actions involving the alleged under-reimbursement of automobile expenses.
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Mary Beth Guarisco, CMP
senior manager, Specialty Services & Programming
New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau
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Raised in a family with a diverse heritage with deep roots in New Orleans, dating back to 1852, MaryBeth loves the people, cuisine, and music of her city. At age 16, she developed a love for live jazz, attending concerts by Ellis Marsalis, patriarch of the Marsalis family of musicians. She published an article about this experience entitled: Waiting for Mr. Marsalis.
MaryBeth also holds the distinction of graduating college without an understanding of basic math.
Her passion for New Orleans drew her back home after years living in Manhattan, working in the film and art industry. For the past 15 years, she has worked with the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Convention Services team, as an advocate and liaison for clients, industry partners and professionals, always with the goal of a positive experience for conventions, hosting their meeting in New Orleans.
As a member of several industry and regional organizations, MaryBeth currently serves as Board President of the non-profit, NOLA tree Project and serves on the Board of Delgado College’s HRT program. She founded the Napoleon Avenue Association, a neighborhood advocacy group, and is a founding member of the Krewe of Stars, an all-inclusive, philanthropic Mardi Gras organization. She is also a member of the Human Rights Commission and the Gulf Restoration Project.
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Cara Banasch, MBA
senior vice president, Business Development & Strategy
New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau
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