Stephanie Pace Brown

Stephanie started her career in economic and marketing research with the Ohio Office of Tourism and Colonial Williamsburg. Data-driven strategies were the foundation of her work as Vice President of Public Affairs for Mount Vernon, and as the CEO of two destination organizations – Alexandria, Virginia, and Asheville, North Carolina.

Stephanie has served on the boards of the U.S. Travel Association, Destinations International and as Chair of the Destinations International Foundation. She has assumed state leadership roles on the North Carolina Travel and Tourism Board, the North Carolina Travel and Tourism Coalition and the North Carolina Travel Industry Association. She has recently served on the boards of the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association, Greater Asheville Regional Airport and the Asheville Area Riverfront Redevelopment Commission.

During her most recent post as president and CEO of Explore Asheville, Stephanie led the development of Asheville as a national travel destination and guided its product development efforts through the administration of the Tourism Product Development Fund (TPDF), which awarded $27 million in tourism development grants during her tenure. Stephanie was a SMARI client starting in 1993 and joined the SMARInsights team in 2020.

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