Name: David Mahood Title: Vice President of Sustainability Organization: NEWH (Network of Executive Women in Hospitality) Length of involvement: Four years. His primary responsibilities: In this volunteer position with NEWH, David sits on the organization’s Executive Committee with 11 other industry leaders and helps to develop NEWH’s green initiatives. What he enjoys most about this position: “Working with a group of talented industry leaders who are committed to bringing change to our industry.” MINNETONKA, MINN.—As Vice President of Sustainability for NEWH, David Mahood helps to carry out the organization’s sustainability hospitality mission which reads as follows: “Leading the hospitality industry to educate and promote...

PHOENIX—Best Western International announced that staff interior designer Ciji Hoffman has earned the honor of being the first Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) accredited professional (AP) for the World’s Largest Hotel Chain. Hoffman’s accreditation allows her to guide the hotel chain’s green building, sustainability and environmental impact initiatives for hotel construction and renovation. “We’re proud to have a LEED accredited professional on staff who can help our members build and renovate hotels with the environment in mind,” said Rich Bennett, Best Western’s vice president of supply and design. “We have multiple Best Western properties that are interested in...

PORTLAND, ORE.—Sage Hospitality recently announced the appointment of Frederick Kleisner II as general manager of the Nines, a Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel in Portland, Ore. A fifth-generation hotelier with 17 years experience at the upper end of the industry, Kleisner will steward the new $137 million property in the landmark Meier & Frank Building. “The Nines will benefit from Fred’s strong management background at a number of distinctive hotel properties across the U.S.,” said Walter Isenberg, president and CEO of Sage Hospitality, the Denver-based company that developed and is managing the hotel. “We are delighted to welcome Fred to our...

PHILADELPHIA—Francine Cohen, a one-time corporate art consultant with a passion for protecting the environment, has launched the Philagreen Hospitality Association (PGHA) to help Philadelphia area hoteliers and restaurateurs run greener and more profitable organizations. Cohen is executive director of the association that was launched earlier this year. Her kickoff meeting in June attracted approximately 30 attendees, with 10 hotels represented. A meeting also was held in September. The next meeting will he held November 17. PGHA is run separate from the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Assn. “I have been an eco-conscious citizen for decades,” Cohen says. “I have always been interested...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) announced that Wade Davis will be a featured keynote speaker at the upcoming Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference 2008 (ESTC 2008), to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from October 27 to 29. A National Geographic Explorer, an ethnographer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker, Davis is an inspirational story teller with vast knowledge of Indigenous societies and cultures, myth and religion, and the global biodiversity crisis—to name just a few of the numerous fields of research that have taken him across the globe. In 2004, he was made an Honorary Member of the Explorers...

Name: Diana Beltran Title: Environmental Development Manager Organization: Grand Hyatt New York Years with hotel: “I just celebrated my one-year anniversary in August.” My primary responsibilities: “Every day I concentrate on different projects—in areas ranging from housekeeping to waste management. The biggest thing I am working on now is sustainable purchasing.” What keeps her motivated each day: “What keeps me motivated is making a difference here. I don’t consider this a job. It is more like a hobby.” Organization’s most significant environmental accomplishment so far: “The project that paid the biggest dividend so far was our lighting retrofit. We installed more than 5,000 compact fluorescent...

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, has appointed Faith Taylor as vice president, Sustainability and Innovation. Based in Parsippany, N.J., Taylor is responsible for leading the strategic vision and direction of Wyndham Worldwide’s environmental policy and programs while overseeing all key conservation and preservation initiatives across the businesses including Wyndham Hotel Group, Group RCI and Wyndham Vacation Ownership. Taylor also oversees the Wyndham Worldwide Green Council as well as the rollout of Blue Harmony, a turn-key spa and fitness program that incorporates a green strategy to promote environmental awareness. Additionally, she will manage the...

Name: David Jerome Title: Senior Vice President for Corporate Responsibility Organization: InterContinental Hotels Group Years with company: Two My primary responsibilities: “Helping to define the company’s corporate responsibility strategy and helping to execute that strategy. Understanding how the company’s business objectives intersect with societal needs. My responsibilities cut across a lot of silos in the company.” What keeps me motivated each day: “I like the complexity of the issues and have the fortune of working with a lot of smart people. It is a lot of fun.” Organization’s most significant environmental accomplishment so far: “The many individual accomplishments across our company, from the Willard...

CHICAGO— Georg R. Rafael, managing director of Rafael Group S.A.M., has been named the 2008 recipient of the “International Hotelier Global Citizen” award. Rafael will be honored at the sixth annual International Hotel Conference, which will be held October 15 to 17 at the Cavaleri Hilton in Rome, Italy. The award is presented to a hotelier who has made a major impact on both the hospitality industry and humanitarian causes. A grant of €5,000 ($7,863) will be donated to Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders), one of a number of charities actively supported by Rafael. MSF received the 1999 Nobel...

Name: Michael Oshman Title: Executive Director Organization: Green Restaurant Assn. Year Founded: 1990 My primary responsibilities: “I supervise most of the employees here and make sure that everything we do matches our mission and the sincerity of it. We make a point of remembering why we are here, which is to help our industry reach a point of sustainability.” Organization’s most significant environmental accomplishment so far: “The thousands of individual steps we have helped restaurants make throughout the years, the pollution we have helped to prevent, the trees we have prevented from being cut down.” Our biggest environmental challenge: “Helping to educate. There is a...