Travel Oregon Welcomes New Executives
We are excited to announce three additions to the Travel Oregon executive leadership team.
Susan Bladholm has been hired as Chief Administrative Officer, responsible for overseeing internal administrative functions—People & Culture, Operations, Finance & Accounting—as well as the newly formed Insights & Impact department. Susan has a proven record of enhancing efficiency, putting people first, and promoting sustainability. She began her career with Travel Oregon and oversaw earned media, special events, publications and special promotions such as the Oregon Trail Sesquicentennial PR and the Governor’s Conference on Tourism. She went on to work for Travel Portland, Port of Portland, Erickson Inc., Sunstone Marketing (with clients that included the Oregon Coast Aquarium, the City of Lincoln City, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Lan Su Garden), and most recently served as the Founder/President of Frog Ferry, a nonprofit focused on an electric ferry operation for the Portland metropolitan area, before returning to the agency with a wealth of knowledge and experience.
Kevney Dugan has been hired as Travel Oregon’s VP, Destination Stewardship to lead the agency’s Destination Services, Stewardship Investments and Regional-Based Services teams. During Kevney’s 15-year tenure with Visit Bend, including serving as CEO for the past seven years, Kevney helped set the destination stewardship tone for popular tourist destinations in the West and beyond by focusing efforts on leveraging tourism for the greatest good. He has strived to make sure the industry is thriving, that economic, social and environmental sustainability are balanced and achievable, and that Bend, as a destination, is viable for years to come.
Sarah Watson has been promoted to Chief of Staff. This role operates as an extension of the CEO and provides leadership for a range of projects, with significant responsibilities that support the development and execution of our strategy and vision. Sarah will manage the staff of the CEO Office and drive strategic and operational alignment and support the CEO’s capacity by gathering input to inform priorities and communicate needs and direction to the Executive Team across departmental and functional teams and the agency. Sarah has over 25 years of service to the State of Oregon where she’s been committed to maximizing stakeholder partnerships and driving strategic results. Her career at Travel Oregon has spanned 15 of those years, during which she served as Executive Assistant to the CEO and Manager, Executive and Commission Administration.
