Jonathan Morse is the CEO and founder of Tripleseat, a catering and event management platform for restaurants, hotels, and unique venues, used by more than 15,000 customers in 30 different countries. Tripleseat also includes EventUp, the largest global venue directory with more than 15,000 restaurants, hotels, and unique spaces. Morse has been involved in the restaurant and hotel business for more than 30 years, with roles ranging from a busboy at Abadessa’s in Hingham, Mass., to line cook at Atlantic Cafe in Nantucket, to floor manager at Backbay Restaurant Group, to New England regional sales manager for Starwood Hotels. Before starting Tripleseat, Morse was a vice president of sales for a web startup that delivered business intelligence reporting to the restaurant industry.

Joi Alexander, “The Hospitality Hottie,” is a seasoned on premise and off-premise catering sales professional with more than 20 years of experience in sales and events, account management, business development, marketing and stadium event operations.

In 2017, Alexander was named Director of Catering Sales at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium was ranked No. 1 Food and Beverage for the NFL in 2019.  Within her first two years at MBS, Alexander received the Top Sales Performer Award in 2019 for exceeding group sales revenue by $7 million. In 2018, she was the one of lead event planners in managing the catering sales efforts for Super Bowl LIII, College Football Championship and the MLS Cup Championship. 

After a three year run at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Alexander was named Head of Regional Sales for CAVA & Zöes Kitchen in February 2020.  After having the ability to scale their national catering program at the CAVA on 40th & Madison, she was awarded the opportunity to join Slutty Vegan ATL in November 2021. In her current role as National Director of Sales and Catering, Alexander has developed new national partnerships for Slutty Vegan ATL and Bar Vegan while also managing the tour route for the acclaimed Slutty Vegan Food Truck (better known as the “Big Ol Slut” 🙂 Alexander has worked on several large national events like Coachella, Sundance Film Festival and SXSW.

In 2020, Joi launched The G.A.M.E. Consulting Agency, a full-service agency focused on serving the comprehensive needs of black owned restaurants and their private event business and off-premise catering. 

Clea Cosmann is the Director of Sales of Vancouver-based Glowbal Restaurant Group. In her role, she provides strategic guidance to a team of sales managers and drives sales in their portfolio of restaurants: Glowbal, Coast, Italian Kitchen, Five Sails, Trattoria, Riley’s, The Roof, Black+Blue, with their newest location opening in Toronto Spring 2023. Throughout her years in the restaurant and event industry, Clea has gained proven leadership expertise in hospitality operations, sales, and staff development. She sits on the Board of Directors for WORTH Association as the Director of Events, celebrating and advocating for women in tourism and hospitality.

An early starter, Joel Costa worked in his family business running a luxury timeshare resort near Lake Tahoe. A summer job at a campus hotel solidified his career path prior to graduating from the University of California Berkeley.

Costa is proud to be a part of the team at 1 Hotel San Francisco to further the sustainability mission of 1 Hotels in the city. He has been on faculty roster at San Francisco State University’s School of Business since 2008.

In his is spare time, Costa can be found on his 3-acre farm raising chickens and goats and bringing heirloom vegetables to the farmer’s market.

Approaching two decades of service in hospitality, Isabelle Donovan’s innate love for taking care of others is evident in her role as Director of Sales for Creative Culinary Management. Previously, Donovan worked as Director of Events for Frankies Spuntino Group. Her natural service acumen, trademark energy and collaborative approach, lend to the company’s successful catering and events program alongside chefs/owners Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo.

In her role at Frankies Spuntino Group, Isabelle oversees the events department from marketing and branding initiatives, to daily operations and execution. As the lead on all new business and strategic partnerships (with high level clients including Resy, American Express, People, Inc., the New York Times, and Eater), the group achieved its highest grossing sales year in 2022.

From intimate family gatherings in the historic blacksmith stable in Frankies’ backyard garden, to weddings under the grapevines, and off-premise catered galas for 500, her creative, thoughtful, and hospitality focused approach lead to bespoke individualized events no matter the occasion and size.

Starting with her first job as hostess, Katie Dyches worked her way up through the restaurant ranks as waitress, bartender and manager, before finding her passion in the events side of the industry. She worked as an event director for hospitality groups in Charleston, S.C., and Atlanta. Dyches was a Gather user before joining the Gather team in 2019 and now serves as a Tripleseat Regional Account Manager, overseeing accounts in the Southeastern U.S. and Europe. She is based in Atlanta, where she enjoys exploring the booming restaurant scene with her husband, and never passes up the opportunity to travel.

Casey Fechter is the Director of Events for James Beard Nominated Olive + Oak Hospitality Group. Upon graduating from Saint Louis University, she spent seven years growing alongside a new company before being brought on to the Olive + Oak team to build out their events Program. Fechter finds a balance in the events industry by spending time with her husband and two little boys, coaching club soccer, and cooking for a table full of family and friends.

The Social Butterflies Events is a black-owned, woman-led event planning, coordination and design company based out of Boston. Led by Paige Pasley and Valerie Francois, these ladies specialize in corporate and wedding celebrations as well as private milestones.

Trained as an events and floral designer, Francois is the beauty wing of The Social Butterflies Events and has more than 10 years experience in the industry. She focuses on the aesthetic and design, turning the dream event into a wanderlust experience. Whether it be intimate or large, she loves the unique privilege to create a space that can awe — matching the client’s vision and personality, in the same room. Pasley and Francois work from conception to execution, with vendors and venues to ensure supreme creativity and optimal client service, with every event.

Amira Gertz, currently Director of Corporate Event Sales at First Batch Hospitality, has 20 years as a hospitality leader in private dining, events, and catering. A dynamic leader, she is adept at creating long-term relationships and partnerships and exceeding revenue and operational goals. She has a career history of successfully training and supervising nationwide teams, consistently promoting adherence to industry guidelines and client service standards. Gertz holds a bachelor’s degree in hospitality administration from NYU and recently earned a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Northeastern University. 

A born-and-raised New Yorker, Melanie Greenblatt spent the better part of a decade working in advertising before she merged her passion for marketing with her love for food and beverage. It was shortly after that she assumed the role of Head of Marketing for Hawksmoor NYC with the goal of introducing the company’s first international location. She has been pivotal in helping to build the brand, forming local charity partnerships, and spreading the word about the company’s sustainability mission.

Andy Husbands is the award-winning chef, author, and pitmaster behind Smoke Shop BBQ, Boston’s acclaimed barbecue restaurants, and four-time winner of Boston Magazine’s “Best Barbecue” in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. Smoke Shop BBQ currently includes six locations in Cambridge’s Kendall Square and Harvard Square, Boston’s Seaport District, Somerville’s Assembly Row, Hub Hall at TD Garden, and East Boston on the harbor opening in May 2023. With a career spanning over 35 years in the restaurant industry, Husbands serves as one of the city’s most celebrated culinary leaders and a foremost authority on regional barbecue and live-fire cooking in New England. Husbands is the co-founder of internationally recognized BBQ team IQUE BBQ, which became the first non-Southern barbecue Team to win the Grand Champion title at the Jack Daniel’s 2009 World Championship Invitational Barbecue in Tennessee. Husbands is also the co-author of six coveted cookbooks, most notably, “Pitmaster: Recipes, Techniques & Barbecue Wisdom,” awarded Book of the Year by National Barbecue News in 2017.

Latasha James is the Founder and Creative Director of James + Park, a social-first video marketing firm serving clients across the globe, as well as the Online Business Launch Lab, an education platform for freelancers and creative entrepreneurs. Through her courses, YouTube, and podcast content, James has encouraged thousands of people to start and grow their businesses, both online and off. 

Kate Kennedy has worked in the hospitality industry since she was 15, from bussing tables in high school to bartending in college and grad school, where she majored in global fashion management and marketing. Following college, she moved on to a career as a private events and marketing manager because she loved hospitality a little more than she loved fashion. In 2016 she switched gears a bit and took her passion for marketing to Tripleseat, where she works as their Director of Growth Marketing. She found her calling at Tripleseat, where she can help grow and promote exceptional products that foster an industry she cares so deeply about.

Erica Kolin is the Founder & Chief Event Strategist at EK Events, a corporate event strategy and production firm. EK Events focuses on supporting companies in their efforts to laser in on their event theme, strategy and attendee experience. Kolin also serves as an Event Marketing Consultant for EY.

Prior to founding EK Events, Kolin was the Senior Event Coordinator at Pritzker Private Capital. In this role, she managed all of the firm’s events and coordinated PPC’s website and digital marketing efforts. Erica serves as a member on the Shedd Aquarium Auxiliary Board.

Erica received her bachelor of science degree in public health from the University of Kansas and her master’s degree in Education from Roosevelt University with a concentration in elementary and special education. She is currently working to complete her MBA at DePaul’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business.

April Martz spent a decade in the front of house at Denver restaurants as the city grew to be a recognized “foodie” destination. She consistently worked for businesses with focused sustainability practices and keen awareness of social and environmental impact. A former event manager and Tripleseat user, Martz joinedthe Tripleseat onboarding team before moving over to product & development.

Martz is a proud Colorado native and alumna of the University of Denver. Martz loves being outdoors, mostly to paddleboard or hike the closest thing to a 14-er she can find in New England. Her other favorite activities include singing covers of ‘90s hits and persuading people to compost.

Kim McCarthy is the General Manager of Portfire Events, a boutique destination management company that specializes in corporate events and incentive travel throughout New England. An accomplished and creative professional with almost a decade of event management experience, she creates trusted industry relations. McCarthy has worked in the field of hospitality since graduating in 2014 with a dual degree in event management from Endicott College and hotel management from the Les Roches School of Hospitality in Switzerland.

Meet industry insider Bethy McCune. She started out as a server at Johnny Carino’s and quickly fell in love with the biz. Since then, she’s combined her hospitality experience with 15 years of sales experience ranging from Yellow Pages, OpenTable, and now Tripleseat.

When McCune is  not out conquering the sales world, you can find Industry Insider enjoying travel and the great outdoors with her human and furry babies. Her secret weapon? A charismatic personality that can charm even the toughest customers. And don’t get her started on reusable straws! But don’t let her love of Asian food fool you — she’s just as likely to be chowing down on all the Costco snacks. And when things get tough, she knows that a down comforter and duct tape can fix just about anything.

Mai Miller is an experienced and enthusiastic planning professional with stellar leadership and relationship-building skills. MIller is action-oriented with a strong ability to communicate and motivate effectively. She leverages broad industry experience that includes detailed event planning and executing large-scale signature events in both the corporate and social space. By curating bespoke experiences that are unforgettable for all attendees, Miller has made an undeniable mark on the events industry and is incredibly respected by clients and industry peers. Her signature mark is going above and beyond with a commitment to over-delivering and exceeding expectations. When Miller is not executing events for BG Catering Concepts, she can be found at her favorite New England beach or training for her next marathon. 

Lexie Raczka is the Sustainability Director for Boston University Dining Services. She manages all of BU Dining’s sustainability initiatives — local, sustainable, and diverse sourcing; waste reduction and diversion, low-impact menu programming, and more — across retail, residential, and catering operations. She was also involved in the development of Boston University’s Zero Waste Plan. Raczka has a master of arts degree in agriculture, food, and environment and an master of science degree in urban and environmental policy and planning, both from Tufts University.

Melissa Rice has overseen sales and execution as the Director of Events at Early Mountain Vineyards for the last seven years. Over the course of the last 18 years, she has planned weddings, private events, vineyard festivals, as well as events in the corporate and tradeshow sector. Prior to Early Mountain, Rice was formerly with University of Virginia Darden School of Business and Farmington Country Club. Born and raised in New York, Rice attended University of the Arts in Philadelphia as a dance major, and has two of the best teenagers a mom could ask for.

Latha’s (pronounced Lay-ta) interest in hospitality began at a young age, which led her to waitress throughout her high school years in Providence, R.I. After graduating from Barnard College and working in publishing for several years in New York City, she moved to Paris where she tended bar and worked at a magazine. After a brief stint in San Francisco, she made her way back to New York City, where she worked in marketing and events for a variety of companies. She landed at Tripleseat full-time in 2014, where she is the Chief Marketing Officer. Latha currently resides in Maplewood, N.J., with her husband and three kids. She enjoys the summer most of all because Rosé All Day is a real thing!