The American Hotel & Lodging Association promoted five leaders among its leadership team:
Matt Carrier was promoted to senior vice president of federal affairs, policy and research. In this role, Carrier will lead AHLA’s federal advocacy team, with a focus on congressional engagement and regulatory issues. Additionally, he will continue to oversee the association’s industry research efforts. Carrier joined AHLA in early 2020 having previously spent nearly a decade working in the hotel industry, most recently at Marriott International.
Sarah Bratko was promoted to vice president, state & local government affairs & policy counsel. In this role, Bratko will help develop and expand AHLA’s state & local policy team. Bratko joined AHLA in 2022 from the Rhode Island Hospitality Association and has been an invaluable resource on policy analysis for AHLA.
Olivia Klipa was promoted to vice president, conferences and events. Having joined the organization nearly eight years ago, Klipa has helped support AHLA and AHLA Foundation events, with member engagement opportunities increasing to over 100 touch points annually. Most notably, Klipa has helped to grow the Foundation’s two annual fundraisers to million-dollar events. In her new role, she will assume expanded responsibilities for the overall strategy, management and execution of all AHLA and AHLA Foundation programs, meetings and special events and will continue positioning these engagement points as a key source of non-dues revenue for both entities.
Lauren Pravlik was promoted to vice president, committees & member engagement. In this newly created role, Pravlik will be responsible for strategy and growth of AHLA’s Committee portfolio, content-focused groups to drive member engagement through industry alignment on time-sensitive topics, peer networking and the creation of industry resources. Pravlik is an AHLA veteran of nearly 13 years, having held various roles related to conferences & events, partnerships, and member relations.
Kat Fonda was promoted to senior director, federal affairs. This promotion recognizes her ongoing contributions to AHLA’s federal advocacy work in areas such as labor regulations, industry coalition leadership and expanding AHLA’s political influence in Washington, D.C. Fonda joined AHLA in 2023 from Fundraising Inc., where she was a fundraising consultant to several dozen members of Congress.
The promotions announced today are part of a growing AHLA team that has played an increasingly critical role on behalf of the hotel industry. Since 2021, the AHLA and AHLA Foundation teams have nearly doubled in size, growing to more than 85 combined employees, as AHLA continues to serve as the singular voice of America’s hotels and remains deeply engaged in policy issues affecting hoteliers at all levels of government.
“These promotions are incredibly well deserved and will help AHLA continue delivering top notch advocacy, member services, and communications support to hoteliers throughout the country,” AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers said in a statement. “Please join me in congratulating Matt, Sarah, Olivia, Lauren and Kat on their stellar work to strengthen our industry.”