The Greater DC Metro Chapter of GBTA would like to present

Business Travel Buyers' Panel 

Sponsored by:

The world’s only provider of real-time corporate travel data capture.

with Panelist:

Erin Wilk, Head of Global Security Business Office at Meta (formerly Facebook, Inc.)

Erin is currently the Head of the Global Security Business Office, supporting the Chief Security Officer, for Meta, Inc. (formerly Facebook, Inc.).  She has been with Meta since 2016, building and leading global teams such as Communications, People Excellence, Travel Safety, Vendor Management and Strategic Business Partnerships.

From 2006 to 2016, Erin was with Bank of America in Charlotte, NC, where she joined as a member of the Global Human Resources Staffing team, supporting HR and Executive Recruiting. In 2009, she moved into Global Corporate Security where she developed, implemented and managed the Global Travel Safety Program for the company. As a Senior Vice President, she was responsible for approximately 60,000 business travelers and over 130 country destinations a year.

Previous to her employment at the bank, Erin was a Professional Matchmaker and Senior Sales Director for It's Just Lunch!

Born and raised in Virginia, Erin graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Government and later completed the inaugural Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Manager Level certification course at the UVA Darden School of Business.

Erin served on the GBTA Board of Directors for many years and is the former Chair of the GBTA Risk Committee, was a 2016 GBTA Masters Honors recipient and was recognized as the 2017 GBTA Direct Member of the Year. 

 Erin served on the UBER for Business Advisory Board and the Advisory Board for the Global Congress on Travel Risk Management, is a Constituent Member of the Overseas Security Advisory Council and is Chair of Meta’s Women in Global Security group.

Erin is a graduate of the FBI Citizen’s Academy and Leadership Charlotte Class 37 and is a longtime member of the Junior League, having volunteered with the organization in Charlotte, Silicon Valley and now Baltimore. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Homeland Association and the Engineers Club of Baltimore.

David Thorne - North America Travel Manager at T. Rowe Price

David Thorne is an enthusiastic leader in the corporate travel industry.  He relishes the everyday challenges of business travel and loves the flow of new ideas and knowledge among peers in this ever-evolving industry. 

David currently works as Travel Manager for T. Rowe Price, a global investment management firm, whom he's been employed with for 11 years. 

David is also a board member of his local GBTA Chapter (President/Greater DC Metro Chapter). 

He has a resort/tourism management degree from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.  In his spare time, David enjoys playing golf, and coaches girls' volleyball at a high school in Baltimore.

Carmen Smith - Sr. Manager of Travel & Events at ICF

With an impressive 25+ years of experience in the Travel Industry, Carmen spent several years operating her own Travel Consulting firm which included advising Sports 
Teams Management, Government and Commercial clientele. 

Carmen has worked the better part of her career providing valuable insight to the Travel industry as a recognized expert in the field and has personally assisted several
companies in building state of the art Travel programs.

As Global Travel Manager at ICF, she oversees a team of Travel, Meeting & Events professionals as well as the dedicated travel agent team; all of whom are collectively 
responsible for the day-to-day operations of ICF’s direct and indirect business travel. 

Carmen is an active member of GBTA and the TAMs Community. She also hosted a biweekly webinar on the Return to Travel, Post Pandemic along with her other panel 
appearances. 

Carmen is a recipient of the 2020 GBTA Service Award and the 2021 Top 50 Women in Travel

Dawn O'Hearn, Director - Travel Management at American Red Cross

Dawn O’Hearn has over 30 years of experience in the travel industry, both on the supplier side and buyer side in both the public and private sector. 

She worked within Red Cross’s “One Red Cross” framework to develop and implement the Red Cross travel program.  She oversees the organization’s routine, ‘business as usual’, travel and their ‘no notice’ disaster response travel.   Strategic program management, process improvement, and cost efficiencies are a few of Dawn’s other responsibilities in her role as Director of Travel for the American Red Cross. 

Moderated By:

Sarah Mandell, Business Rental Sales Executive at Enterprise Holdings

Join us to understand the Travel Managers' perspective in a Post-COVID travel environment.  Moderated discussion plus questions from the audience.  Topics of discussion include COVID Impact on Travel Programs, Return to office plan including travel implications, Sustainability initiatives, and DEI.  This is a unique opportunity to suppliers to hear from the buyers and for travel buyers to gain insight from their colleagues.

Schedule of Events:

11:30AM to 12PM - Registration and Networking

12PM - Lunch is Served

12:30PM - 1:30PM - Panelist Discussion

You will receive 1 GTP Recertification Credit for attending this event

If you are interested in sponsoring this event or future DCMetroBTA events, please email [email protected]