Multicultural Committee
Who is on the Committee?
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Meet Boston Board Member
C. Thomas & Associates
Carole's Blog
tellcarole@mac.com
For over three decades, Carole Copeland Thomas has been an unwavering force in the world of global diversity, equity, and inclusion. With a remarkable journey that began in 1987, she has risen to prominence as an acclaimed TEDx speaker, seasoned trainer, and a thought leader of international recognition. In the ever-evolving landscape of professional development, she remains at the forefront of emerging trends, keeping a vigilant eye on the concerns and challenges faced by working professionals.
Carole's extensive career, spanning an impressive 38 years, has been built on the bedrock of meaningful relationships and impactful partnerships. She has collaborated with a diverse array of local, national, and international clients, including corporate giants like State Street Corporation, Walmart, Amtrak, and Emirates Airlines.
She is more than just a speaker, trainer, or thought leader; she is a transformative force shaping the future of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Carole has spoken in 45 states and nine countries and has visited 32 countries on six continents. She is an at-large executive board member at Meet Boston and chairs their Multicultural Committee.
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Deputy Director, Programs at ArtsBoston
Founder, AfroDesiaCity
afrodesiacity@gmail.com
Olawumi Akinwumi (She/Her) is the Deputy Director of Programs at Arts Boston. Ola's (Ola, Olasco) background is in event management and public relations. In addition, she has over ten years of experience in live entertainment and social media—the owner of AfroDesiaCity Productions LLC an independent event management company.
Previously, Ola was the Director of Hibernian Hall at Madison Park Development Corporation for over five years. Through original quality theater productions and creative arts programming, she fostered the celebration of the cultural heritage of the Roxbury neighborhood. She has extensive expertise in non-profits, youth advocacy, and affordable housing. She is a long-time resident of Roxbury and is enthusiastic about fostering the revitalization of Roxbury by bringing a wide variety of art genres and civic events to the area. In her role at Hibernian Hall, she has provided opportunities for local artists to build, grow and cultivate their talents in this historic arts and cultural performance center.
Ola holds an MS in communications management from Simmons School of Management and a BS from New Hampshire. She began her education as a Tourism Planning and Development major. After graduation, she worked at the Sheraton Boston Hotel as an Executive Meeting Specialist and moved into several related positions that groomed her as an impresario.Olawumi can be reached at inquire@afrodesiacity.com.
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Director of Tourism & Marketing
Meet Boston Board Member
City of Quincy
dashley@quincyma.gov
Dagny Ashley's wealth of knowledge and experience in Tourism & Marketing has catapulted her to Quincy’s Director of Tourism. She is a graduate of Lesley University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business.
Her career in tourism & marketing started as the Group Tour Manager for the Southeastern Massachusetts Convention & Visitors Bureau for 14 years, promoting tourism marketing for all 20 Bristol County communities, including the four Gateway cities of New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, and Attleboro. She then went on to a position with the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism in Boston as the Group Tour Manager & Conference Manager for 6 years. The position entailed working with tourism stakeholders in the Commonwealth, promoting Massachusetts destinations, marketing travel trade, making connections with national hospitality businesses and meeting with regional tourism leaders throughout the Northeast and Canada. She also managed the Annual Governor’s Conference on Travel & Tourism as lead coordinator. She then became the Director of Tourism & Marketing for the City of New Bedford for 7 years, where she implemented a new tourism department, opened a visitor information center, created new branding, and initiated innovative marketing strategies to increase visitation and tourism.
Currently she is the City of Quincy's Director of Tourism. Her responsibilities include Quincy’s tourism marketing plan, implementing and managing the city’s new visitor center and seasonal staff, developing all marketing/advertising campaigns, and branding the city as a tourist destination locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, thus increasing visitation, local taxes and stimulating economic development. The department also serves as a tourism liaison between various related public and private organizations and institutions such as hotels, retail, dining, attractions, arts & culture.
She serves on various regional and state boards including the Meet Boston Board of Directors and serves on the Nomination committee as well as the Multicultural committee. She also serves on the Adams Presidential Center Advisory Committee and the Schooner Ernestina Morrissy Advisory Board; the Schooner Ernestina is the official state vessel of Massachusetts.
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Consultant and Community Advocate
wpdunham@juno.com -
Marriott Corporation
ddupee@comcast.net
Donna Dupee has held several positions during her tenure of nearly 30 years with the Marriott Corporation.To name some: Chief Concierge, Guest Relations Manager, Catering Manager,Training Manager, Guest Services Manager. She has received awards such as Concierge of the Year for the city of Boston and Black Achiever Award. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Donna served on the original Multicultural Committee of the GBVCB. -
The North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB)
rhalsey@naicob.org -
WICN Public Radio
bonnie@wicn.org
Bonnie Johnson is producer and host of Colors of Jazz, a weekly program that bridges the Boston Jazz scene from NPR affiliate WICN where she also serves as Underwriting Account Executive. Inspired by arts and culture, youth and literacy, Bonnie is committed to engaging with people of all ages. Her professional career spans more than a decade in technology. She has held various positions developing software, data driven cloud-based solutions and presently serves as Senior Program Consultant at CLEAResult, Inc.. Her contribution of time to various boards, serving local and regional institutions, has involved team building, decision-making and strategic planning with a focus on development. Bonnie's growth as a leader and mentor has been broadened by her collaborative reach into the community especially through the music. -
Director of Web and Digital Marketing
Meet Boston
gmcgibbon@meetboston.com
Glenn McGibbon's background includes over two decades of marketing communications and agency work across various industries including: Travel & Hospitality, Arts & Entertainment, Education, Publishing, Retail, and Consumer Expositions & Festivals.
Committed to helping shape the global perception of the Greater Boston region, Glenn has worked at Meet Boston for the past 8+ years as the Director of Web & Digital Marketing while also serving on Meet Boston's Multicultural Committee. He oversaw the redesign of MeetBoston.com in 2023 and the development of AllinclusiveBos.com, a microsite of a culturally inclusive tourism campaign initiated by The City of Boston in partnership with CPC Communications, Proverb Agency, and Meet Boston.
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Community Engagement Liaison
Meet Boston
mmunn@meetboston.com
Michael D. Munn returned to Meet Boston in May of 2022 as the Community Engagement Liaison. In his new role, Michael will be working with community stakeholders, members, local businesses, and internal departments to develop programs that support the visitor experience. Prior to his return to Meet Boston, Michael served as Chief of Staff and Director of Business Development for the Boston Convention Marketing Center. He began his career in the Hospitality and Conventions industry at The Interface Group, where he assisted in the expansion of the newly developed International Sales Division. He was instrumental in recruiting individual international corporations and government-sponsored joint ventures to participate in the Information Technology industry’s most successful events in the US. Michael’s work set the foundation for the US Department of Commerce to bestow upon the COMDEX events - the International Buyer Program Certification. His extensive experience in the industry will be key in his new role at Meet Boston. As a lifelong Bostonian, Michael enjoys meeting people, sharing his vast knowledge, history, and experience of the city, and showcasing the diverse talents and hospitality of its residents to all visitors large and small! -
Meet Boston Board Member
Harvard University Events Office
robin_parker@harvard.edu -
BostonFab - The Fab Empire, LLC
tiffany.probasco@gmail.com
Tiffany Probasco came to the Greater Boston Visitors Bureau Multicultural Committee through her work as a blogger and influencer as BostonFab! the Bureau Chief for the award-winning website The Fab Empire. Tiffany brings to the committee her passion for the African-American and multicultural young professionals of the Greater Boston-area. She is a NABJ (National Association of Black Journalist). She served two terms as a member of Spark! Boston - (formerly ONEin3) the mayors Boston's under 35 committee. She is a former column writer for The Bay State Banner. She earned an M.S. in Adult Education and Organizational Learning from Suffolk University and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Columbia University. She currently is Multilingual-Composition instructor and Multilingual Writing specialist at University of Delaware in the English Department. -
President & CEO
Meet Boston
msheridan@meetboston.com -
Meet Boston Board Member
Don Quijote Tours
dqtboston@gmail.com
Rafael A. Torres is a Board Member of the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau and has been a member of the GBCVB since 1991.
He is the founder and President of Don Quijote Tours of New England, Inc., a receptive tour company that has contributed to the inbound tourism industry for the New England region and more specifically, the Greater Boston area. Mr. Torres immigrated to the United States from Colombia and has been dedicated to the promotion of Boston, since its foundation in 1991.
Under Mr. Torres direction, DQT has provided very exclusive guiding services with professionalism and integrity to a wide range of international visitors, including multinational corporations, political leaders and celebrities from Spain and Latin American countries. He enjoys sharing both his knowledge and love for the region, and does so in Spanish, English, Italian, and Portuguese.Mr. Torres has had multiples roles in Boston, such as the Assistant Director of the Boston-YMCA International Office, Board Member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Board Member of the Colombian Cultural Exchange, Board Member of KeySteps, Inc. and instructor of the La Alianza Hispana's Adult Education. He has received several awards for his contributions to the Massachusetts tourism industry, such as the Larry D. Meehan Award, the Ambassador's Club Export Award, (US Embassy in Madrid, Spain) the Small Business Travel and Tourism Achievement Award, and the Massachusetts 100 Most Influential People
for Latinos Award. -
Executive Director
Meet Boston Board Member
Commonwealth Seminar
leverett@commonwealthseminar.org