Executive Staff
Ellen Oppenheim is the President/CEO of the RSCVA. Prior to accepting this position, Ellen was the Deputy Chief of Neighborhood and Customer Services for the City of San Diego. Previous to serving as the Deputy Chief, she also held the positions Deputy City Manager and Director of Park and Recreation for the City of San Diego. From 1999 to 2002, Ellen was the General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. From 1996 until 1999 she served as Vice President/General Manager for GES Exposition Services managing the Northern California office based in south San Francisco. Ellen was Director of Conventions, Cultural and Visitor Services for the City of San Jose from 1990 to 1996. Other top level posts include the position of Associate Dean of Students at Stanford University in the eighties. She is a proven CEO/COO/General Manager with government, corporate and university experience. Ellen has a B.A. in Psychology and M.B.A. in Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ellen has managed and marketed a wide variety of facilities, programs and services.E-mail eoppenheim@rscva.com. (775-827-7618)
Tim Smith is Vice President of Finance. He joined the RSCVA in March 1999, bringing with him 21 years of experience in the gaming and hospitality industries. Prior to joining the Authority, he was the Director of Finance for Boomtown Hotel and Casino for two years. Before that time, he worked for Hilton Hotels Corporation for 19 years, including serving as Director of Finance/Controller at numerous locations. E-mail tsmith@rscva.com. (775-827-7690)
Knud Svendsen is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Svendsen has worked for PCH Hotels & Resorts, Adams Mark Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels Corporation and The Continental Companies in various sales and marketing capacities including Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He also worked for Embassy Suites Resort Lake Tahoe as the Director of Sales and Marketing. He is a graduate of Purdue University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Hotel/Restaurant Management, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations. E-mail ksvendsen@rscva.com. (775-827-7742)
Steve Casper is Executive Director of Human Resources. He joined the RSCVA in November of 2000, bringing more than twenty years experience in human resources management, risk management and business operations experience to the organization. He has a B.B.A. and M.B.A. in business management. Prior to joining the RSCVA, he successfully developed and implemented Human Resources/Risk Management programs at Tahoe Donner Association and United Construction Company. Before he moved into the Human Resources field, Mr. Casper served as Manager of Operations for the PureGro Company, a Union 76 subsidiary, in both Los Angeles and Sacramento, CA. E-mail: scasper@rscva.com. (775-827-7699)
Philip D'Amico is the Executive Director of Convention Sales for the RSCVA. Prior to this position, Mr. D'Amico worked for PCH Hotels & Resorts in Point Clear, Alabama as their Area Director of Sales and Marketing where he oversaw one resort and two downtown hotels. Previously, he served as Director of Sales and Marketing at Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts in Dallas and the Ernest Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. He also held various director and sales positions for brand hotels like Marriott, Sheraton and Clarion hotels. E-mail pdamico@rscva.com. (775-827-7608)
John House is General Manager of the Livestock Events Center, where he oversees a department of 20 full-time employees and 3 seasonal employees. He joined the RSCVA in February 1996, with over 20 years experience in the hospitality industry. He climbed the ranks of the Livestock Events Center holding the positions of Operations Supervisor, Operations Manager, and General Manager. E-mail jhouse@rscva.com or call 775-688-5758.
Joe Kelley is the Vice President of Facilities, overseeing management of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center, the National Bowling Stadium, the Reno Events Center, the Wildcreek Golf Course and Northgate Golf Club. Kelley joined the RSCVA in 1998 as director of the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center. Over the course of his years with the organization, he has served in a variety of facility management roles, most recently as the general manager of the National Bowling Stadium, the Reno Events Center, the Wildcreek Golf Course and the Northgate Golf Club.
With more than 20 years of experience in facility management, Kelley previously served as the assistant director of public events for the city of Forth Worth, Texas, where he managed operations at the Will Rogers Memorial Center and oversaw a $4.2 million budget. He was also employed for nearly ten years as general manager for the Will Rogers Memorial Center. E-mail jkelley@rscva.com. (775-673-3392)
Ralph Witsell is Executive Director of Travel Industry Sales for the RSCVA. Mr. Witsell joins the RSCVA from American Airlines Vacations, the world's largest tour operator owned solely by an airline. For the past 12 years Mr. Witsell has been responsible for leisure market product development including Reno, Las Vegas, Ski, California, the U.S. City Stay Program and Florida. Before joining American Airlines, Mr. Witsell worked as a promotion manager for MCA and Atlantic Records and as the Vice President of Marketing and Promotion for independent recording label Permian Records in Dallas, Texas.E-mail rwitsell@rscva.com. (775-827-7707)
As the Executive Director of Marketing, Michael Thomas is responsible for overseeing communications, advertising, special events and Internet marketing for the RSCVA. He joined the organization from Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN), where he was director of investor development. During his sales and marketing career in Reno-Tahoe, Thomas has also served as the director of business development at Twelve Horses North America, executive director for the Tech Alliance and reporter and anchor at KTVN news.Thomas earned a communications degree from Saint Marys College in Moraga, Calif. His marketing skills have been recognized by the Sierra Nevada Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, which awarded him the Mark Twain Award for achievement in community service and public relations, as well as the American Marketing Association, which named him Marketer of the Year in 2002. Thomas was also recently named one of the inaugural 20 under 40 award winners by the Reno Gazette Journal and Reno-Tahoe Young Professionals Network. E-mail mthomas@rscva.com. (775-827-7750)
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