Maree Forbes Gaughan, PhD, Chief Strategist & CEO

As Chief Strategist for National Travel Center’s Center for Economic Development and Tourism, working to help communities achieve greater economic success, Dr. Forbes has had a long and varied career.  All the experience, education, and expertise assists the National Travel Center team to take a comprehensive and multi-faceted look at communities and assess what they need to attract new businesses, new residents and new visitors, along with working together to develop strategies to get there and thrive in the future. Yet even though she has comprehensive and award-winning command of several fields, throughout her career, Dr. Forbes has never wavered from the concept that strategies, actions, and recommendations must be grounded in reality, and both able and appropriate to be implemented within the unique fabric of any community.  A continuing appreciation for the unique heritage of each community, preservation of the unique aspects of the place and respect for the ideas and needs of the residents are central to every project she leads.

Leaving University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Masters in Art and Architectural History, with a side of Historic Preservation, she spent the first 12 years of her career working in architecture.  Moving to Nashville, TN for a job and ultimately to Washington, DC, Dr. Forbes took a job with the architectural firm that served as consultants to the Architect of the Capital and a branch of the firm that completed the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. There she worked on the restoration of several historic buildings in DC.

Even though this was all very fulfilling work, she decided there was more and pursued a Doctorate in Environmental Planning. A comprehensive slate of multifaceted coursework including courses in business, psychology, technology, planning, and facilities, culminated in a Dissertation titled “Functional Creativity,” an approach that looked at environments from a creative perspective, yet built in the functions needed to make them work for the occupants.

Recruited right out of Graduate School by The World Bank, the Development Bank in Washington, DC, Dr. Forbes signed on to implement a project that would determine the environment needed to help both the employees and buildings function better as The Bank took on more technology and changed its work processes. At the time, they were just drilling holes in concrete slabs to thread wiring through, an approach that was not sustainable to incorporate additional technology. The need to accommodate the work processes of Bank staff meant learning all aspects of economic development and how it works around the world, an education that serves as a strong foundation for her current work.

As an adjunct to that work, Dr. Forbes was recruited by the Building Owners and Managers Association International to develop their Facility Management Certification Coursework, 5 volumes/1,500 pages complete with study materials and exams.  She also developed Masterspec Interiors 5 volumes/900 pages, for the American Institute of Architects to guide interior architects to properly specify and detail the finishes, furniture, and fixtures needed in interior spaces.

At that point, a personal situation necessitated a career change. Since she had been traveling all over the nation and the world since age 7, Dr. Forbes opted to move into the tourism industry.  Based on a strong capacity to write, she was commissioned by the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International to develop two publications; Creating Customers: Marketing to Today’s Transforming Travelers, and A Resource Guide for the New Millennium: Hospitality, Travel and Tourism, a 404-page summary which detailed the past, present and future of every segment of the industry.  These two publications will be updated shortly.

Taking a break from constant traveling to raise a family, for nine years, she opted to manage an inbound receptive tour operation that brought in visitors from Europe, Asia, and Canada, a position that included certification as a lead travel agent by the International Air Transport Association.  In addition, Dr. Forbes was recruited by Temple University in Philadelphia in 2014 to serve as the Professor of Destination Management and Marketing in their Masters of Travel and Tourism program, the entire eight years the program was offered.

After founding National Travel Center over 10 years ago, with the intent of doing something meaningful in the tourism industry, Dr. Forbes has had the great pleasure of working with a multitude of communities, counties and companies across the United States to develop and increase tourism, including as a contracted leader to establish a new destination management organization for a small town. At this point, she has consulted to, worked in or with, or promoted every segment of the travel and tourism industry, except the airlines.

These projects incorporate the strategic planning experience and economic development knowledge earned at The World Bank, the placemaking skills developed in architecture, and the tourism knowledge and expertise developed over 35 years of assisting organizations to increase the economic development visitors deliver.  Not finding any material that was current enough to deal with all the changes occurring in tourism and destinations before starting to teach at Temple, she wrote her own coursework that culminated in a recent book; Tourism: Economic Development for any size community.  Another book Leading Communities to Greater Economic Success: It All Starts with a Visit, is on the way. Through it all is the sustained commitment that each location has unique value and no matter what size, each community has resources and assets that can be effectively used to enable the people who live in the communities to live better lives.

Education

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fine Art, Summa Cum Laude, University of Wisconsin
• Master of Arts, Art and Architectural History/Historic Preservation Summa Cum Laude, University of Wisconsin
• Master of Business Administration, Taft University
• Doctor of Philosophy, Environmental Planning, The Union Graduate School

Professional Certificates and Additional Coursework

• Professional Certificates and Additional Coursework
• Sustainable Development, Columbia University
• Local Economic Development, Erasmus University, The Netherlands
• Global Sustainable Tourism Council Sustainable Tourism Course
• Sustainable Tourism, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
• Sustainable Cities and Communities, 3 Course Certificate, Lund University, Sweden
• Strategic Leadership and Management, 7 Course Certificate, University of Illinois
  Champaign-Urbana
• Management Consulting, 5 Course Certificate, Emory University
• Marketing in a Digital World, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana
• Introduction to Digital Advertising, University of Colorado-Boulder
• What is Social? Northwestern University
• Smart Growth for Business, University of Virginia

Credentials

• Former Certified Facility Management Professional, Building Owners and Managers Association International
• Former Fellow, International Facility Management Association
• Former Professionally Certified Member, Institute of Business Designers
• Former Associate Member, American Institute of Architects
• Former Professionally Certified Member, Construction Specifications Institute
• Former International Air Transport Association Certified Travel Agent
• Federal Highway Administration Scenic Byway Expert Consultant
• Online Teaching Professional, Temple University

Recognition

• Adjunct Faculty, University of Tennessee-Nashville, Aesthetics for Engineers
• Former Board Member, Tennessee Association of Professional Business Designers
• Contract Design Magazine, Nationwide Emerging Designer Award
• Former Board Member, Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association
• Former Board Member, National Scenic Byway Foundation
• Chester County Pennsylvania Commissioners, Historic Preservation Award