ShareKatie Davin, CHSE, is an associate professor in the Johnson & Wales University College of Hospitality Management and a member of HSMAI’s Sales Advisory Board:
I was doing catering hotel work in high school, and my mom said, “You know, you can go to college to do this.” I went to Cornell and got a bachelor’s degree in hotel administration, thinking I wanted a food-and-beverage career.
Then I did management training for Marriott, and they put me in catering services. That put me on the path to catering sales/group sales. I was with Marriott in the Boston area at four different properties — Newton Marriott, Andover Marriott, Boston Marriott Copley Place, and Boston Marriott Long Wharf. Everything was on-property sales.
Eventually I decided that I wanted to teach, so I went back to Cornell and got a graduate degree in hotel administration. I worked at Lasell College in Massachusetts for two years, and I’ve been at Johnson & Wales for 21. It’s an honor to be a part of the Sales Advisory Board. I get to meet some very accomplished hospitality sales professionals and see the industry from that level, and then share that with my students.