About Visit Omaha

Mission Statement:

To stimulate economic growth for our community by increasing visitation.

Key Objectives: 

  • Successfully sell and promote our community as a desirable visitor destination.

  • Influence tourism development to ensure future destination success.

  • Deliver a positive and memorable customer experience.

  • Collaborate and enhance relationships with local organizations, businesses and stakeholders.

  • Operate as an efficient, high performing organization.

Organization Description:

Visit Omaha creates sustainable visitor demand for the community through: meeting, event, sport and leisure marketing; collaborative relationships; broad industry experience; and unprecedented product knowledge. Visit Omaha’s efforts result in economic growth and job creation for our community.

Guiding Principles:

Relevance: We are committed to being consistent, accountable, transparent, perseverant, and dedicated to excellence.

Innovation: We are committed to being creative, pioneering, collaborative, and problem solving.

Gratitude: We are committed to being appreciative of both the big and small contributions that make our organization and industry valuable to our community.

History:

Visit Omaha (a.k.a. Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau) began operating on December 1, 1980 as the Douglas County Department of Conventions and Tourism. In 1997, the name was changed to the Greater Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau (GOCVB), but was still operated by Douglas County. In 2002 during the development of the new city-owned convention center, the first Interlocal agreement between Douglas County and the City of Omaha was established to transfer control of the GOCVB to the city and to add the GOCVB’s executive director to the Mayor’s cabinet. The Interlocal agreement was renewed in 2007 and again in 2013 for a ten-year term, ensuring the department would remain a City entity through 2023. In 2016, the name was changed to Visit Omaha, Omaha’s Official Tourism Authority in an effort to simplify and better brand the department.

Visit Omaha continues its efforts in showcasing Omaha as a destination for leisure, convention, meeting, sport and motor coach visitors. The current team enthusiastically supports the economic growth and development of the entire Omaha metro area.

Visit Omaha Awards:

View the complete list of awards and designations.

DMAP Certification:

Visit Omaha is certified through the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP). The globally recognized DMAP accreditation ensures that Visit Omaha's policies, procedures and practices meet the highest standard in the industry. 

DMAP Seal_color

Staff Directory

Administration

Contact Visit Omaha, at 402-444-4660 or toll-free at 866-937-6624.

Deborah Ward

Executive Director

dward@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Achiever, Responsibility, Ideation, Individualization, Learner

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” - Seneca, Roman philosopher

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Dean Miller

Vice President of Operations

dmiller@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Futuristic, Achiever, Strategic, Competition, Self-Assurance

“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, either way you are right.” - Henry Ford

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Jodie Jordon

Office Manager

jjordon@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Responsibility, Harmony, Relator, Consistency, Discipline

”Responsibility finds a way. Irresponsibility makes excuses.” - Gene Bedley

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Shannon Wiig

Director of Visitor Services

swiig@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Empathy, Developer, Learner, Positivity, Achiever

“Make each day your masterpiece.” - John Wooden

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Sales & Services

To contact Sales & Services please call 402-444-4037.

Cathy Keller

Vice President of Sales & Services

ckeller@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Strategic, Maximizer, Relator, Achiever, Includer

”We are visitors on this planet. We are here for 100 years at the very most. During that period, we must try to do something good, something useful with our lives. If you contribute to other people’s happiness, you will find the true meaning of life.” - Dalai Lama

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Mark Rath, STS

Director of Sports

mrath@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Positivity, Arranger, Responsibility, Developer, Self-Assurance

“Great things happen to those who don’t stop believing, trying, learning, and being grateful.” - Roy T. Bennett

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Mattie Scheeter, CMP

Director of Sales

mscheeter@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Developer, Empathy, Achiever, Responsibility, Relator

“Don’t ruin a good today thinking about a bad yesterday.” - Russell Simmons

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Matt Heck

Senior Sales Manager

mheck@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Responsibility, Relator, Arranger, Deliberative, Self-Assurance

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Lao Tzu

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Jessica Settje

Tourism Sales Manager

jsettje@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Futuristic, Arranger, Individualization, Achiever, Woo

“Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.” - Jane Goodall

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Jen Swanson

Sales Executive Assistant

jswanson@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Empathy, Futuristic, Adaptability, Activator, Maximizer

"The noblest art is that of making others happy." - P.T. Barnum

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Noah Huber

Sales and Marketing Coordinator

nhuber@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Consistency, Futuristic, Context, Focus, Harmony

"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston S. Churchill

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Erin Brungardt

Director of Convention Services

ebrungardt@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Communication, Restorative, Connectedness, Responsibility, Woo

“Communication is merely an exchange of information, but connection is an exchange of our humanity.” - Sean Stephenson

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Madeline Meyer

Convention Services and Housing Manager

mmeyer@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Responsibility, Developer, Discipline, Belief, Positivity

“We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.” - St. Teresa of Calcutta

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Marketing & Public Relations

To contact Marketing & Public Relations, please call 402-444-1763.

Jasmyn Goodwin

Vice President of Marketing & Communications

jgoodwin@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Maximizer, Achiever, Responsibility, Competition, Focus

“Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be Empowered.” - Michelle Obama

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Erin O'Brien

Director of Marketing

eobrien@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Learner, Input, Restorative, Responsibility, Empathy

“You’ll never grow beyond your current circumstances if you’re closed off to everything except what you currently know.” - Marie Forleo

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Megan Feeney

Marketing Content Manager

mfeeney@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Input, Strategic, Learner, Achiever, Positivity

"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi

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Noelle Agenor

Social Media Manager

nagenor@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Input, Developer, Learner, Intellection, Achiever

“What good are wings, without the courage to fly?” - Atticus Finch

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Lynn Mace

Marketing Research Analyst

lmace@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Empathy, Input, Adaptability, Learner, Individualization

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” - Albert Einstein

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Amy Cunningham

Graphic Designer

acunningham@visitomaha.com

Strengths: Intellection, Relator, Deliberative, Input, Developer

“Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” - Henry Van Dyke

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The Omaha Visitors Center is staffed with knowledgeable ambassadors ready to assist you with ideas and directions. Two airport information desks are located in each terminal at Eppley Airfield.  

For Visit Omaha job opportunities, please see our careers page.

 

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