WASHINGTON—The American Hotel & Lodging Association announced five promotions among its leadership team.
Matt Carrier was promoted to senior vice president of federal affairs, policy, and research. In this role, Carrier will lead AHLA’s federal advocacy team, with a focus on congressional engagement and regulatory issues. Additionally, he will continue to oversee the association’s industry research efforts. Carrier joined AHLA in early 2020 having previously spent nearly a decade working in the hotel industry, most recently at Marriott International.
Sarah Bratko was promoted to vice president, state and local government affairs and policy counsel. In this role, Bratko will help develop and expand AHLA’s state and local policy team, which has been a component of AHLA as it works to deliver advocacy results for hoteliers across the country. Bratko joined AHLA in 2022 from the Rhode Island Hospitality Association and has been a resource on policy analysis for AHLA.
Olivia Klipa was promoted to vice president, conferences and events. Having joined the organization nearly eight years ago, Klipa has worked on the evolution of AHLA and AHLA Foundation events, with member engagement opportunities increasing to over 100 touch points annually. Most notably, Klipa has helped to grow the Foundation’s two annual fundraisers to million-dollar events. In her new role, she will assume expanded responsibilities for the overall strategy, management, and execution of all AHLA and AHLA Foundation programs, meetings, and special events and will continue positioning these engagement points as a key source of non-dues revenue for both entities.
Lauren Pravlik was promoted to vice president, committees and member engagement. In this newly created role, Pravlik will be responsible for strategy and growth of AHLA’s Committee portfolio, content-focused groups to drive member engagement through industry alignment on time-sensitive topics, peer networking, and the creation of industry resources. An AHLA veteran of nearly 13 years, Pravlik is positioned to leverage her experience in various roles related to conferences and events, partnerships, and member relations.
Kat Fonda was promoted to senior director, federal affairs. This promotion recognizes her contributions to AHLA’s federal advocacy work in areas such as labor regulations, industry coalition leadership, and expanding AHLA’s political influence in Washington, D.C. Fonda joined AHLA in 2023 from Fundraising Inc., where she served as a fundraising consultant to several dozen members of Congress.
The promotions are part of a growing AHLA team that has played a role on behalf of the hotel industry. Since 2021, the AHLA and AHLA Foundation teams have nearly doubled in size, growing to more than 85 combined employees, as AHLA continues to serve as the voice of America’s hotels and remains engaged in policy issues affecting hoteliers at all levels of government.
“These promotions are incredibly well deserved and will help AHLA continue delivering top notch advocacy, member services, and communications support to hoteliers throughout the country,” said AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers.
