The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has made five promotions among its leadership team.
Matt Carrier has been promoted to SVP, federal affairs, policy and research. In this role, he leads AHLA’s federal advocacy team, with a focus on congressional engagement and regulatory issues. Additionally, he continues to oversee the association’s industry research efforts. He joined AHLA in early 2020 having previously spent nearly a decade working in the hotel industry, most recently at Marriott International.
Sarah Bratko has been promoted to VP, state & local government affairs & policy counsel. In this role, Bratko helps develop and expand AHLA’s state & local policy team, which has been a critical component of AHLA as it works to deliver advocacy results for hoteliers across the country. She joined AHLA in 2022 from the Rhode Island Hospitality Association.
Olivia Klipa has been promoted to VP, conferences and events. Having joined the organization nearly eight years ago, Klipa has been integral in the evolution of AHLA and AHLA Foundation events, with member engagement opportunities increasing to more than 100 touchpoints annually, according to the association. Most notably, she has helped to grow the foundation’s two annual fundraisers to million-dollar events. In her new role, she assumes 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 has been promoted to VP, committees & member engagement. In this newly created role, she is 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, she is uniquely positioned to leverage her experience in various roles related to conferences & events, partnerships and member relations, according to the association.
Kat Fonda has been promoted to senior director, federal affairs. This promotion recognizes her ongoing contributions to AHLA’s federal advocacy work in areas such as labor regulations, industry coalition leadership and expanding AHLA’s political influence in Washington, DC. Fonda joined AHLA in 2023 from Fundraising Inc., where she served as a fundraising consultant to several dozen members of Congress.
“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 Chip Rogers, president/CEO, AHLA. “Please join me in congratulating Matt, Sarah, Olivia, Lauren and Kat on their stellar work to strengthen our industry.”
