Bill founded Longwoods in 1978 and has built the firm into a leading travel research consultancy that conducts strategic studies globally for clients at the national, state, city, and regional levels.

He began his career as an academic, teaching psychology, research methods and statistics at Western University, and was invited to the University of Western Australia as Distinguished Visiting Lecturer. He switched to market research when he was hired to design and manage a multimillion-dollar advertising ROI study for the CEOs of the phone companies across Canada. 

Bill is internationally recognized as a leading figure in marketing, advertising, and tourism research. His work has been cited in broadcast and print media, including USA Today, Newsweek, the New York Times, and the Times of London. He is a regular speaker at governors’ conferences and meetings, such as the Advertising Research Foundation, the American Marketing Association, the Brookings Institution, The Travel & Tourism Research Association, the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement, the Economic Development Administration, the European Society of Marketing Research, and the Public Relations Society of America. 

Bill has served on the boards for Georgia Tech, Waterloo University, Ryerson University, the University of Florida, the Travel & Tourism Research Association, and Destinations International. He was honored as a Ryerson Fellow, Executive in Residence at Temple University, and was commissioned an Honorary Citizen of New Jersey and Kentucky Colonel.

In 2021 he received the Travel & Tourism Research Association’s highest honor, its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Bill holds a B.A. (Honors) from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan.

A 33-year veteran of the Travel & Tourism industry, Amir joined Longwoods in 2015 from his previous role as Vice President, Partner Engagement with Brand USA, the public-private partnership serving as the destination marketing organization dedicated to increasing international visitation to the US. He led the team responsible for helping to increase its partnership base and focused on exceeding service expectation for those partners. During his tenure, Brand USA grew its base to 475 partners, comprised of destination marketing organizations, state tourism offices, attractions, hotels, travel brands, airlines, and tour operators.

Prior to joining Brand USA, Amir served as Director of the Ohio Office of Tourism. Under his leadership, the state's marketing programs realized a tremendous return on investment and contributed to the growth of the state's $40 billion tourism economy. These successful marketing efforts were often cited as the basis for the program’s many awards and recognitions during his tenure.

He has also served as Executive Vice President of the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association, Assistant Director of the Ohio Tourism Division, and Sales & Marketing Manager with the Steuben County Conference and Visitors Bureau.

Amir is a regular speaker on market research and tourism at conferences and events around the country. His thoughts on the tourism industry and travel trends are often quoted in the media, and he has appeared in dozens of interviews among many national media outlets such as CNBC, MSNBC, Forbes, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.

Amir has been recognized with a number of Industry honors including Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing award (2014) by the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI); The Ohio Tourism Industry's Highest Honor, The Paul Sherlock Award; and The State of Ohio Distinguished Service Medal. He is an active member of many Travel Industry committees and task forces, and currently serves on boards for the Destinations International Foundation and the U.S. Travel Association.

Amir holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Dayton and resides in Columbus, OH with his wife and two children.

George brings more than two decades of experience in tourism marketing and research to the Longwoods team and its clients. He was the Vice President responsible for Travel Michigan at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation from 2001 - 2014. Under his leadership, Travel Michigan launched the award-winning Pure Michigan brand, which Forbes ranked among the top ten tourism promotion campaigns worldwide. During his tenure, the annual tourism promotion budget rose from $5.7 million to $30 million.

Prior to joining Travel Michigan, George served as Ohio’s Tourism Director, and he was named State Tourism Director of the Year in 1997. He is the only person to have received this honor twice.

George served on the U.S. Department of Commerce Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, the Board of Directors of the U.S. Travel Association and the Board and Executive Committee of the National Council of State Tourism Directors. He was elected as Chair of the Council four times. In 2014, he led the effort to create the National Council of State Tourism Directors Alumni Group and was elected the group’s first chair.

The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) named George one of the “Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality Sales and Marketing.”

At Longwoods, George has consulted with and/or presented to the state tourism offices in Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, as well as convention/visitor bureaus in Asheville, North Carolina; Chester County, the Poconos, State College and York, Pennsylvania; Lake Geneva and Green Bay, Wisconsin.  

George is the author of three travel-related books and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

Blake first joined AGF in 1987 and held a series of senior positions before being appointed President in 1997, CEO in 2000, and Chairman in 2006. Under his leadership, AFG has grown to be a premier independent asset management company with operations in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia. Prio to joining AGF, he worked in corporate banking for a major Canadian bank.

Mr. Goldring sits on a number of private company and not-for-profit boards including the CD Howe Institute and the Canadian Film Centre and is the founder of Canada Company: Many Ways to Serve, a charitable, non-partisan organization created to connect business and community leaders with Canada's military. In 2011, Blake was appointed the first ever Honorary Colonel, Canadian Army. 

Blake has received numerous honors in recognition of his personal and professional achievements. He received a Doctor of Humane Letters from Victoria College, University of Toronto in 2021. In 2018, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada.

He holds an Honors in BA in Economics from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Business Administration from INSEAD in France. He is also a member of the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts, a CFA charter holder and a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers. 

Melissa Luebbe, a seasoned professional with over two decades of experience in the travel and tourism industry, joined as the Vice President of Client Development at Longwoods International in January 2024. Drawing from her extensive background in senior management roles across tourism marketing organizations, Melissa brings a wealth of expertise in marketing and business development to her role at Longwoods.  

She began her journey as the marketing manager for Great Lakes USA, an international Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), where she worked closely with Longwoods' own leadership, Amir Eylon and George Zimmerman. In her senior leadership roles at Meredith Corporation, Melissa excelled as the Publisher of Midwest Living magazine and National Director of Meredith Travel Marketing where she was recognized within the Top Women in Media Class of 2018. She also served as the Chief Engagement Officer for Zartico, and as the Client Management Director at the Chicago-based creative agency O’Keefe Reinhard & Paul, where Melissa directly collaborated with the Illinois Office of Tourism. Melissa is a sought-after speaker on cutting-edge industry developments, trends and opportunities.

Complementing her professional pursuits, Melissa takes great pride in serving as a mentor for emerging talents in our dynamic tourism industry. An eternal optimist, she treasures her role as the proud mother of three sweet little boys and serves as a youth sports coach. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Arts (Magna Cum Laude) in Speech Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  

As CFO, John is responsible for the company's financial functions, including financial planning, record keeping, risk management, taxation, and government compliance in addition to being a key member in the corporate decision-making process.

Since joining Longwoods International in 1997, he has continued to expand his responsibilities to include overseeing all human resources and facilities activities. His leadership and management skills were the catalyst in his 2016 promotion to chief financial officer. His career spans more than 25 years with varied experience in the accounting and financial profession.

Prior to joining the Longwoods team, John completed a professional hockey career in Copenhagen, Denmark, which began after graduating from Michigan Technological University, where he was a selection to the WCHA All-Academic and All-WCHA Second Teams.

Cassandra Ball manages the Longwoods Production team and ensures all quantitative studies follow vigorous market research standards to ensure reliable results and responsible insights. As such, Cassandra is responsible for the management and project flow of Travel USA©. She has lead Production since 2020, and joined Longwoods in 2016, based in the Columbus, Ohio office.
Previously Cassandra worked for the Cooke City Community Council as a grant writer and project manager. She spent three years working for the Colter Pass-Cooke City-Silver Gate Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center as a travel counselor. Cassandra was also a digital marketing intern at the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board.
Cassandra received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Economics and Business Management with a minor in Political Science. She graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia with a Master’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management with a Marketing concentration.

Victor has over 20 years of experience in marketing research. Before joining Longwoods as Research Manager in 2004, Victor was Consumer Insight Manager at Warner-Lambert, Inc., a global consumer and pharmaceutical products manufacturer. In that capacity, he was responsible for directing the research for several category-leading brands. 

At Longwoods, Victor oversees the requirements of our many projects, including sample and questionnaire design, fieldwork, data processing, analysis, and reporting.

He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Hawaii.

Brian brings a decade of experience in supporting clients and managing customer service teams in both the tourism and research environments. After being promoted at Brand USA, Brian was recruited into research leadership positions with two market research firms. With industry experience in the arts, travel & tourism, technology and community development, Brian brings a well-rounded approach to tailoring solutions for clients.

Brian received a BA in Art History from Lourdes University, holds an Executive MBA from the University of Toledo, and is currently the president of the board for a local nonprofit in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio.

Kelsey Waite is Longwoods International’s Senior Manager of Client Services where she supports destination clients across the globe with their research needs. Kelsey has a decade of experience in the hospitality and tourism research industry. Before joining Longwoods International in 2023, Kelsey was Director of Destinations at Near, where she helped bring the world of geolocation research to a larger tourism audience. Previously, Kelsey had a 6-year tenure with STR (a CoStar Company), acting as a leader in hotel analytics for destinations of all sizes across North America.

Before venturing into the research side of tourism, Kelsey graduated from Ball State University. She then went on to work for a full-service hotel in Indianapolis, and a county-level destination marketing organization in Central Indiana.

Kelsey holds a Certificate of Hotel Industry Analytics, and a Certification of Advanced Hotel and Tourism Analytics.

She has been on boards and committees for multiple industry associations over the years, such as Destinations International’s Partner Advisory Council. She is currently a board member of the CenStates Chapter of the Travel and Tourism Research Association. Kelsey is based in Indianapolis, IN.

Josanni Martinez, as a Senior Coordinator of Research Services, assists the Longwoods Client Service team by serving as a resource for quantitative research best practices while providing support on presentation management, client relationship management and logistical support.

Josanni is a specialist in Communication and Research with a focus on Strategic and Corporate Communication applicable both organizationally and globally.

Before joining the Longwoods team, she worked on one of the market research teams at the Gerson Lehrman Group, in where she aided in the design and facilitation of customized surveys targeting a wide variety of specialized topics for various B2B clients ranging from large fortune 500 companies to other SMBs.

She also has international experience working at one of South Korea’s largest banks headquarters in Seoul, South Korea as a Market Researcher at Hana Bank and consulted with a leading Korean biotech company to develop a transformative business innovation as a Team Lead Innovation Analyst.

Josanni graduated from Chapman University with a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic and Corporate Communication and a Master of Science in Health and Strategic Communication. She also holds a Global MBA from Yonsei University Graduate School of Business - one of South Korea’s top universities.

Tammy Koerte is Longwoods’ Senior Research Manager, where she leads the management of individual client research projects and Longwoods’ National Resident Sentiment study. She has extensive academic and professional experience conducting and managing both quantitative and qualitative research studies. Tammy has held this role since 2022 and joined Longwoods in 2019.

Prior to joining Longwoods, Tammy was an Extension Educator with the University of Minnesota Tourism Center where she led the Tourism Assessment Program. She was also an instructor at Pennsylvania State University, teaching courses on marketing recreation services.

Tammy holds a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Purdue University and Master’s degrees in both Recreation, Park and Tourism Management and Community and Economic Development from Pennsylvania State University.

Nantha has a university degree in Mathematics and was a mathematics teacher at the high school level prior to joining Longwoods thirty years ago.

 She is a specialist in database management and is responsible for the data processing side of all of our client projects. She handles specifications writing, cross-tabulation of data, multivariate modeling, and segmentation.

Clare Robinson, as a Senior Research Manager, assists in the management of individual client research projects and deliverables. She joined Longwoods in 2021 and has held this position since 2022. She is based in the Columbus, Ohio office. 

Before joining the Longwoods team, Clare worked as a Research Assistant for The U.S.- Asia Center for Tourism and Hospitality Research at Temple University, where she attended graduate school. Clare was also a marketing intern for the Travel and Tourism Research Association. 

Clare graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Textile Design and a minor in Business Administration. She received a Master's in Tourism and Hospitality Management from Temple University in Philadelphia. 

Arianna Johnson, as a Research Analyst, assists the Longwoods Production team by providing analytical support on quantitative studies and facilitating the creation of client deliverables. She joined Longwoods in 2023 and is based in the Columbus, Ohio office. 

Before joining the Longwoods team, Arianna worked as the SP&D Ad - Ops intern helping the team to track and analyze campaign delivery and performance at Dow Jones. Arianna was also a Social Media and Marketing intern for Yumlish.

Arianna graduated from Indiana University South Bend with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Advertising and a minor in Business Analytics. 

Lawrence Williamson, as a Research Analyst, assists the Longwoods Production team by providing analytical support on quantitative studies and facilitating the creation of client deliverables. He joined Longwoods in 2023 and is based in the Columbus, Ohio office.

Lawrence worked as a middle school math teacher and a fifth-grade teacher prior to joining Longwoods International. During his time as a teacher, Lawrence facilitated learning in logical and mathematical equation as well as the application of math skills in the classroom and beyond. Lawrence's experience using research-based practices and analysis of students' progress helped develop an understanding of data in day-to-day application. Lawrence serves as a high school board member where he helps oversee the health and well-being of the school.

Lawrence graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Special Education with a Specialization in Mild to Moderate Disabilities. 

Nick Kohler, as a Research Analyst, assists the Longwoods Production team by providing analytical support on quantitative studies and facilitating the creation of client deliverables.

Prior to working at Longwoods, Nick gained internship experience at several diverse companies. At William Blair as a Private Wealth Management Intern, he performed analysis and research on various stocks from a broad range of industries. He also interned at Ipsos as a Market Research Intern where he assisted the innovation team with various tasks including creating charts and preparing client deliverables.

Nick graduated from Dickinson College with a Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Management.