Meet The Staff | Visit Pensacola

Darien Schaefer

President/CEO

Hometown: Milwaukee, WI

Born in Milwaukee, WI and growing up in the resort community of Wisconsin Dells, Darien has been involved in the hospitality and tourism industry for over 40 years.

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A graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Stout with a degree in Hotel/Restaurant Management, Darien has worked for Holiday Inn Corporation, Marriott Hotels, and Tharaldson Lodging. It was with Tharaldson Lodging, as an Area Director responsible for 13 hotels in 8 different markets, that Darien began working closely with destination marketing organizations. Darien eventually left Tharaldson Lodging to become the Executive Director for the Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau in 1998.

In April of 2000, Darien joined the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau. During his 13 years as the Executive Director, Marathon County rose from 17th to 9th out of 72 counties in Wisconsin for Economic Impact from traveler spending. Darien expanded the role of the CVB by creating a Sports Authority function that was responsible for developing new sporting events. Darien joined the Lake Geneva Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau in November 2013. Under Darien’s leadership, the two organizations were merged into Visit Lake Geneva in 2016.

Darien joined Visit Big Bear in 2017 as President & CEO to promote the resort community of Big Bear Lake, CA. In addition to growing tourism receipts by 83% in three years, Darien directed the purchase and renovation of a 5,000 sq. ft. building for a new Visitor Center and offices.

Darien and his wife, Karen, moved to Pensacola in April of 2020 when he accepted the position of President & CEO for Visit Pensacola.

Accounting and Administration

Wandy Samuel

Accounting Manager

Hometown: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Numbers guy. Super dad.

Wandy entered the tourism industry in 2013 as a staff accountant for Premier Island Management Group before joining the Visit Pensacola team in 2016. Previously, he served as the operations manager for Dollar Rent a Car of which he was responsible for effective and successful management of labor, productivity, quality control, safety measures and standard business operating procedures. He holds a degree in accounting from Pensacola Christian College.

Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his daughter. The two enjoy riding bikes, going shopping and Skyzone. He is an active member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida.

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Larry Orvis

Facilities Manager

Hometown: Pensacola, Fla.

Building gate keeper. Veteran. Bookworm

Larry Orvis currently serves as the facilities manager for Visit Pensacola. He is responsible for building maintenance, beautification, and office management. Orvis joined the team in 1998 as a tourism ambassador and served for two years before moving into his current role.

Prior to Visit Pensacola, Larry was a member of the U.S. Army for 28 years working in logistics. He retired to Pensacola in 1992 because he enjoys all of the activities. Outside of work, he enjoys reading.

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Marketing and Communications

Nicole Stacey

Director of Marketing and Communications

Trendsetter. Coffee addict. Travel enthusiast

Nicole Stacey joined the Visit Pensacola team in 2016 as the director of marketing and communications. She is responsible for overseeing the organizations domestic and international marketing efforts, the organization’s agency, Showcase Pensacola, grant allocations, public relations, brand identity, social media and web design.

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Prior to Visit Pensacola, Stacey was the director of the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce where she was responsible for day to day operations. She has over 6 years of marketing and communications experience and has been in the tourism and hospitality industry for over 10 years.

Her major achievements include:

Evolved Visit Pensacola public relations efforts which included out of market activations in Nashville at the Country Music Awards, New York, and Canada
Responsible for rebranding Visit Pensacola and developing, The Pensacola Experience
Evolved Tourism Works for Pensacola campaign, an initiative to communicate the value of tourism in Escambia County
Managed a $281,000 BP grant to improve Taste of the Beach, an annual festival on Pensacola Beach that highlights the area’s diverse cuisine and drives tourism
Evolved the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce membership, budget and community presence

Stacey is active in several state and national professional and travel industry associations including:

Florida Public Relations Association – 2018 Vice President of Annual Conference, responsible for the execution of the 80th annual state conference. 2017 President of the Pensacola Chapter.
Florida Association of Destination Marketing Organization PR Committee
NWFL Coalition Brand Team member
Leadership Pensacola c/o 2018 Civic & Government Day committee member

Stacey is actively involved in the Pensacola community. She currently serves on the University of West Florida Alumni Board of Directors, Leadership FPRA Committee, Leadership Pensacola Committee, Fiesta Pensacola, Hip huggers Mardi Gras Crew Board of Directors, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida, FPRA Pensacola and Sister Cities International.

Nicole is a graduate of Leadership Pensacola’s class of 2015 and she was named a rising star in 2013. She holds a master’s degree in strategic communications and leadership and B.A. in public relations and marketing from the University of West Florida.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends and traveling!

Shawn Brown

Digital Marketing Manager

Hometown: Gulf Breeze, Fla.

IT Guy. Outdoor Aficionado. Family Guy.

Shawn Brown joined the Visit Pensacola team in 2014 as the digital marketing manager. He is responsible for managing the website, assisting partners with listings and providing support for internal team members. He is experienced in search engine optimization, creative design and data analyzation.

Prior to Visit Pensacola, Brown served as a webmaster for Cox Communications for 13 years. There, he developed applications for internal communications and focused on web design. Following college, he was self-taught in web design, coding, and information technology. Shawn earned a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies from Calvary Chapel Bible College.

A true outdoorsman, Shawn and his wife Lindy own Outdoor Gulf Coast, an adventure equipment rental company. In his spare time, he enjoys windsurfing, paddling, hiking and more. The two have two children, Sarah and Sam.

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Lindsey Steck

Marketing & Communications Manager

Experience chaser. Content curator. NFL buff

Lindsey Steck joined the Visit Pensacola team in 2017 and is responsible for copywriting, writing for press, public relations, integrated marketing, content curation and social media management.

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Blake Howerton

Social Media & Content Associate

Hometown: Pensacola, Fla.

Creative. Pensa-local. Photography nerd.

Blake Howerton joined Visit Pensacola in 2022 as the social media and content associate and is responsible for planning, creating, and implementing social media content across eight platforms.

Blake is a Pensacola native and prior to joining the team at Visit Pensacola served as the communications coordinator at Studer Family Entertainment & Retail for 3 years, and most recently as the marketing and communications coordinator at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida for just over a year. He has a bachelor’s degree in communications with a focus in advertising from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.

In his spare time, Blake enjoys photography, cooking, watching the sunset on the beach with his friends, and dining at one of Pensacola’s great restaurants.

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Prior to Visit Pensacola, Steck served as a corporate communications assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs where she served as a public relations contact for community outreach events. She was responsible for writing for press and publication, press conference facilitation, public relations, football communications support, assisting club executives and game day support. Throughout her time in college, she served in athletic communications as the public relations contact for men and women’s cross country and additionally assisted with 13 other sports.

Steck began her journey in the tourism industry working for Florida House on Capitol Hill, the country’s only state embassy in Washington, D.C. There, she supported events, assisted administration and welcomed guests from across the globe. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations from the University of West Florida.

Outside of the office, Steck is actively involved in the community. She currently volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida, Junior League of Pensacola and serves on the Board of Directors for the Florida Public Relations Association. In her free time, you can find her scouring farmer’s markets, watching NFL football and working on her East Hill cottage.

Elliott Cooper

Digital and Creative Manager

Hometown: Pensacola, FL

Gamer. Drone Flier. Digital Guy.

Elliott Cooper joined Visit Pensacola in 2021 as the Digital & Creative Manager and is responsible for inhouse graphic and video creation.

Prior to Visit Pensacola, Elliott worked as a Digital Marketing Coordinator for Innisfree Hotels and Keep Pensacola Beautiful. Raised in Gulf Breeze, Elliott is a true local and spent most of his time growing up on Pensacola Beach. Elliott earned a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of West Florida.

Elliott enjoys technology and loves tinkering with electronics and computers in his free time. He has two cats and two dogs and he loves taking the dogs on long walks on the nature trails around UWF.

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Sales and Services

Melissa Bailey

Partner Relations Manager

Hometown: Pensacola, Fla.

Foodie. Optimist. Baseball Mom.

Melissa Bailey joins the Visit Pensacola team with over 20 years of industry experience. For the past 17 years, she has served Great Southern Restaurants as the director of catering and private events. With experience in both the front and back of house operations, she thrives in making connections with community partners and stakeholders.

A native of Pensacola — and planning to stay that way by continuing to build roots with friends, family, and loyal customers, she is the perfect person to trust with your business needs.

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Kaya Man

Destination Sales Manager

Hometown: Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Fishin’ chick. Chef. Beach bum

Kaya Man joined Visit Pensacola in 2018 as the Partner Relations Manager. She is responsible for partnership development and maintenance for the organization. Kaya brings over 15 years of hospitality experience to the team.

Man spent the last eight years serving, training and managing the Grand Marlin on Pensacola Beach. Previously, she owned an event planning company and also owned Elephant Seasoning, a catering and seasoning business started by her father. She holds a bachelor’s degree in restaurant and hospitality management from the University of West Florida.

Man is actively involved in the community and currently serves as the Greater Pensacola Tennis Ladies League captain, and Sandspur Tennis Tournament President. Outside of the office, she enjoys cooking and spending time at the beach with her family.

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Visitor Services

Lisa Essman

Tourism Ambassador

Lisa Essman joined visit Pensacola in November of 2018 as a part-time tourism ambassador. She is responsible for greeting and servicing guests, building upkeep, and customer relations.

Before Visit Pensacola, Essman taught 12th-grade literature for nearly 30 years in the Shelby County School System in Alabama. Following her retirement, she decided to retire to the Pensacola Bay Area after vacationing here for over 20 years. Outside of work, she enjoys gardening, reading, and learning new things about the area.