GSMCON Local Host Committee

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2025 Local Host Committee

About the Local Host Committee

The Local Host Committee (LHC) is an advisory group of appointed volunteers to help plan the Government Social Media Conference. Members are typically highly engaged social media or communication professionals in the public sector and work in the greater region where GSMCON is being held each year.

The LHC works in coordination with Team GSM and the GSM Membership Council to help plan an exceptional conference experience!

GSMCON2025 Local Host Committee

Our GSMCON2025 Local Host Committee is helping plan an exciting event in the Orlando area for our 10-year anniversary! We're pleased to introduce you to our 2025 Local Host Committee members:

Jacob Board
City of Jacksonville Beach

Juan Diasgranados
Miami-Dade County, Corrections and Rehabilitation Department

Mari Ganues
City of Jacksonville/Kids Hope Alliance

Frances Rivera
City of Orlando

Beth Sherling
City of Lakeland, FL - Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Arts

Stephanie Silva
City of Winter Park

Jamin Smith
City of Lakeland

Ashley Turner
Charlotte County

Leilani Vaiaoga
MetroPlan Orlando

Kimberly Walker
Seminole County Property Appraiser

GSMCON2024 Local Host Committee

Thank you to our GSMCON2024 Local Host Committee for helping us plan and execute a successful event in Palm Springs, California! Although positions may have changed in the time since, here is a snapshot in time of the 2024 Local Host Committee members:

Brianna Borunda
City of Menifee, CA

Sophia Champieux
Orange County Fire Authority

Sylvia Ferrer
Riverside County Dept of Waste Resources

Josh Leith
Newport Beach Fire Dept

Risseth Lora
City of Coachella, CA

C.L. Lopez
Riverside County Department of Public Social Services

Yesenia Mendoza-Menchaca
Los Angeles County Dept of Children and Family Services

Joseph Riser
City of Los Angeles Emergency Management

Andrea Stein
City of San Ramon, CA

Yvonne Varela
Riverside County Sheriff’s Office

GSMCON2023 Local Host Committee

Our GSMCON 2023 Local Host Committee members helped us plan and achieve a great event in Reno, Nevada! Although positions may have changed in the time since, here is a snapshot in time of the 2023 Local Host Committee members:

Katie Charleson
Silver State Health Insurance Exchange, NV

Julie Duewel
City of Sparks, NV

Lydia Gutierrez
Washoe County, NV

Emerson Marcus
Nevada National Guard

Cynara Medina
Nevada Division of Forestry

Jacob Sanders
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada

Natasha Shahani
City of Las Vegas, NV

Erin Yeung
Reno Public Safety Dispatch, NV

GSMCON2022 Local Host Committee

Our GSMCON2022 Local Host Committee members helped us plan and execute our first hybrid conference in Dallas, Texas! Their talent and support for the event was amazing. Although positions may have changed in the time since, here is a snapshot in time of the 2022 Local Host Committee members:

Elizabeth Campbell
Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Mgmt.

Angela Douglas
Houston Police Department, TX

Jesika Fisher
City of Carrollton, TX

Frances La Rue
City of Anna, TX

Lacey Lively
City of College Station, TX

Rhonda Simpson
City of Dallas Office of Emergency Mgmt.

Sarah Torchin
City of Austin, TX

Michael Vega
City of Fort Worth, TX

Valonia Walker
Aldine Independent School District

Richard Yeakley
City of Longview, TX

Looking for the GSMCON2021 Local Host Committee? Because the conference was held 100% online, we didn't recruit for an LHC!

GSMCON2020 Local Host Committee

The GSMCON2020 conference was cancelled just a couple of weeks prior to the event in March 2020 due to the COVID19 pandemic, so our host committee didn't have the opportunity to help run the event. However, the committee deserves to be recognized for their dedicated commitment in helping to plan the event for many months!

Although positions may have changed in the time since, here is a snapshot in time of the 2020 Local Host Committee members:

Sarah Farahani
King County Metro Transit, WA

Stephanie Guzman
Seattle City Council, WA

Kelly Hawks
Valley Regional Fire Authority, WA

Cameron Satterfield
King County Metro Transit, WA

Kellie Stickney
City of Kirkland, WA

Marie Tweedy
King County DNR & Parks, WA

Sean Whitcomb
Seattle Police Department, WA

GSMCON2019 Local Host Committee

In 2019, we launched our first-ever Local Host Committee to help plan the conference. See the group of Tennessee-area volunteers below who used their networks and expertise to help expand GSMCON’s impact in Nashville. Although positions may have changed in the time since, here is a snapshot in time of the 2019 Local Host Committee members: