Our Board of Directors

Joel Brand

President
Joel is a Senior Vice President at Boyd, Shackelford, Barnett, & Dixon. With over 25 years in the insurance brokerage business, and a Degree of Insurance and Risk Management from the College of Insurance (Now St. John’s University), Joel applies his high touch approach within his main focus areas of Hospitality, Technology, Golf Related Entities, Non-Profits and other Commercial Insurance Sectors. This high touch philosophy, along with his partnership approach (Client, Broker, Insurance Carrier), allows his clients to feel part of the solution process, rather than an institutionalized philosophy. As clients have specific needs, this allows for an Insurance Solution that is customized to their needs, not the needs of the broker or Insurance Carrier. In his spare time, Joel enjoys spending time with his wife Desha, and their three children Savannah (21), Madison (18) and Jake (11). Also, he enjoys a good laugh with friends over a nice glass of whiskey and BBQ!

Grant Stout

Vice-President
Grant is a Central Accounting Manager for Aimbridge Hospitality where he oversees central accounting staff who handle the individual hotel properties.
Grant has been with Aimbridge since 2017 when he started as an accounting intern. With 5+ years at Aimbridge, he now runs the accounting internship program working with DFW colleges. Grant is a graduate from the University of North Texas.
He enjoys watching the Dallas Stars, hanging out with his dogs Coco Chanel and Tory Burch, and traveling with his wife Natalie.

Jackie Person

Treasurer
Jackie is the Vice President of Business Services at Centrada Solutions where she oversees the accounting department and general business services. Jackie has been in the hospitality industry for over 25 years working in various accounting positions in Dallas and Houston. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Texas. She also enjoys traveling and attending games for the local sports teams.

Cassie Thames

Secretary
Cassie is the CFO of Dallas Athletic Club, a member-owned country club in east Dallas with a rich history of providing a unique and rewarding club experience to it's members on a 325-acre campus. Cassie has served in this role at the DAC for over four years and prior to that was Director of Operations at a Dallas law firm. The transition to the hospitality industry has been a rewarding experience and HFTP has provided excellent educational experiences and social connections for her. Cassie has her Bachelor of Science from Oklahoma State University, but routinely roots for the Texas Aggies with her husband and two sons.

Angie Dyer Abston, CPA

Director - Immediate Past President
Angie is a Senior Vice President of Finance for TPG Hotels and Resorts, one of the nation’s premier hotel management companies. At TPG, Angie provides leadership and oversight of the accounting function for their Operations Headquarters. She has been in the hospitality industry since 2001 and in the accounting field even longer. Her experience includes select service, full service, and boutique hotels; resorts; retail; multifamily; general contracting and home building. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from LeTourneau University, graduating Summa Cum Laude, and her Master of Accounting and Finance Management from Keller Graduate School of Management. She enjoys live music, traveling and watching NFL.

Carl Arnold

Director - Social Media
Carl is a Chapter Director and is responsible for our Facebook and X pages..

Steven Woodward

Director - Website
Steve is a Chapter Director and is responsible for the Chapter Website and Chapter Eventbrite account. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Centrada Solutions: A Hospitality IT Company which supplies outsourced IT Resources and Services to Hotels and Hotel Management Companies across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Steve began his hospitality career over 25 years ago as a Front Desk Agent at a resort in Scottsdale, AZ. During the first half of his career, he worked in hotels and was the General Manager at several Wyndham properties throughout the country. In 1998 he accepted the position of Vice President of Distribution Technology for Wyndham International. He held that position until 2005 when he left to found Centrada.

Don Bahlman

Director - Membership
Don is a Chapter Director and is responsible for Membership. He is CEO and Co-Founder of iOpen Innovations and a 30-year veteran in technology. He moved to Dallas in the 90's to work in the field of Visual Simulation and Training. This led him into Video Games and as a Game Producer, he gained a deep understanding of customer empathy and what is necessary to bring an idea to full product. He also designed early curriculum for Video Game Design at the Art Institute and taught the first courses there. For this, Don received the School President's Award in 1999 for Student Education. His work has been seen on CNN, MTV, Discovery and in Forbes Magazine; having worked on some high-profile projects involving: IBM, Dubai RTA, the Port of Rotterdam, NASA Life Sciences, and Mayo Clinic. Don has been building technology for the hospitality industry for 6-years now. He enjoys watching movies with his wife, some travel, life with cats and loves studying history, archeology and anthropology.

Paul Mengacci

Director
Paul is a Chapter Director. He is the CFO at Desert Hospitality Management. Paul brings more than 20 years of hospitality industry education and experience including valuable perspective gained working in both operations and finance roles for a variety of globally-known hospitality brands.
As the CFO for Desert Hospitality Management, Paul oversees the accounting, financial operations, and analytics for a diversified portfolio of hotel properties.
Prior to DHM, Paul held a similar role for over 10 years at Prism Hotels & Resorts and subsequently Aimbridge Hospitality (after Aimbridge’s acquisition of Prism in 2022). Prior to joining Prism, Paul worked in various operations and accounting roles for Waterford Hotel Group in Connecticut.
Paul earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, and then acquired his MBA from Post University in Waterbury, Connecticut. Additionally, Paul has obtained the Certification in Hotel Industry Analytics (CHIA) designation.
He currently resides in Plano, TX with his wife and two daughters. When not pouring over the portfolio’s numbers, Paul enjoys playing golf, tennis, and spending time with his family.

Felicia Schroeder

Director
Felicia is a Chapter Director. She is an IT Strategist at Bridgepointe Technologies, one of the nation’s leading technology advisory firms. She represents 200 vendors and collaborates with Bridgepointe’s seasoned team of engineers to help her clients navigate and make the most informed technology decisions.
Felicia’s experience combines more than 20 years in the hospitality industry and technology recruitment.
She spent her early career in New York City as an accomplished wine and spirits journalist and author of the award-winning “Unofficial Guide to Selecting Wine,” and co-author of “The Windows on the World Complete Wine Course”.
Felicia was previously a Director of the HFTP New York City chapter before moving to Dallas in 2021. Outside of HFTP, she enjoys quality time with her family, her two puggles, and a competitive pickleball match!