After an extensive nationwide search, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce will soon have a new president and CEO at its helm.
The chamber announced Tuesday, Dec. 8, that Candace Carr Strauss will be taking over a vacancy left this fall when Jennifer Wesselhoff accepted a position in Park City, Utah.
Strauss comes to Sedona after serving as the CEO of the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce & Visit Big Sky for the past three years in Big Sky, Mont. Her first day on the job in Sedona will be Monday, Feb. 22.
“I’m relieved and happy that the search is over,” Chamber Board President Lonnie Lillie said. “We’re excited for Candace to take over and lead the chamber into the future. It was a tough decision but she was our leading candidate during the entire process. Her history, the fact that she’s currently a CEO and the way she presented herself to the committee and the board was impressive.”
Strauss said she’s honored and excited to have been chosen.
“People around the world know Sedona as a place of unparalleled natural and spiritual beauty, as well as a forward-looking community focused on environmental sustainability and inclusive tourism management,” she said in a press release.
Strauss has led the Big Sky Chamber & Visit Big Sky, located in an area growing exponentially in popularity as a ski destination and a gateway community to the western entrance of Yellowstone National Park. As CEO, she initiated a community-wide 10-year strategic plan and successfully advocated for a local resort tax hike to fund vital wastewater infrastructure upgrades. She helped start and currently serves as vice chairwoman of the Big Sky Community Housing Trust addressing affordable workforce housing. She was also instrumental in securing a $10.3 million federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant to transform the community’s major arterial state highway, augment public transit and boost pedestrian and wildlife safety in the area.
“Sedonans are passionate people and I look forward to working with the board, city council, chamber staff, business partners, community organizations and my fellow residents,” Strauss said. “I plan to invite residents to join me for ‘Walk and Talk’ hikes along Sedona’s trails so we can get to know each other, with appropriate COVID precautions, of course.”
Strauss’ professional background includes positions with Wonderful Copenhagen, the destination marketing and management organization for Denmark’s Capital Region, and the Houston Symphony, where she was director of corporate relations. She served for six years as director of development for the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University in Bozeman and was director of marketing and development with the Billings Symphony Orchestra & Chorale.
Her career in the tourism industry began at Destination DC, the destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital, following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, with stints at the Washington, D.C. NFL franchise now known as the Washington Football Team. She worked for Feld Entertainment, producers of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey and Disney on Ice. She presently serves as an at-large director of the U.S. Travel Association Board, vice chairwoman of the Montana Association of Chamber Executives, and was recently elected to the Montana Infrastructure Coalition Board of Directors.
Until Strauss arrives, Marketing Director Michelle Conway will continue to serve as interim CEO.
“Michelle and the team have done a wonderful job and I expect that to continue until Candace gets here,” Lillie said.
