Miami Dade College’s International Hospitality Center to Host Major Hospitality and Tourism Summit September 24

Miami – For the first time ever, Miami Dade College’s (MDC) International Hospitality Center – in partnership with the Miami Dade County Public Schools Academy of Hospitality and Tourism, the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, Miami-Dade County, Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau and others – will host leaders from the hospitality industry at the 1st Annual Academy of Hospitality and Tourism Summit, Friday, September 24, at 8 a.m., at MDC’s Wolfson Campus.

Participants of the Summit will discuss “The Business of an Education in Hospitality.” In addition, several VIPs, including celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein, will lead panel discussions.

The keynote speaker is Don Semmler, executive vice president of Global Full Service Brands Marriott International. The Summit chair is Wendy Kallergis, president and CEO of Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association. The co-chair is Shelly Fano, director of MDC’s Hospitality Management Program at the International Hospitality Center.

With Miami’s emerging culinary scene – one known for fusing a mélange of cultures and tastes into bold and unique creations – comes the need for the training and education of the people conceptualizing and serving up the newest and latest dishes. And with a 50-year history of working directly with industry and setting the bar for corporate training and development, MDC is again stepping in to ensure an industry has a steady pool of qualified and highly trained employees, not only by hosting the Summit, but also by launching its Miami Culinary Institute: Food, Culture & Innovation, which will cater to students, industry and the community at large with cutting-edge degree and training programs rooted in innovation, ethics and sustainability.

The college will provide more information soon regarding the Institute, which will be unlike any other, and the state-of-the-art building where it will soon be housed.