Today’s guest is committed to elevating communities and creating wealth through hospitality ownership and leadership. She is a recent recipient of the FIU Alumni Award, and a hospitality sharpshooter. Please welcome to the show, Ashli Johnson! Ashli is the ​​Executive Director of the Marriott Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership at Howard University. Ashli joins the host Dan Ryan to talk about how Howard University is shaking up the hospitality industry and working on getting more diversity in the c-suite level in hospitality.

Takeaways: 

• Hospitality can be viewed through two different parts that combine to make up the whole picture. The first part is the business of service and the second part is the heart and delivery of service. 
• At Howard University, hospitality isn’t a major but the Marriott Sorenson Center allows students to explore what it takes to be a leader in the hospitality industry and create more diversity in the c-suite level of this industry.
• The three main areas that Howard University wants to focus on is that they want their students to learn, understand and impact the hospitality, investment, real estate, and tech and innovation industries. 
• As a society, we have to recognize our own personal bias and really focus on the talent that is fit to lead. We need to stop looking at who we are connected with and rather focus on the merits and what people bring to the table.
• When you are working for an organization, there is a layer of sponsorship that helps you to become aware of positions that are opening up in the company. Having someone work on your behalf to talk about you positively is always a good thing to have.
• Having someone be your sponsor doesn’t have to be a formal position. It can be something as simple as offering some help to a younger person who is looking to grow within the company.
• Growing up with a father who was a Marine Corps Officer, Ashli traveled often and found her passion for hospitality when she was the one in charge of deciding which hotels they would stay at on road trips, or places they would eat, or houses they would move to.

Quote of the Show:

2:05 Hospitality to me is two parts. Hospitality is most certainly the business of service and it's also the heart and the delivery of service.”

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsashlijohnson/
• Website: https://howard.edu/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsashlijohnson/?hl=en

Shout Outs:

1:11 Damon Lawrence 

1:13 Homage Hospitality

1:38 Arne Sorenson

8:26 Independent Lodging Conference

26:15 Lowe’s

29:20 Ray Bennett

Ways to Tune In: 

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419
• Podbean: https://www.defininghospitality.live/
• YouTube : https://youtu.be/VkdBkKhSsWQ