Volunteer Spotlight: Jeanine Littrel

Jeanine Littrel
Sr. Conference & Travel Manager, International Baccalaureate
MPI Potomac: Networking Events (2019-current), Business Development (2018-2019), Community Outreach (2010-2018), MACE Speaker Co-Chair (2011-2012)

Being an active member of MPI has been a critical part of Jeanine Litrrel's career. The network she formed in New York City and the experience she attained through leadership really helped her get to where she is today. When she relocated with her job to Bethesda, Md., it was a no-brainer for her to join the local Potomac chapter immediately. It was important to her to stay active and build a new network in the D.C. area. After joining, she realized she was in a different chapter in her life and wanted to do something different than what she had done in New York. Community service was the perfect fit. It worked with her hectic schedule, and giving back to the community - as well as the hospitality industry - is important to Jeanine.

Aside from being a part of growing IB’s Americas Global Conference from 1,100 to 2,100 attendees, Jeanine reflects back on the dreadful day of September 11, 2001 when relating one of her professional success stories. She was working for JDRF on Wall Street in New York, and they had board members in town for a meeting staying at the Marriott World Trade Center. All were safe, thankfully, but they did need to find a place to stay and get home. The phones didn’t work in their office, and email was spotty. Jeanine was able to escape downtown via ferry to get to her boss’s house in Long Island, but no one was reachable in NYC, so she called upon my hotel partners in Chicago, who were able to book rooms for the displaced board members in the city. After working with their travel agency and dealing with long train, car or bus rides, all made it home safely. It was a true test of her meeting planner abilities in the face of tragedy. She always tells her team, they are like ducks: their feet are flapping like crazy under water, but above water, they should appear like everything is smooth sailing.

Jeanine defines success simply as the smile on people’s faces from any act of kindness or work that she has contributed to. In the hospitality industry, it's all about the attendee experience, she says. Seeing people come together - especially those that don’t travel often, who need rejuvenation and have a thirst for development - and have a chance to be celebrated is rewarding to her. She feels that having the opportunity to manage a team, all of whom are passionate in what they do and excited to bring new ideas to their work, and seeing them through to fruition makes all of them successful. She could not do it without them.

When talking about her favorites, her favorite inspirational quote is "The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be," by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Her favorite thing to do outside of work is spending time with her family, working out at Soldier Fit and visiting wineries. One of her favorite travel spots is Florence and Amalfi, Italy; but standing on the equator in Quito, Ecuador, was pretty cool, as well as visiting Singapore.

The one thing Jeanine could not live without is her husband and son.