Professor & Department Chair, Tourism & Convention Administration Department, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Professor Patti Shock, the visionary founder of the Convention & Expo Summit Las Vegas and Honorary Chairperson of the C&E Summit Hong Kong, is Professor and Department Chair of the Tourism and Convention Administration Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Prior to joining the faculty at UNLV in 1988, she chaired the Hotel, Restaurant & Travel Administration Department at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Professor Shock is actively involved in several international convention industry associations - she serves on IACVB Educator Think Tank, the IAAM Research Task Force, PCMA's Student and Faculty Activities Working Group, IAEM's Student Task Force and is also currently spearheading the Terminology Panel for the Convention Industry Council's APEX initiative, aimed at essentially standardizing industry terminology and 'writing' the dictionary.

She has spoken at numerous meetings of convention and exhibition industry associations, including: Meeting Professionals International's World Education Conference and Institutes, Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International's Affordable Meetings, Association for Convention Operations Management, Trade Show Exhibitors Association, Club Managers Association of America, Society of Corporate Meeting Professionals, Society of Government Meeting Planners, Exposition Service Contractors Association, International Association for Exhibition Managers, International Association of Fairs & Expositions, World Trade Center Association, International Association of Conference Centers, Las Vegas International Hotel & Restaurant Show, Events Solutions Expo, and M&C Magazine's Technology Conference.

Professor Shock has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the 1997 Distinguished Service Award in 1997 from the International Association for Exposition Management, and being named 1996 Educator of the Year for the Professional Convention Management Association, one of the 25 most influential people in the Meetings Industry by Meeting News magazine, and one of the 10 most powerful women in the Convention Industry by Successful Meetings magazine.

She holds Bachelor and Master's degrees in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Southern Mississippi.