The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) today reveled the results of its annual Board of Directors elections. Two NBTA Direct (travel buyer) members and one Allied (travel supplier) member have been voted to the new Board and. Christle Johnson, CCTE, Director, Business Services of Johnson Partners LLC, and Donna Kelliher,
CTC, GLP,Director, Travel & Corporate Services of Dominion, will serve as Director Members at Large, with terms of three years. Maylena Burchfield, CCTE, GLP,Executive Director of ADTRAV Travel Management will serve as an NBTA Allied Director at Large, with a term of two years.

NBTA President & CEO Craig Banikowski, CCTE, C.P.M., CMM, said, "Congratulations and welcome to our new Board of Directors members. NBTA is strengthening and expanding at a swift rate, tacking more industry challenges in more areas around the world than ever before. The industry experience of these innovative leaders is unmatched, and I am confident they will bring powerful new visions to our association and the managed travel community as a whole."

Johnson has been in the corporate travel industry for 18 years and an NBTA member for nearly a decade. She has taken active roles in the NBTA Chapter Presidents' Council, serving on multiple committees since 2002. Johnson has been an active member of the Texas Business Travel Association since 1995 and is currently serving as the chapter's President.

Kelliher has been a business travel professional for more than 33 years and an NBTA member since 1993. She has served on many NBTA committees, including the Technology Committee, the Legislative Political Action Committee, and the NBTA Foundation Industry Advisory Council. Kelliher is a founding member of the Virginia Business Travel Association, and has served as the chapter's Vice President and on many committees. She has also been the recipient of such esteemed awards as the 2009 NBTA President's Award and the 2007 Business Travel News Travel Manager of the Year.

Burchfield has been in the industry and an NBTA member for nearly a decade. She has served on the Technology Committee, the Legislative Advisory Council, the ByLaw Rewrite Committee, and the Foundation's Industry Advisory Council. Burchfield also helped to develop a CCTE elective that pairs procurement with travel management, and in 2009 was honored with the Allied Member of the Year award.

Banikowski added, "NBTA has always encouraged corporate travel suppliers and buyers to work closely together to help advance business travel. These highly skilled leaders bring to the table a multitude of industry knowledge from many arenas within the corporate travel community, and I look forward to working with them to help further our association, industry and careers."

Ten corporate travel buyers and four suppliers, including two Allied Directors at Large and the President and Vice President of the Allied Leadership Council, sit on the NBTA Board of Directors. Directors at Large serve a term of three years, and Allied Member Directors at Large serve a term of two years. NBTA's Board elections are held each year in conjunction with the International Convention & Exposition.

About NBTA

The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world's premier business travel and corporate meetings organization. NBTA and its regional affiliates – NBTA Australia/New Zealand, the Brazilian Business Travel Association (ABGEV), NBTA Canada, NBTA Europe, NBTA Mexico, and NBTA USA – serve a network of more than 17,000 business travel professionals around the globe with industry-leading events, networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. NBTA members, numbering more than 5,000 in 30 nations, are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers. They collectively manage and direct more than US$340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually on behalf of more than 13 million business travelers within their organizations. For more information, visit www.nbta.org.

About the 2010 NBTA International Convention & Exposition
Widely recognized as the must-attend event for business travel buyers, suppliers, industry leaders and business travel journalists, the 2010 NBTA International Convention & Exposition is taking place in Houston August 8-11, 2010. More than 5,600 travel professionals will take advantage of the Convention's programming, designed to empower attendees to maximize value for their companies, including more than 65 seminars on the most important topics in business travel, more than 400 companies exhibiting in the Expo and countless opportunities for networking with peers. For details, visit www.nbtaconvention.org.

Nicole Hayes
Assistant Manager, Communications
(703) 236-1133
GBTA