Margot Amelia

Margot brings more than 25 years of marketing experience to her role as the National Aquarium’s executive vice president and chief strategy officer. She is responsible for the development and execution of the Aquarium's marketing plan which serves to advance financial and strategic objectives, including visitation and the advancement of the Aquarium's reputation as a national conservation leader.

Before joining the Aquarium in 2015, Margot served as executive director for the Maryland Office of Tourism Development, where she was responsible for marketing the state of Maryland as a destination. Under her direction, consumer-driven marketing strategies—which targeted key feeder markets through digital and traditional marketing channels—resulted in record-breaking years of visitation, visitor spending and state sales tax revenue across the state. She also launched the Maryland Green Tourism certification program in 2009.

Prior to the Maryland Office of Tourism, Margot worked for the Baltimore Convention and Visitors Association (now known as Visit Baltimore); for GKV (Gray Kirk Vansant Advertising) in various management positions; for Smith Burke & Azzam; and for Amelia & Associates.

Margot currently serves on the boards of both the national—the U.S. Travel Association—and the city's—Visit Baltimore—official travel and tourism industry organizations. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania.