Tiffany Lutka ’17, marketing coordinator for the DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau, recently was named to a prestigious list of future leaders in the field of destination marketing.

Lutka was named to Destination International’s 30 Under 30 class for 2020. Each year, the organization recognizes 30 future leaders in the tourism and convention industry.

Lutka joins honorees from destination organizations across the globe, including Canada, Puerto Rico and Ireland. The honor gives her the opportunity to engage in year-round professional development and networking opportunities.

“On behalf of the DuPage CVB Board of Directors and our team, I am thrilled Tiffany has been named to this prestigious group of future industry leaders,” said Beth Marchetti, executive director of the DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau, or DuPage CVB. “Our team is fortunate to have such an engaging and results-oriented young professional who will undoubtedly further her career with the unique experience of our current global situation.”

Lutka was one of the youngest winners of the award, and one of the newer members of her organization.

She first joined the DuPage CVB while still a student at Elmhurst. As a senior, she had gone to the Weigand Center for Professional Excellence to look for an internship, and an opportunity with the DuPage CVB caught her eye. She wasn’t exactly sure what a visitors bureau was, but “something about it appealed to me,” she says, so she applied.

She got the internship, and it went so well that the organization hired her as a full-time marketing and sales assistant right after her graduation. Soon, she was promoted to marketing coordinator and put in charge of the organization’s website relaunch.

She credits Elmhurst with preparing her well for her roles there. “I majored in communications and use those skills daily, in and out of the workplace,” she says. “Elmhurst College really opened the door for me.”

Now she’s excited to take advantage of the new opportunities the award presents.

“I feel empowered by my workplace and within the industry,” Lutka says. “Being a young professional in the industry is very rewarding, and I can’t wait to learn and grow with my 30 Under 30 class.”