NYSTIA Welcomes New Tourism Leaders Meghan Lawton and Paul Steely White at the 2023 NYS Tourism Conference

Meghan Lawton joined the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance (FLTA) as their President and CEO on March 14, 2023. She brings to the role over twelve years of NYS Tourism Industry experience, most recently as the TPA for Cortland County, and looks forward to continuing the strong tradition of destination marketing that FLTA is known for. Lawton was born in the 1000 Islands but raised in the Finger Lakes. She currently resides in the Cortland County countryside with her husband Tim, a blacksmith, and their English Bulldog Gertrude. When not at work, you can find Lawton seeking out the newest craft beverage locale with Tim and Gert, unless it's the fall season, when she spends her Saturdays in Happy Valley cheering on Penn State football. Lawton is also a proud lifetime member of #BillsMafia. 

Paul Steely White is the executive director of Parks and Trails New York, a non-profit membership organization that strives to make park and greenway trail experiences part of our everyday lives.

Paul has devoted his career to improving bicycling, walking, and public transit. While executive director of Transportation Alternatives from 2004 - 2018, he grew New York City’s network of greenways and bike paths and led campaigns to reclaim city parks from automobile traffic. For this work he received (with co-awardee Janette Sadik-Khan) the Rockefeller Foundation’s Jane Jacobs Medal, which recognizes those whose creative uses of the urban environment build a more diverse, dynamic, and equitable city. In 2015, Paul was recognized by the New York Academy of Medicine for his work to make streets safer and healthier. 

In addition to his work at Parks and Trails New York, Paul currently serves as board president of the New York-based Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, a global organization that works for healthier and more equitable transportation systems in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the US.