Board Of directors

Spencer’s career began with the City of Beloit as the Recreation Supervisor in December of 2001. Most recently he has joined TRICOR Insurance as a personal Risk Manager. He obtained his bachelors degree from Southwest Minnesota State University. Spencer is currently chair for the Visit Beloit Board as well as an acting board member of Friends of Riverfront, and the Stateline YMCA Corporate Cup committee. His hobbies include, hunting, fishing, and playing golf with family and friends.

Roy is a Beloit native and has been with Beloit Hotel Group, LLC for 10+ years. He is currently the General Manager at the Home2 Suites Beloit. Roy attended UW-Whitewater where he took classes towards a BS in business. He enjoys working in the hospitality industry and is honored to serve as Vice-Chair on the Visit Beloit Board where he feels he can help to impact Beloit’s future in a positive way. He and his wife Kristin have 3 wonderful children. They all enjoy eating at Beloit’s many great restaurants and Roy personally enjoys golfing at Krueger Golf Course which he considers to be a hidden gem amongst the numerous courses in our area.

Jeff worked for the Beloit Snappers for 11 years, before moving into banking in November 2011. He graduated from UW-Whitewater in 2001 with a Bachelor of Business Management degree. Other than working in baseball, he has also volunteered for RiverFest, Festival on the Rock, served earlier in his career on the Visit Beloit board, and other activities. Jeff lives in Beloit with his wife and daughter, and can be found many nights at ABC Supply Stadium watching the Beloit Sky Carp play baseball.

Jonathan has been in the lodging industry for 20 years, and currently serves as the SVP of People & Culture for Geronimo Hospitality Group and Hendricks Commercial Properties in Beloit. He has served on the Visit Beloit board since 2014, and loves to see the growth in downtown Beloit and all that it has to offer.

Aimee has been with the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce for 20 years and has led the organization for 6 years. She lives in Janesville with her husband Nate and three children, Emma, William, and Lillian. Her favorite thing to do in Beloit is go downtown for dinner and see the streets busy with people, music playing, and everyone having a great time!

Drew is the Economic Development Director for the City of Beloit and President/CEO of the Greater Beloit Economic Development Corporation. Drew previously worked in the City of Beloit Planning Department for 15 years, serving as Planner and Planning Director. He served six years on the Board of the American Planning Association – WI chapter and currently serves on the Boards of the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce and Visit Beloit. Drew holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), and lives in the City of Beloit.

Gloria is the Assistant Dean for student Success, Equity and Community and the Co-Director of the Weissberg Program for Human Rights and Social Justice at Beloit College. She spent over 30 years as a basketball coach and nine of those years as an educator. Gloria holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) from Wayne State University, a Masters from Montclair State University, and a Bachelors from Seton Hall University. She is drawn to the water and loves walking along the river and soaking in the beauty of the city.

Jackie is an alum of the UW-Madison School of Social Work and received a Masters of Science in Social Work in 1978 with a concentration in Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health. She has been a practicing social worker for 45 years. Her first job was at Catholic Charities working with clients with developmental disabilities. After that, Jackie was employed in the School District of Beloit as a school social worker for 32 years until her retirement in January, 2016. She has taught at the post secondary level for 25+ years. Initially at UW-Whitewater Social Work Department and currently at Blackhawk Technical College where she teaches Behavior Science courses. She currently serves on several boards in Beloit and also served on the board of the Wisconsin School Social Workers Association for over 20 years. Her favorite thing to do in Beloit is dine at Zen Sushi.

Jerry is the City Manager of the City of Beloit. Prior to this, he served in city management in West Linn, OR and Albert Lea, MN. While in Albert Lea, the City hosted the Governor’s Fishing Opener and Statewide Historic Preservation Conference. Jerry enjoys travelling and has been all over the States and most of Europe. He’s also visited countries in South America, Asia, and Africa.

Jesse is senior vice president of sales & marketing for Geronimo Hospitality Group and Hendricks Commercial Properties. Jesse leads a team of more than 30 talented marketing and sales team members throughout the country focused on design, marketing coordination, public relations, and event sales. Jesse’s team carries the weight of all sales and marketing efforts for Geronimo’s 30+ hospitality brands located in Beloit, WI, Indianapolis, IN, Boise, ID. Some of Geronimo Hospitality’s notable businesses include Bottleworks Hotel, voted Yelp’s #1 Hotel in America, The Garage Food Hall (voted #2 Food Hall in America by USA Today) and ABC Supply Stadium (voted top 8 ballparks in all of High-A MiLB). Jesse is originally from the land of 10,000 lakes and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University where he graduated with a Masters in Sport Management and played third base for the NIU Huskies. He lives in South Beloit, IL with his wife of thirteen years, Jenny, his two children, Nolan (11) and Brooklyn (8), and their four-year old Goldendoodle, Lucy.

Maria Elena White has been teaching for over 28 years in areas such as Communication, Spanish, Translation, Chicano Studies, Sociology, Modern Dance, and Theater. She owns the company Spanish Communication and Translating Services, which is an international communication consulting and translating firm located in Beloit, Wisconsin. Maria is also the Director of the Spanish newspaper La Voz de Beloit. It is a non-profit organization that addresses a wide range of themes, focusing especially on the health, safety, and complete well-being of families within Latino communities.

After growing up in Park Ridge, Illinois, Patricia graduated the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelors in urban planning. She moved to the Rockford region in 2009, and has worked as the planning & development administrator for the Village of Rockton since 2013. Patricia loves managing the Village’s River Market, Christmas Walk and Yeti Fest. She also loves to travel to small community festivals for fun day trips with her husband and three stepchildren. Her favorite thing to do in Beloit is the Saturday morning market in summers. She says, “you can’t beat it!”

Sonya is a South Beloit native and proud graduate of South Beloit High School. Sonya became the City’s first City Administrator in the Fall of 2021. She brings well rounded experiences from three municipalities, Beloit College Powerhouse and Stateline Area Boys & Girls Clubs. Sonya has served the stateline area in multiple capacities including the South Beloit City Council, South Beloit Parks Committee, South Beloit Centennial Committee, Nature at the Confluence Board of Directors, Visit Beloit Board of Directors, Greater Beloit Economic Development Corporation, Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce and Friends of the Riverfront. Sonya is most passionate about youth professional development, outdoor recreation and igniting excitement for a more beautiful, sustainable South Beloit for future generations.