Announcing the 2026 Hall of Fame Inductees
It gives us great pleasure to announce the Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame, Class of 2026 Inductees recipients whose leadership, service, and impact can be felt across the hospitality industry.
The honorees for the Class of 2026 are:
- Curt Strand’43
- Richard (Dick) Nelson ’57
- Jeanne Sander ’66
- Stephen Mutkoski ’67 PhD ’76
- Joseph Lavin ’75
- Jimi Yui ‘79
- Brad Wilson ’84
- Michelle Russo ’87
- Elizabeth Blau MPS ’95
- Marco Benvenuti MMH '05
Congratulations to all the honorees. A recognition well earned.
We hope you will save the date of Saturday, November 7th, 2026, to join us at The Times Center in NYC to celebrate these wonderful Hotelie honorees.
History & Purpose of the Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame
In 2022, the Cornell Hotel Society launched the Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame to coincide with the school’s 100th anniversary. Held annually each November in New York City, the event inducts 10 to 12 distinguished Hotelies and presents a Rising Star award to celebrate early career success.
The purpose of the Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame is to:
- Recognize Cornell Hotelie successes
- Create an inspirational stories library for applicants, students, faculty, and alumni
- Create an Annual Reunion of Hotelies to share the fellowship of Hotelie for Life
- Fortify the Cornell brand in the industry by featuring Hotelie successes
Including this Class of 2026, we have honored 65 amazing Hotelies through the program across every decade of the Hotel School’s existence.
This ceremony is only possible due to the extraordinary achievements of our Hotelie community and the dedicated volunteers who bring this program to life each year, especially the Nomination/Selection Committee.
The Nomination/Selection Committee selects the inductees each year, and the Committee is comprised of members from different generations, geographic regions, and segments of the industry.
The committee members are:
- Deniz Omurgonulsen, ‘00 (Chair)
- Rocco Angelo, ‘58
- Ed Evans ‘74
- Jan DeRoos, ‘78
- Ted Teng ‘79
- Christopher Hunsberger ‘81
- Ginny Mariani-Kitt, ‘82
- Elizabeth Schafer ‘84
- Catalina Ganis ‘85
- Pamela Eaton ‘91
- Regan Taikitsadaporn, ‘93
- Vernetta Kinchen ‘95
- Kristin Sander Urhammer, ‘99
- Rohan Gopaldas, ‘02
Our sincere gratitude to the committee members for their hard work in research, advocacy, and selection of the honorees.
Throughout the summer, we will share the inspiring stories behind each honoree’s journey and impact. The stories will be announced by email and posted on the CHS Lobby. Here is the link to prior-year stories. https://cornellhotelsociety.com/hotelie-hall-of-fame/inductees-2025/