Swathi Ravichandran is a professor and founding director for the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation resort and attraction management program at Bowling Green State University. Prior to BGSU, she was on the faculty of the hospitality management program at Kent State University for 14 years. She also served as the provost’s fellow during 2017-18 and has generated $1.6 million in grants for projects related to enhancing student access to higher education and degree completion. Ravichandran was named distinguished educator of the year by Professional Convention Management Association in 2014. In 2015, the 131st general assembly of Ohio, named her one of “Ohio’s finest educators.” Ravichandran’s research focuses on hospitality human resources management and marketing. She has been published in several prestigious peer-reviewed journals and served as a commissioner for the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration. She has blogged for Restaurant Hospitality and EasyIce.com on human resources and legal issues and also has been invited by international universities as a speaker and research fellow. She has taught a variety of classes in human resources management, marketing, legal issues, and meetings management and advised for Kent State’s chapter of the Professional Convention Management Association. Ravichandran has a doctorate in foodservice and lodging management from Iowa State University, where she also received an MBA.

Learn more about Swathi Ravichandran

Jared Hillman joins the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation resort and attraction management program at Bowling Green State University as an Assistant Teaching Professor. Jared holds over a decade of experience within the hospitality industry. The scope of his experience significantly involved the amusement park segment of the industry at Cedar Point Amusement Park and Resort, a Six Flags Entertainment Corporation property. Jared’s leadership and management positions have focused primarily in ride and attraction operations; marketing and group sales; and human resources, with a passion for international recruiting. He has co-developed and facilitated leadership conferences and development opportunities for aspiring leaders. Hillman has received numerous awards and recognition at Cedar Point for top performance and positive impact. He enjoys visiting a variety of parks and resorts, as well as traveling abroad. Jared is a proud alum of Bowling Green State University and has been an Adjunct Instructor with the University.

Learn more about Jared Hillman

Dr. Mary Wisnom joins the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation resort and attraction management team directly from her role as Professor in the School of Resort and Hospitality Management in the Lutgert College of Business at Florida Gulf Coast University. Mary boasts over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry as a practitioner and educator. Her employment encompassed a variety of resorts and private clubs, including destination resorts, yacht, athletic, country and residential clubs in Michigan, Colorado and Florida. Her work focused primarily in amenity management; overseeing spa/wellness, fitness, social/conference events, aquatic, and sports/recreation facilities and programs. In the early 1990s, Dr. Wisnom left her position as Recreation Director of The Ritz-Carlton, Naples to enter Michigan State University's Parks, Recreation and Tourism Resources Department and pursue her passion of teaching. In 1996, she began teaching full time at Central Michigan University and in 2006 joined the FGCU faculty. Research interests involve resort amenities, spa management and quality of work life practices. In 2012, Dr. Wisnom co-authored the textbook, Spa Management: An Introduction.

Learn more about Mary Wisnom

Voted as one of the best amusement parks in the world, Cedar Point entertains millions of guests each year as one of the premier destinations in the Midwest. Danielle Heffernan is entering her fourth year at Cedar Point. In her current role, she is focused on cooperative learning partnerships – including university internships, K-12 educational opportunities and the brand new Bachelor’s degree program, Resort and Attraction Management – a collaborative program offered by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation and Bowling Green State University. Danielle is a proud Ohio University alumni holding a Bachelor’s degree in Event Coordinating/Hospitality and a Master’s degree in Recreation Management.

Connect with Danielle Hefferman on LinkedIn

Justin is an experienced first chair trial lawyer who has tried dozens of cases in both state and federal courts for almost two decades. Justin has worked extensively in the pharmaceutical, health care, oil & gas, amusement & entertainment park, and corporate worlds and industries. While Justin’s primary focus is trial work, he is experienced in a multitude of disciplines and subject matters, including multidistrict tort actions, class action lawsuits, oil and gas matters, products liability claims, real estate matters, medical malpractice claims, government/public entity issues, employment & labor law matters, and amusement park industry matters.

Justin began his career practicing in a law firm located in southern Ohio.  In 2006, Justin opted to join Reminger because the firm shared his same "hard work, roll-up-your sleeves approach and get-it-done" attitude.  

Since joining Reminger, Justin has represented national pharmaceutical and medical lab companies, the world’s largest oil company, national health insurers, Germany’s largest automotive manufacturer, and one of the biggest amusement park companies in the world. He has led teams to resolve class actions, derivative litigation, government enforcement actions and other complex business litigation confronting these companies.

In 2016, Justin left Reminger to serve as the Law Director for the City of Sandusky. In this capacity, Justin coordinated and managed litigation involving the municipality, and provided counsel on issues including real estate, tax, employment, public utility, zoning, and comprehensive economic development and strategic planning.

In 2018, Justin returned to Reminger, bringing the tenacity of being a former Law Director to his representation of clients in high-stakes commercial litigation and class action defense.

Presently, Justin serves as National Coordinating Counsel for Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, L.P. In that role, Justin works with a team of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation outside counsel litigators dedicated to achieving industry leading and cutting-edge results.

Justin is a member of various professional associations. Justin is a board member of the Erie County Public Defender Board and the Wightman-Wieber Foundation. Justin also serves as an adjunct professor for Bowling Green State University in the legal studies department.

Carolyn Stiles is an adjunct instructor in the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation resort and attraction management program. She has been in public education for the past ten years, shaping young adult minds. Prior to teaching, Carolyn worked in the luxury hotel and resort industry focused on rooms division and sales management. She has worked for a number of international companies including Renaissance, Omni, and Hilton International. Located throughout the United States, Carolyn has worked in Chicago, Atlanta, California, and Colorado. She had the privilege of being on the opening management team when the Renaissance Riviere was opened in downtown Chicago. She received her B.S.B.A from the University of Denver with a double major in Hospitality & Tourism and Business Management and earned her MBA from Bowling Green State University.

Connect with Carolyn Stiles on LinkedIn

Megan Bond serves as the Coordinator and Adjunct Professor for Six Flags Entertainment Corporation RAAM. Bond comes to the program with an extensive administrative background, including work in higher education. In her current role, Bond’s duties include day-to-day administrative operations, such as scheduling and budget, and overseeing program events and student engagement. Bond is a 2009 and 2011 graduate of Bowling Green State University. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing and a Master of Education, specializing in Sport Administration. Bond worked for the BGSU Men’s Basketball staff, as the Director of Operations, for five seasons under Head Coach Louis Orr.

Dr Marshall has been a hospitality educator, practitioner, and trainer for more than forty years. Not long ago, he was a Teaching Associate Professor at the University of Missouri. During the past three years, he taught the Department’s capstone course with an emphasis on Sort Venue Management.  As a trainer and practitioner, he served as the Director of Training and Development at the Carnival Crystal Palace Resort and Casinos and the Lucayan Beach Resorts and Casinos. Moreover, he facilitated training and hospitality management courses in many destinations, including Aruba, The British Virgin Islands, France, Jamaica, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Saint Lucia, and the United States of America. As an educator, he served as executive director of the Culinary and Hospitality Management Institute at the College of the Bahamas, associate professor of Hospitality Management at Virginia State University, Director of the Accelerated Master of Tourism Administration program at The George Washington University and served as a tenured associate professor at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, he was an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University’s graduate business program. Dr Marshall is a published author. He is also a member of the Society of Human Resource Management, the American Society of Training and Development, and the Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education. He received a BA in psychology from Grinnell College and a Ph.D. in counseling and student development, with a support field in human resources management from The American University, Washington, D.C.

Ryan Greaves is an adjunct instructor in the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation resort and attraction management program.  He has been working in hospitality and lodging for over 20 years.  Ryan has worked in many different sectors of the hotel and resort industry including water park resorts, full service branded hotels, limited service branded hotels and independent hotels and resorts.  His brand experience includes Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Wyndham and Choice hotels. Ryan received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Toledo with a double major in marketing and international business.