Kristen Keltz

Kristen was born and raised in Oak Harbor and moved to Skagit Valley in 1992 to attend Skagit Valley College. She began her career in hospitality with the Best Western Cotton Tree Inn in 1993 as a front desk agent and was promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing where she oversaw the entire sales and marketing efforts for the hotel and convention center. Kristen also served as the chairman for the Best Western Washington State Co-op sales team and led a group of 10-15 sales directors from across the state on sales blitzes, tradeshows and media tours all over the country.

On April 1, 2001 Kristen accepted the position of President/CEO of the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce where she served until July of 2014.  She graduated from the US Chamber’s Institute program with her certificate in Institute for Organizational Management (IOM), Kristen was also very active in the Washington State Chamber of Commerce Executive during her chamber career serving on the board for 12 years including a term as president 2008. She also represented the chambers on the Association of Washington Board of directors serving on the board of the Western Association of Chamber Executives representing Washington State along with serving as an active member and past president of the Skagit County Chamber of Commerce Executive Directors Association. During her tenure as CEO for the chamber, Kristen successfully doubled the membership and budget, created a 501-C3 foundation to build the workforce development program and started the Mount Vernon Marketing Campaign bringing together stakeholders from various government entities. The chamber also saw new branding efforts, restructuring of committees along with new office space to accommodate the influx of visitors to the community.

In 2016, after a short stint in the financial advising world, Kristen went on to become the Regional Director of Sales then Senior Director Sales and Marketing for Hotel Services Group until her departure in October 2021. Kristen, oversaw the sales and marketing efforts for all 9 of the hotel properties in their portfolio. She was a leader for the sales and marketing team members and an integral part of the revenue management, budget and operations for the portfolio during her tenure.

Kristen served as the CEO for Spinach Bus Venture Group for two years where she oversaw the day-to-day operations for Fairhaven Mill, Skagit Landing Restaurant & Catering, Skagit Acres, and Tulip Town ensuring each organization had the resources needed to be successful. She was responsible for building a strong management team, overseeing the marketing team and contracts, planning and executing events, strategic planning, budgets, financials and growth strategies for each company.

On Jan, 2, 2023, Kristen joined the Skagit Tourism Bureau as their CEO and will work to continue the work of telling the story of Skagit County to visitors from around the world in a sustainable fashion to encourage strong economic viability for hotels and tourism related businesses while ensuring the quality of life we have come to enjoy.

Kristen is also very active in her community volunteering for a variety of community organizations, she is a proud member and past president of the Mount Vernon Noon Rotary Club serving on the board as the scholarship chair along with  currently serving on the board for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, incoming board chair for the Boys and Girls Club of Skagit County Board member for the Washington Hospitality Association and GAC, Association of Washington Board member. Kristen also volunteers for the Forgotten Children’s Fund, the 4-H Horse Leaders. Also on her list of accomplishments are, Kristen previously served as co-facilitator for the Leadership Skagit program for five years, founding committee member and Emcee’s for the “EnVogue” Fashion Show benefiting the Friendship house, past member of the Mount Vernon Leadership Team, past member of the Skagit County Fair Advisory Board, past member of the Presidents Roundtable for Workforce Development at Skagit Valley College, Junior Achievement, coordinator for the Mount Vernon Christian School Career Day among other various opportunities.

Kristen lives in Mount Vernon with her husband Donnie, a partner at Wycoff Insurance and a partner in Spinach Bus Ventures in Mount Vernon. She has two amazing daughters who are her proudest accomplishments. Kylie (30), graduated with a Psychology and Law and Justice degree from Central Washington University and is a Deputy with the Skagit County Jail. Her youngest daughter Melyssa (26), graduated with a Business Management degree with a minor in Marketing from Grand Canyon University and is currently living in Nashville and working remotely for Spinach Bus Ventures as their Brand Manager.