Destination Bryan is the official destination marketing organization for Bryan, Texas.
Born of converging cultures and built on deep Texas roots, Bryan is a community filled with authentic stories, people, and places – our legends. Our legends are ever evolving while staying true to our Texas spirit.
Destination Bryan, a 501c(6) non-profit, is a destination marketing organization whose mission is to strengthen our community by inspiring people to spend time and money in Bryan, Texas. The organization drives economic growth through tourism marketing and destination development to improve quality of life for Bryan’s residents.
Build Community: Cultivate a supportive environment where trust, accountability, and inclusivity thrive, while being open to ideas from both internal teams and external partners.
Empower: Support and uplift one another, our partners, and the community by converting challenges into opportunities and ensuring everyone feels included and valued.
Leave a Legacy: Focus on making a lasting impact by improving the community and ensuring everything we do aligns with our goal to leave Bryan better than we found it.
Innovate: Encourage curiosity, embrace competition, and ensure all ideas are heard, leading to personal and organizational growth.
Embrace Flexibility: Adapt to changing circumstances with grace, maintaining a healthy work-life balance while remaining resilient and dynamic.
John Friebele, CSEE, TDM
Executive Director
John serves as the government and community liaison and tourism industry advocate while overseeing the day-to-day business operations of the organization. As Executive Director, he looks to build partnerships that will bolster Bryan as a destination and lead to healthy and positive impacts through tourism. He also oversees the marketing, sales, and promotions strategies of the organization.
Chris Riggins
Director of Marketing & Communications
Chris promotes all the best things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in Bryan via destinationbryan.com, our various social media channels, and in advertisements across the state. Do you have an upcoming event, special offering, great photos of Bryan, or a story worth sharing? Tag @destinationbryan on Facebook & Instagram so we can help spread the message!
Morgan Key
Business Development Manager
With a background in the hotel industry and a drive to help showcase our local community, Morgan works towards connecting hotels to a wide array of groups to host their meetings and events in our community. The job doesn’t stop there, she also develops unique experience packages and offerings in order to create memorable experiences while visitors are here in Bryan – ensuring that they return for more!
Caden Jones
Community Engagement Manager
As Community Engagement Manager, Caden focuses on creating and implementing community outreach programs to promote tourism growth and to increase the quality of life and place for Bryan residents. Through this role, Caden collaborates and fosters relationships with local businesses, organizations and community members to incorporate local feedback into Destination Bryan's tourism strategy and advocates for the benefits of tourism in our community. Caden also works with local organizations to help bring additional events to Bryan and manages Destination Bryan's Ambassador Program.
Jay Leal
Sports Sales Coordinator
Jay focuses on driving sports tourism and attracting sporting events to the area. His role involves building relationships with event organizers, sports teams, and local organizations to create memorable experiences that bring visitors to Bryan. He works closely with partners to secure venues and explore opportunities for collaboration that benefit the community as well as visitors.
Lina Adams
PR & Communications Coordinator
Lina was born and raised in Bryan, then graduated from Mays Business School at Texas A&M. Lina grew up with a love for local businesses and a passion for her community. As the PR & Communications coordinator Lina shares the stories of Bryan and its businesses and attractions to the media to bring awareness to Bryan. In her free time, Lina can be found with her husband checking out the newest restaurants, retail, and events in town. Feel free to contact Lina about media questions or if you know of a uniquely Bryan story you want Destination Bryan to share.
Amanda Kile
Tourism Events Coordinator
Amanda focuses on designing events that will inspire people to make Bryan their next destination. As the Tourism Event Coordinator, she organizes one-of-a-kind events that draw interest and excitement for visitors and locals alike! These events include Hullabaloo Music Fest, Lights On, and the Downtown Street and Art Fair. In addition, Amanda works with festival producers to connect them with the best of Bryan and make their own events a success.
Mary Murphy
Content Coordinator
As Content Coordinator, Mary oversees content strategy for Destination Bryan's website and social media channels. A storyteller at heart, she has a passion for sharing the local stories that make Bryan so unique. She's excited to call Bryan her new home and enjoys showcasing all there is to see and do in the area. Do you have an upcoming event or a story to share? Let us know by sending Mary an email or tagging @destinationbryan on Facebook & Instagram.
Jenna Gamez
Events Intern
As the Event Intern, Jenna works alongside the Special Events Coordinator to plan engaging and impactful events for Downtown Bryan and the surrounding community. As a student at Texas A&M University, she is excited about applying her academic skills and gaining hands-on experience in event planning. She is passionate about making connections within the community and collaborating with downtown businesses.
Hayv Koutrach
Marketing Intern
Hayv Koutrach is a student at Texas A&M University with aspirations to work in the Marketing and Communications field. She is excited to work to provide Bryan with quality services and to engage with the community. She loves connecting with others and is looking forward to applying her academics through her role at Destination Bryan.
Maryhelen Guerrero
Marketing Intern
Maryhelen is the summer marketing intern for Destination Bryan and will be working with the Content Coordinator to bring fun engagement to the organization and Bryan community. She is a journalism student at Texas A&M University and is from the city of Houston. She has a passion for storytelling and writing, in which she will be applying her skills and unique ideas to the team.
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