An Update on St. Louis with Explore St. Louis!

  Kitty Ratcliffe
  President 
  Explore St. Louis

Kitty is the President of Explore St. Louis, responsible for the sales and marketing of St. Louis as a destination for visitors and the operations of both the Convention Center and The Dome at America's Center. She is the only woman in the country running the operations of all three entities and has been doing so for more than a dozen years.

Kitty is a past international Chairwoman of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the largest global association of meeting professionals, and is a recipient of their International Supplier of the Year Award. She serves on the board of the Professional Convention Management Association and has co-chaired PCMA's annual convention, Convening Leaders, the annual gathering focused on education for the business events industry. She has received the Destinations International's Leadership in Environmentally Responsible Tourism award and in 2019 was inducted into their Hall of Fame for significant contributions to tourism and shaping the future of destination marketing.

In 2018 she received the Apex Award from Black Meetings & Tourism, and has been named as one of the Most Influential Businesswomen in St. Louis by the St. Louis Business Journal, as well as a Leader of Distinction by the YWCA of Metro St. Louis, a Regional Leadership Award from the St. Louis Community Empowerment Foundation and an Athena Award from the Hellenic Spirit Foundation.

Dedicated to growing and strengthening the economy of the St. Louis region through tourism development, she believes that St. Louis is a community on the rise.