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HHP University of Florida
Faculty Member Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management

Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management

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Katherine Risher, MS, CMP, CMM

Adjunct Faculty

Katherine (Katie) Risher, MS, CMP, CMM is a double Gator having received a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism, with a Specialization in Event Management and a Master’s of Science in Tourism and Commercial Recreation both from the Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management (THEM) at the University of Florida. Shortly after graduation, Katie joined the UF Conference Department (UFCD) as an Event Manager and now serves as the department’s Assistant Director managing the conferences team. The UFCD team of event managers provides a wide range of services related to planning, event design, and event execution that has allowed us to travel the world and work with a wide variety of vendors, industry stakeholders, and clients to deliver custom event experiences. Katie has professional experience in customer service, project management, stakeholder management, meeting and conference planning, and event design for planning and executing in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. Katie also holds a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) certification from the Events Industry Council (EIC) and a Certified Meeting Manager (CMM) from Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and Indiana University’s Kelly Business School.

Katie is an active member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) where she currently serve as Director of Finance for the North Florida Chapter and has also served 2 years as Vice President of Communications, 1 year as Vice President of Finance, 1 year as President Elect, 1.5 years as chapter President, and 2 years as Immediate Past President. Katie was also awarded a Division Three Superior Accomplishment Award (SSA) from UF in March 2023 and proudly serves on the Division III SSA Committee. This program is designed to recognize outstanding faculty and staff for their dedication to their jobs and for going above and beyond to advance the mission of our great university and serve the community at-large. Katie and the UF Conference Department team were also honored to receive a Cvent Excellence Award June 2025 in at Cvent CONNECT in San Antonio for Rookie of the Year. The Cvent Excellence Awards at the annual Cvent CONNECT Conference are the industry’s premier celebration of innovation, impact, and collaboration in meetings, events, and hospitality.