To help you get to know who's who in Illinois tourism, ITN profiles an industry leader each month. This month, we introduce Sherri Michaels, senior vice president, Tourism & Lifestyle at Edelman Public Relations.

Sherri Michaels is a consumer marketing specialist with 15 years of experience launching, building and positioning some of the nation's leading brands, including the Illinois Bureau of Tourism.

An expert in consumer brands, travel, special events and integrated marketing, Michaels helps lead the Tourism & Lifestyle team in Edelman's Chicago office. She currently serves as the senior strategic counsel for the Illinois Bureau of Tourism, the Illinois Grape Growers & Vintners Association and VTech Electronics accounts. Michaels' past roles have included acting as senior strategist on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum opening as well as for clients such as Mutual of Omaha, National City, Classic Custom Vacations and Avis/Motorola. She's also directed various integrated marketing programs utilizing Edelman's other specialty practices.

Michaels began her career with Edelman in 1989 by helping to launch and promote a variety of brands for the agency's NutraSweet, Hunt-Wesson, General Mills and Butterball accounts. And after an enjoyable two-year turn running special events for the Ravinia Festival Association, which included its 60th anniversary season, Michaels returned to Edelman to manage national accounts such as Renaissance Hotels International, the Illinois Bureau of Tourism and the National Tour Association (NTA), as well as to play an integral role in the consumer launch of FTD.com. She soon was leading Edelman's flagship Dairy Management Incorporated team, one of the agency's largest clients. In that capacity, she led several high-profile initiatives, including integrated marketing events such as "Celebrities Say Cheese" and "The Great American Cheese Block."

Michaels broadened her professional experience by leading technology accounts in the Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) arenas. While at another major Chicago agency, she led the bids to secure two major consumer technology clients, Lifestyle Events Inc. and Cars.com, and managed B2B technology clients Performics and httprint, as well. In that role, she led national consumer marketing, sponsorship and exhibitor programs, trade media relations, and integration with advertising, marketing events and promotions.

Lauded by her peers, Michaels earned a PRSA Skyline Award for her work on VTech Electronics, a PRSA Silver Trumpet Award for her work on Dairy Management Inc., and two Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) awards for her work on Renaissance Hotels International and the Illinois Bureau of Tourism.

An Illinois native, Michaels grew up in north suburban Lincolnwood, where her family still resides, and currently lives with her husband Kevin in Hinsdale. She has also lived in Boulder, Colo., where she taught preschool for two years, and where she learned to ski and developed a love of the mountains.

Michaels graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and a minor in public affairs. Fluent in Spanish, she also tutored high school Spanish and enjoys traveling to Spanish-speaking destinations where she can brush up on her language skills. Understandably, she's also passionate about the travel industry and would love to go somewhere new every year—always returning home to Illinois, of course!

In her spare time, she enjoys entertaining, cooking, running and spending time with family and friends. And soon she'll have a new hobby—parenting! This month, Michaels and her husband are expecting their first child.