IAAPA Institute for Attractions Managers (Virtual)

The greatest memories bring back the greatest smiles. Daan is passionate about delivering both. As a theme & water park professional he delivers smiles and memorable experiences in world-class Theme & Water Parks. For the last 9 years, he has worked in the US, Middle East and Asia, with companies like Disney, Jumeirah, and Merlin Entertainments. Before graduating with a double degree in Sports and a Bachelor in Leisure Management, Daan started his own webdesign company at the age of 19. Daan Duijm’s positions have included: Assistant Manager at Wild Wadi Dubai, Water Park & Theme Park Attractions Manager at Legoland Malaysia, and General Manager of Indonesia’s two largest indoor theme parks at Trans Studio Bandung and Jakarta. Currently Daan is in charge of pre-opening new attractions and parks in Vietnam as the Director of Operations & Set Up for Sun World Holding. Daan regularly presents and writes for industry magazines, international associations and is always looking to be of service to improve safety, operations and guest experiences.

Brigid has been part of the attractions industry since her first part time job whilst at university. She started as a rides operator and now has over 13 years of experience in various areas including Park Operations, Project Management and Human Resources.

Brigid is currently People and Culture Manager at the new theme park, Gumbuya World, just outside of Melbourne, Australia. This role allows Brigid to draw on previous experience whilst providing her the opportunities of a near start-up to sink her teeth into. Brigid has previously held roles as Rides Manager at Melbourne’s Luna Park, as well as Guest Services Manager of Merlin’s Sealife Melbourne Aquarium. She also currently sits on the IAAPA Asia Pacific Education Subcommittee and was a 2019 graduate of the Melbourne Tourism Leadership Program.

Alongside her work history, Brigid holds HR qualifications and a degree in Theatre Production. Whilst she no longer works in the theatre industry, Brigid has surmised that running a theme park is exactly like ‘putting on a show’- Both create wonderful experiences and create lifelong memories for families…And there is really nothing better than that.

Brigid is passionate about inclusion in the workplace and will always be a huge advocate for ensuring diversity in all its facets within the industry.

Aaron Glade has spent the past decade developing and optimizing entertainment in both the USA and abroad in Asia’s hottest entertainment destination; Macau. After a decade of working with Cedar Fair DBA Valleyfair Amusement Park, Aaron moved to Macau to help launch new Entertainment Operations for Studio City, Macau where he currently oversees Attraction Operations and Attraction’s Retail.

Aaron has presented on the topics of Entertainment and Attractions for; State University of New York (Buffalo), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, McNally Smith College of Music, and Macau University of Science & Technology’s East-West Institute for Advanced Studies.

Randy Josselyn is an expert in ticketing systems, theme park marketing membership programs and waterpark design/operations. Randy works at Gateway Ticketing Systems as the Principal for Wildlife and Conservation providing operational insight and best practices in the industry. Prior to joining Gateway Ticketing, Randy founded Trajectory Ticketing, a consulting company providing expertise for waterparks, theme parks and museum/zoos/aquariums. Prior to that, Randy was employed by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts where he managed new and existing ticketing projects, including the Annual Passport Monthly Payment Program. Randy was also the Director of Admissions and Hospitality at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine, California where he worked for 15 years, working up through the ranks in a variety of departments. At Wild Rivers, Randy was responsible for ticketing systems, computer technology, website development, parkwide hospitality, pricing, guest services, and was a member of the Wild Rivers marketing team. Randy chairs the IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) IAAPA Finance and Technology Committee and instructs the Institute of Attraction Managers program. Randy is a multiyear speaker at the IAAPA, WWA and other associations and is an IAAPA Certified Attractions Executive (ICAE). Randy and his wife Bria reside in in Nashville, Tennessee with their 5 children.

With nearly 30 years of experience in the entertainment and real estate industry, Mr. Dvorchak is an experienced land-use economist. His practice specialty is the analysis of integrated and unique projects combining traditional real estate development with entertainment land uses such as theme parks, casinos, and destination resorts. Mr. Dvorchak is a founding partner of Pro Forma Advisors, having brought together experienced land use professionals over a decade ago to create a firm dedicated to independent market and financial analysis of land use. Pro Forma Advisors has completed over 700 studies on every continent. Prior to founding Pro Forma Advisors, Mr. Dvorchak was a Vice President at Economics Research Associates (ERA) where he was a principal in the Recreation Practice. He also was a Product Manager at Iwerks Entertainment working on product development and Location Based Entertainment. Prior to his graduate degree, he worked in technology for Andersen Consulting and Unify Software.

Mark received an M.B.A from the UCLA’s Anderson School of Management in 1994 specializing in entertainment and strategy. He also has a B.S degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois. Mr. Dvorchak represents Pro Forma Advisors in the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA). Mr. Dvorchak has presented and moderated panels are many industry events such as the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), the TEA Summit, and G2E Asia.

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