Dr. Lorie Tuma
Grand Valley State University, Michigan, USA
Dr. Tuma is an assistant professor at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan and an expert in social media. Prior to this she taught at the University of Alabama and Central Michigan University. Her career in hospitality, tourism management, and recreation includes practical experience in public, private, and legislative enterprises. Dr. Tuma’s research focuses on the use of social media to increase sense of community and enhance experiential learning through community engagement. Dr. Tuma studied the case method at Harvard Business School and is a senior cadre industry trainer for the Middle East. She created a global leisure programming curriculum and taught in Doha, Qatar for three years consecutively for QMDI (Qatar MICE Development Institute). Dr. Tuma created the program, Beyond Hands On, an experiential learning initiative that has successfully immersed over 300 university students in numerous industry and community projects in the USA and France. In 2013, Dr. Tuma co-edited her first book titled, The Source: A Guide to Academic Journals in Hospitality, Leisure, Tourism and Travel. She has published nationally and presented internationally while receiving the Walden University Research Dissemination Award two years consecutively for her work on social change.