Executive Team
Kathryn Schloessman
President, LA Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC)
As president of the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission , Schloessman oversees and manages the day-to-day operations of the Commission, which acts as the official organization for the City of Los Angeles to seek, host, promote and retain special sports and entertainment events such as Super Bowls, Grammy Awards and All-Star games.
Some of the events Los Angeles will be hosting over the next year include the GRAMMY Awards and the ESPN X Games, in addition to annual events, like the City of Los Angeles Marathon and the Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl game. Over the past two years, LASEC was actively involved in hosting the NBA All-Star Weekend and the BCS National Championship week. LASEC continues to work diligently to bring several other high-profile events to Los Angeles.
Prior to joining the Commission, Schloessman was a 13-year veteran of CB Commercial (now CB Richard Ellis), the largest commercial real estate company in the United States. She held the position of managing officer of CB Commercial’s downtown Los Angeles office, where she was responsible for business development, operations and management of the Los Angeles region’s office professionals and oversaw CB Commercial’s community relations efforts.
Previously, Schloessman served as marketing director for CB Commercial’s Western Division. She also has more than 10 years experience as lead broker for major lease transactions in the downtown Los Angeles market.
While at CB Commercial, she served on the Executive Board of the Central City Association and on the Board of Directors of Public Counsel, the largest non-profit provider of legal services. She now serves on the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Police Foundation, which serves to provide resources to help the Los Angeles Police Department perform at its highest level of service. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Moag & Company, a sports investment banking firm and on the Advisory Board of the USC Sports Business Institute. This fall, she will be joining the USC Board of Governors.
Schloessman graduated in 1983 with a B.S. degree in business from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Cindy Hanson
Manager, LA Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC)
As manager at the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission, Johnson assists the president in development & implementation of plans for all LASEC events and manages and coordinates staff and vendors for all projects. She also interfaces with all LASEC board and advisory board members, sponsors, sports and entertainment executives.
Johnson’s other responsibilities include identifying potential sponsors for events and providing administrative support including preparation of contracts and making sure that LASEC fulfills all its obligations under sponsor contracts.
She also manages and coordinates outside organizations and vendors for projects and programs and, in conjunction with president, develops concepts for collateral materials, then supervises their creation, design, copy and ultimate distribution.
Previous to this, she was the assistant to the executive vice president at the LA INC., The Convention and Visitors Bureau and also, was assistant to the assistant chief of staff in Mayor Richard J. Riordan’s office.
Born in Detroit, Johnson is a long-time resident of Southern California. She attended UCLA where she received a B.A. degree in environmental policy and geography in 1993. She is a resident of Long Beach.
Karina Siam
Manager, Sports & Entertainment Sales
LA Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC)
As Sports & Entertainment Sales Manager for the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission, Karina Siam is responsible for attracting non-professional sporting and entertainment events like collegiate championships to the Los Angeles area by fostering relationships with area colleges and universities and appropriate governing bodies. Siam works closely with the LA INC. sales team as a designated liaison between venues, hotels and the client.
Siam’s other responsibilities include managing new business development and marketing collateral for LASEC as well as assisting LASEC project managers with their responsibilities.
Before joining LASEC, Siam was a governance intern at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in Indianapolis, IN. Siam earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Development from the University of California, San Diego in 2005 and her MBA and MS in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2008.
Siam was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley and currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Mike Smith
Manager, Corporate Sales
LA Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC)
As the Corporate Sales Manager for the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission, Mike Smith manages sponsor relations and helps execute sales of new sponsorship opportunities. His responsibilities include researching industry trends, producing sponsorship packages for each event and contacting and maintaining relationships with both current and prospective clients. For the Commission, Smith is also involved in updating the website content, creating post-event marketing tools and assisting the project managers.
Before joining the Commission, Smith attended Pepperdine University and graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. During his years at Pepperdine, Smith studied abroad in Florence, Italy, worked for a non-profit organization in London and was a member of Service Leadership.
Smith was born in Newport Beach, California and currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Aubrey Walton
Associate, LA Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC)
As an associate of the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission, Aubrey Walton helps coordinate the event logistics for all of the Commission’s activities. This work includes event registration, recruiting, training and managing volunteers, gathering and cataloging items for silent auctions, handling logistics for the speakers and all other aspects of event management. She is also responsible for assisting in the editorial production and distribution of all LASEC printed materials and press releases.
Before joining the Commission, Walton worked for Life Sports Management in Beverly Hills, handling media relations efforts for NBA clients for radio, television and print requests. She secured key sponsors for the LA Stars Charity Event which was hosted by Baron Davis and Paul Pierce, and created and managed a concierge program for more than 50 NBA players.
Walton graduated in December 2007 from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, co-concentration in Public Relations and Advertising.
Walton was born in Sycamore, Ohio and currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
The LA Sports & Entertainment Commission actively works to maintain Los Angeles as the sports and entertainment capital of the world. LASEC is a nonprofit organization and an affiliate of LA INC. The Convention and Visitors Bureau. LASEC was founded in 1995 by Mayor Richard Riordan and other civic leaders to provide a single point of contact for the City of Los Angeles for sports and entertainment executives and events.
