Announcing the 2020 Board of Directors

Bill Hawkins

President

Mr. William Hawkins has been elected to serve as President of the Association. A member of NYCAHC since 2010, Mr. Hawkins previously served as NYCAHC’s Vice President and Secretary for two years, and, prior to that, director of Public Relations. In his previous Board positions, Mr. Hawkins has led many of the Association’s charitable endeavors, including the MillionTreesNYC campaign, the Fare Share Friday dinner with Crossroads Community Services, as well as serving as captain for the Association’s record-breaking team participation in AIDS Walk NY. In addition, Mr. Hawkins strengthened ties with the major Broadway marketing agencies, resulting in increased opportunities for members to experience Broadway shows first-hand.

Prior to working in hospitality, Mr. Hawkins was a licensed attorney and commercial litigator for seven years before leaving that career in 2006 to follow a passion for service. He began this new career at the Mark Hotel, then served as a Concierge at The Alex Hotel for more than five years before he moved to Mandarin Oriental New York in 2012. Mr. Hawkins was honored to have been accepted as a member of Les Clefs d’Or USA in 2014, and again honored to have been nominated for the “Concierge of the Year” award at the 2016 Silver Plume Awards, and was even more honored to have won the Silver Plume Award for Community Service in 2018. Mr. Hawkins has represented New York and the Association at the Les Clefs D’Or congresses in Washington DC, Buenos Aires, and Scottsdale, and also attended the Concierge Leadership Summit this past November in Denver.

Mr. Hawkins hopes to use his prior Board experience and familiarity with the organization’s communication structure to support the directors in their positions, and make certain that goals are set and met for the coming year, as we address new challenges, all towards creating a more vital community, a strong profession, and a positive public perception of our role both by guests and by hotel management. Major initiatives will include increasing educational programming, promoting the concierge profession, and a possible bid to host an upcoming Les Clefs d’Or Congress in New York City.

Charlie Loor

Vice President

Mr. Charlie Loor has been re-elected to serve on the Board of Directors, and will serve in the role of Vice President of the Association . Mr. Loor has been a member of NYCAHC since 2013, and has served on the Board of Directors, as Director of Corporate Membership, since 2018. During his tenure as Director of Corporate Membership, Mr. Loor was instrumental in building and strengthening relationships between New York City vendors and the

Concierge Community. He has also participated in many Association sponsored events, particularly the Association’s annual Trade Show, in which representatives of vendors, attractions, restaurants and other service partners are afforded the opportunity to meet members of the Association face to face. Mr. Loor has been a member of the Trade Show Committee since 2017, and has served as Co-Chair of the Committee since 2018.

Mr. Loor has over 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry and has had the privilege of being a Les Clefs d’Or member since 2016. In 2017, Mr. Loor was recognized with the Rising Star Award at the annual Hotel Excellence Awards, and was then honored with the Silver Plume Award for Concierge of the Year in 2018. Having a passion for hospitality and the Concierge community, Mr. Loor is eager to become more involved with both NYCAHC and Les Clefs d’Or. In his role as Vice President, he looks forward to supporting the President, his fellow Board Members, and the association at large, as they continue their efforts to strengthen and enhance the Concierge Community.

Anabela Moumdjian

Secretary

Ms. Anabela Moumdjian has been re-elected to the Board of Directors, and will serve as the Association’s Secretary. Ms. Moumdjian has been working in the hospitality industry for more than 20 years in Argentina and the United States. She was Front Desk and Front Office Manager at prestigious hotels in New York before becoming a Concierge in 2007, holding the position of Assistant Chef Concierge at The Hotel Plaza Athenee. In 2017 she became part of the Concierge team at the beautiful Mark Hotel on the Upper East side. She is presently working as Chef Concierge at newly opened Equinox Hotel in Hudson Yards. She became a proud member of NYCAHC in 2013 and has always been and active participant in community activities and social events. She also serves on the NYCAHC Ethics Committee and Crisis Fund Committee.

Ms. Moumdjian is honored to have been re-elected to continue being part of The Board of Directors of NYCAHC. As Secretary Ms. Moumdjian will continue assisting our Members with all administrative aspects of the Association and will provide the necessary support to the President and all members of the Board of Directors.

Tea Ferrari

Social Director

Tea Ferrari continues her Board of Directors term, and will again serve as the Social Director.

Ms. Ferrari has been in hospitality for over 10 years; in Italy she worked in SLH properties, while in New York City for the Gansevoort Hotel Group, The InterContinental Barclay and she was part of the of the opening team of The Times Square EDITION where she currently works as Concierge.

Ms. Ferrari is proud to continue serving the Board of Directors and is eager to give back to the Concierge Community, as she stated: “Becoming a member of the Association has helped me on many levels, but most importantly it is through the Association that I met great, loyal, reliable, and unique people who I have the fortune to call Friends today.”

In her role as a Social Director, Ms. Ferrari will continue to build relationships and partnerships as well as share creative and exciting events that our City has to offer.

Chris McCormack

Treasurer

Mr. Chris McCormack has been elected to the Board of Directors, and will serve as the Treasurer of the Association. Mr. McCormack started his hotel career in his home town, Sydney Australia back in 1996 as a Part time Overnight Bell Attendant. Within two years he progressed to be the Assistant Front of House Manager. He journeyed to London UK seeking adventure and to pursue his hospitality career. Mr. McCormack’s first place of work in the UK was Covent Garden Hotel as a Receptionist and he transitioned to the Concierge Team as a Bell Attendant. Soon after he was covering the Concierge Desk and he was then promoted to Assistant Head Concierge at Charlotte Street Hotel. He then opened Soho Hotel in the same position totaling 10 years with Firmdale Hotels in the UK. In 2009 Mr. McCormack accepted the Head Concierge role to open Crosby Street Hotel in NYC. He has now been with Firmdale Hotels for over 20 years.

Prior to stepping into hospitality Mr. McCormack was granted a Traineeship with Alcatel Australia focusing on Telecommunications, Metals & Engineering. After two years he realized this path was not for him and decided to try his luck in the hospitality world.

Two school mottos that Mr. McCormack still holds closely to this day are “Strive to Achieve” and “Know Thyself”. He is excited to be a part of the 2020 Board of Directors and looks forward to the challenges that lay ahead. He sees this opportunity to learn and grow with the Association. “Passion speaks volumes however action is needed to ignite it.”

Michael Cerrato

Education Director

Mr. Michael Cerrato is delighted to be serving again on the Board of Directors, in a new capacity as Director of Education.

Mr. Cerrato has been a concierge for 33 years and a member of Les Clefs d’Or for 24; he spent his first decade as a concierge in Boston (where he helped create the local concierge association) and then moved to New York City – but he is still a Red Sox fan (!) Over the course of his time as a concierge, Mr. Cerrato has won both the Silver Plume and Big Apple Awards and has served on the Boards of Directors of Boston, New York, and Les Clefs d’Or USA. He has a special place in his heart for bylaws and all that goes with them, and is an active member of the American Institute of Parliamentarians.

Mr. Cerrato firmly believes that, while passion for our vocation is incredibly important, we need also to be educated – by each other and by other professionals – in order to make our jobs both easier for ourselves and more valuable to our hotels.

Claudia ILUC

Membership Director

Ms. Claudia Iluc has been elected to the Board of Directors and will serve as Membership Director of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges. Ms. Iluc has been a member of the Association since 2007 and she is excited to serve for the first time. She is a member of Les Clefs d’Or since 2013. Ms. Iluc started her career in hospitality 20 years ago at the New York Palace. Some of the properties she worked for include the Plaza Athenee, Parker New York, and The Waldorf Astoria, where she was a member of the closing team, as the Assistant Chef Concierge. She is currently the Chef Concierge at The Time New York, a Dream Hotel Group property.

Ms. Iluc previously served on the Association’s Membership Committee and Concierge Choice Awards. She has participated in many of the Association’s charitable endeavors, including the Million Trees NYC campaign, Toys for Tots, The Soup Kitchen and more. As a Membership Director, Ms. Iluc plans in continuing with expanding our number of members by reaching out to individuals that would like to be part of this esteemed organization. “With so many hotels opening up, we have the opportunity to have a “NYCAHC desk” in any new property” Ms. Iluc looks forward to serving on your Board of Directors and thanks the Concierge Association for this opportunity.

Michael Sinatra

Public Relations

Mr. Michael Sinatra is thrilled to be continuing his Board of Directors service, and will serve as the Association’s Director of Public Relations. Mr. Sinatra previously served as the Association’s Membership Director.

Mr. Sinatra graduated from NYU with a degree in hospitality management and has worked as a front desk agent, runner, trainer, and concierge at various Walt Disney Resorts throughout Disney World. Once back in New York, he was part of the opening team of the The MAve, a boutique hotel in the Flatiron district. He then focused his career specifically as a concierge, working at Le Parker Meridien (now The Parker) and then moving onto The London NYC (now The Conrad).  Having joined the Park Hyatt New York as part of their opening team, he is proud to have just celebrated his 6th year with the Hotel.  Within the his new role on the board he hope to create more awareness of the association by expanding our social media presence.

Spencer Howard

Corporate Membership Director

Mr. Spencer Howard has been elected to the Board of Directors, and will serve as the Association’s Corporate Membership Director. After spending 10 years as a professional actor, touring the world performing in shows like  West Side Story  and  Legally Blonde: The Musical , a theater friend suggested that Mr. Howard consider a job in hospitality. He was hired as a full-time Concierge at the W New York Times Square and spent the next few years falling in love with the hospitality industry and the pleasure of getting to help visitors make the most out of their trips.

He truly believes in the Concierge community and joined NYCAHC and Les Clefs d’Or as soon as the opportunities were available to him. He could not be more humbled to now be serving on the Board of Directors and looks forward to helping the Concierge community continue to thrive here, in the greatest city on Earth!

Regena Falling

Past President / Advisor

Ms. Regena Falling, Chef Concierge at Park Hyatt New York, has concluded her term as President of the Association , and will now serve as Past President / Advisor of the Association. Ms. Falling had previously served President as the Vice President of the Association. Prior to relocating to New York City in 2010, Ms. Falling served 10 years on the Board of Directors of Les Clefs d’Or USA, as Director of Membership, Vice President and President. She has also served as President of the Hotel Concierge Guild of Seattle. Ms. Falling was part of the opening team at Park Hyatt New York, which opened in 2014. At the 2015 Hotel Excellence Awards/Silver Plume Awards, held on January 25, 2016 and sponsored by InNY Magazine, Ms. Falling was honored by her peers with the Silver Plume Award for Chef Concierge of the Year.

Ms. Falling is very enthusiastic about her new role as Past President / Advisor. “I am thrilled to continue to assist the Board of Directors representing members of the New York Association of Hotel Concierge, which include more than 200 Hotel Concierge professionals representing over 24,000 Hotel rooms in New York City. Our members vigilance in their quest for knowledge and unwavering dedication to their profession, their hotels and their guests is what truly inspires me and continues to drive our relevance. We, as concierge, are committed to creating lifelong memories for our guests and driving fierce loyalty to our hotels”

The founders of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges, knew that the work of a dedicated, lobby level Concierge employed by the hotel was a singular calling worthy of distinction. Ms. Falling, the board of directors, and members of the association are uniquely leveraged to enhance a hotel’s cache with the community as ambassadors, locally and even abroad. NYCAHC upholds a high standard of integrity and ethics for all concierges, both inside and outside the organization.

In her role as Past President /Advisor, Ms. Falling will lend her creative style of leadership to support the Board of Directors and the membership-at-large as they navigate the ever changing landscape that is the hallmark of the Hotel Concierge profession.