A Smart Win: Explore Seattle Southside’s Noelle Cueto Named Among Top Women in Meetings for 2025
Explore Seattle Southside announces Noelle Cueto, Director of Business Development, as the proud recipient of the 2025 Smart Women in Meetings: Industry Leader award. Released in the March 2025 issue of Smart Meetings, the accolade recognizes extraordinary female leaders.
As a member of the Explore Seattle Southside team for more than nine years, Cueto has been recognized for her exceptional dedication, creative approach, and unwavering commitment to empowering her community. Her leadership has been instrumental in developing Explore Seattle Southside’s innovative and unique Business Development Scholarship, designed to provide hotels and event venues with impactful opportunities to connect with event planners, as well as the resources to represent the entire Seattle Southside region.
"Receiving the Smart Women in Meetings Award is a testament to Noelle's hard work and passion for our industry and curiously wonderful destination," said Mark Everton, CEO at Explore Seattle Southside. "Her ability to inspire and empower our community has consistently elevated our efforts and inspired our team."
Celebrating its tenth year, the Smart Women in Meetings Awards honor professionals across categories such as Rising Stars, Stellar Performers, Industry Leaders, Entrepreneurs, Innovators, Visionaries, and Hall of Fame inductees. The awards highlight individuals who have made significant contributions to the meetings and events sector.
“We all recognize that hospitality is unique, and that the industry is responsible for creating positive, memorable experiences and fostering real connections for people,” Cueto says. “Future leaders should embrace the unknown throughout your journey, for it’s in those times you’ll discover your strengths, your limits and the impact you can make.”
Winners will be toasted in person at Smart Woman Summit and Smart Women in Meetings Awards Gala at JW Marriott Tampa Water Street on Sept. 11-12.
Smart Meetings is the leading meetings industry publisher and voice of inspiration for meeting professionals. We inspire our audience of meeting and event professionals to dream big—and create brilliant experiences that delight attendees, achieve desired results and elevate the impact of the meetings industry. We are essential reading for the evolution currently happening all over the globe. Smart Meetings publishes cutting-edge meetings content in print and digital magazines 12 times per year, hosts world-class networking events, produces CEU-accredited Smart Chat Live! webinars and offers a myriad of digital resources.
Explore Seattle Southside (Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority) has a bold vision to reimagine the way people travel. Established over 25 years ago in 1999, Explore Seattle Southside is the destination marketing organization for the cities of SeaTac, Tukwila, Des Moines and beyond. Also known as the curiously wonderful destination for exploring the Pacific Northwest, Explore Seattle Southside showcases the Seattle Southside region with pride and imagination as an ideal travel destination for leisure and business travelers to explore Western Washington and as an idyllic place for meeting and event planners to hold their events. Explore Seattle Southside is funded by a Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) assessment and was recognized in 2023 and 2024—thanks to a commitment to empowering employees and an ambitious vision for the future—as one of Washington State’s Top 100 Best Workplaces. Follow them on social: @seattlesouthside.