Bureau picks director

Barbara Diamond

Judy Bijlani took the reins Monday at the Laguna Beach Visitors &

Conference Bureau.

“She gives us a new pair of eyes and, coupled with her expertise,

is going to be a real asset to the bureau in its partnerships with

the Chamber of Commerce and the city,” board President Karyn

Philippsen said.

She lives in Aliso Viejo with her husband of 28 years, and

Philippsen said that gives her a spectator’s view. “Some of us who

live and work in Laguna need some objectivity. We are really excited

about getting her.”

Bijlani was most recently president of Bijlani Group, a marketing

consulting firm, specializing in product management, special events

and promotion, with an emphasis on retail, travel and tourist trades.

She has had 25 years experience directing strategic planning for

the industry.

Bijlani is a member of the board of directors for the California

Travel Industry Assn, Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention

Bureau, Orange County Tourism Council and the Childrens’ Bureau of

Orange County.

She is a past chair of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, past

president of Shop California, and founder of the county’s California

Welcome Center.

Bijlani is a two-time winner of the MAXI award from the

International Council of Shopping Centers.

She succeeds Kathleen Spaglione, who was the bureau’s second

executive director.

“We will forever miss Kathleen,” Philippsen said. “She was with us

for 11 years and took us where we needed to go.”

Spaglione was lured to the bureau from Las Brisas and brought to

the bureau her experience in the restaurant business.

The public is invited to stop by and say hello to Bijlani, at the

bureau, 252 Broadway.

For more information, contact the Laguna Beach Visitors and

Conference Bureau at (800) 877-1115 or online at www.lagunabeachinfo.org.