Board of Directors

With nearly three decades of hospitality and hotel management experience, Mitch Linder has helped set the standard and pave the way for the guest experience throughout the Lowcountry.

Mitch Linder has an incredible track record and reputation amongst his colleagues and within the industry. Most recently having served as General Manager for HLC Hotels, he managed hotel operations for the Kehoe House and Marshall House in Savannah. Prior to that, Linder was the Director of Operations South for Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants; and he spearheaded a multi-million-dollar transformation as a General Manager at Savannah’s Kimpton Brice Hotel.

Since 2022, Mitch Linder has served as the Managing Director of The DeSoto Savannah.

Chef Gearry Caudell is a Certified Executive Chef and Culinary Educator with more than two decades of culinary experience. He earned a degree in Culinary Arts from Sullivan University and understands the benefit of being classically trained by experienced culinary professionals.

Chef Caudell’s post-college career began at the Glass Chimney, a fine-dining restaurant in Carmel, IN. He was later named the executive chef of Puccini’s La Dolce Vita in Bloomington, IN.

In 2007, Caudell accepted a position at the prestigious West Baden Springs Resort, which is continually ranked amongst the best resorts in the U.S. by Conde Nast. Chef Caudell began teaching at Ivy Tech University, while working as executive chef of 1875 Steakhouse at West Baden’s sister resort, French Lick Springs Resort.

Much as he had fallen in love with the hospitality field, he quickly realized that educating the next generation of great chefs was his passion. That passion pushed him to pursue a faculty position at the Culinary Institute of Savannah at Savannah Technical College, where he has been preparing students for a career in the hospitality industry for nearly a decade.

He was named one of the “South’s Best Chefs” by South Magazine in 2015 and received the award for Instructor of the Year from the American Culinary Federation’s Chefs of the Lowcountry chapter in 2016.  He was nominated for the Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year in 2015, 2022, and 2023.

Chief Gavin Is an Army veteran, who has served 29 years with the Savannah Police Department. Chief Gavin has commanded and served in all divisions within the Police Department, to include Office of Professional Standards, Criminal Investigations, Field Operations, SWAT, and currently is Asst. Chief over the Administrative Management / Special Operations Division and the SPD Behavioral Health Unit (BHU).

Chief Gavin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration and attended several Law Enforcement executive management schools, including the Senior Investigative Officer’s (SIO) management course at the London Metropolitan Police Service, University of Louisville, Southern Police Institute (SPI), Administrative Officers Course, Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Senior Management Institute, Boston University, and the International Assoc. of Chiefs of (IACP)“Leadership in Police Organizations” course.

Chief Gavin serves on multiple Savannah-Chatham County boards, Tourism Leadership Council (TLC), Safe Shelter of Chatham County, the Front Porch, and the Chatham-Savannah Interagency Council on Homelessness. Chief Gavin coach’s Para-Olympic youth Sport, “Goal Ball” for the blind and visually impaired.

Corey Jones owns Lucky Savannah Vacation Rentals, managing Savannah’s largest portfolio of furnished rental homes for visitors to the area. His company was created by chance, but its growth is correlated closely with the welcoming guidance and insights from Savannah’s broader Hospitality industry. Corey has been fortunate to serve in various leadership roles, including past chair of Visit Savannah.

Charlie Brazil is Chief Operating Officer of Historic Tours of America^® (HTA), an entertainment company providing historically oriented vacation experiences through the operation of trolleys, street trains, a high-speed ferry, themed retail stores, festival marketplaces and other historic tourist attractions in eight US cities. In Savannah, HTA operates Old Town Trolley Tours^®, Ghosts & Gravestones^®, Ghost Town Trolley^®, Ghost Hunters of Savannah^® Paranormal Investigation, the American Prohibition Museum^®, Congress Street Up^®, the Simply Savannah and Trolley Stop retail gift stores, a 17-acre Louisville Road Commercial Park, a luxury vacation rental property at 2 E Perry Street, and a dock and parking lot on River Street.

Charlie began his career with HTA in 1997 in the company’s management training program in San Diego. In 2003 Brazil was promoted to General Manager of Old Town Trolley Tours^® of Savannah, a position he held until 2019 when he was promoted to Regional Manager. He most recently was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2024.

Along with his professional endeavors, Charlie is deeply engaged in leadership roles within organizations dedicated to serving and supporting Savannah’s hospitality and tourism industry. He finds immense satisfaction in the diversity of experiences his position offers, relishing the opportunity to welcome guests from around the globe daily as well as stewarding the success of his fellow CASTmembers.

A native of New York, Brazil has a bachelor’s degree in political science with a concentration in Literature from Hofstra University and a JD (Law) from California Western School of Law in San Diego, CA. With his wife Tammy and son Holden, Charlie enjoys exercise, travel, nature and the outdoors, gardening, and music.

After a career in the petroleum exploration business, Michael Plummer chose to return to his family home in Savannah. Giving back to his community is paramount in his everyday life. He is an avid supporter and volunteer for the Taste of Savannah, TLC annual Golf tourney, the 200 club, Kairos prison ministry, Buy Local Savannah, the Savannah World War II monument.

Marcie holds decades of experience in the restaurant industry as owner of the famous Belford’s Savannah Seafood and Steaks in City Market. Marcie has served on the Board and Executive Committee of several organizations, including the Tourism Leadership Council, Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, and Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (now Visit Savannah).

Marcie served as Director of Savannah City Market for over two decades and is a member of the Rotary Club of Savannah and the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority. She was born and reared in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and graduated from the University of Tulsa, studying Speech Therapy and Audiology.

Melanie Wilson has over 30 years of experience in land use, environmental, and strategic planning often requiring bridging boundaries between multiple jurisdictions, organizations, and socio-economic groups. Her work has involved mediating conflicting relationships among these entities and building capacity where none existed.  She is an innovative leader with demonstrated organizational, analytical, and communications skills. She is experienced in government, private sector, and academia with progressively increasing responsibilities and successful track record in developing and managing local, regional and federal agencies. As a strategic thinker, she is consistently recognized for innovation and creativity in developing solutions to complex issues.

Melanie is the past Chair of the Planning and the Black Community Division (PBCD) of the American Planning Association (APA). PBCD also provides opportunities for planners, administrators, public officials, students, and other interested individuals to address national issues of significance to the black community.