Nicole Cashman has been named Interim Chief Executive Officer of Welcome America, Inc., stepping into the role following Michael DelBene’s departure after this year’s Wawa Welcome America festival in July. It’s a genuinely fitting transition — Cashman isn’t an outside hire learning the organization from scratch, but a 25-year partner who’s helped shape it from the outside for longer than most staff have worked there.

Nicole Cashman’s 25-Year History With Welcome America

Cashman is the founder and CEO of Cashman & Associates, the award-winning strategic marketing and communications agency she founded in Philadelphia in 2001. For the past 25 years, her firm has worked directly with Welcome America on events publicity, strategic communications, and executive advisory work across what the organization itself describes as some of its most significant milestones.

That history gives her a level of institutional knowledge few incoming executives could match. Cashman has also previously stepped into interim leadership at both the Atlantic City Alliance and Visit Philadelphia, successfully guiding two of the region’s leading destination marketing organizations through pivotal transition periods — direct precedent for exactly the role she’s stepping into now.

What Board Leadership Is Saying

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who chairs the Welcome America Inc. Board of Directors, pointed to Cashman’s career-long role in Philadelphia’s civic identity. “Nicole has spent her career helping tell Philadelphia’s story and bringing people together around the experiences that make our city extraordinary,” Parker said, adding that the city looks forward to working with her throughout the year ahead.

Judge Daniel Anders, Vice Chair of the Board, framed Cashman’s appointment as a natural fit for the moment. “She brings a combination of institutional knowledge, executive leadership and deep experience across tourism, major events and marketing that makes her exceptionally well suited to lead Welcome America during this important transition,” Anders said, noting the board’s confidence in her ability to provide steady leadership going forward.

Looking Ahead to 2027

Cashman herself struck a personal note in accepting the role. “I have had the privilege of working alongside Welcome America for 25 years and have seen firsthand the extraordinary impact this organization has on Philadelphia and the region,” she said.

She described plans to help “reimagine the organization for 2027 and beyond” — a notable ambition given it follows directly on the heels of the city’s Semiquincentennial year.

Congratulations are well deserved here. Few people are handed the reins to an organization they already understand this thoroughly, and fewer still arrive with a track record of steering sister organizations through this kind of transition. Welcome America produces some of the moments — the Wawa Welcome America Festival, the Celebration of Freedom, the Holiday Tree Lighting — that define how Philadelphia shows up for itself and the world each year, and it’s landing in the capable and familiar hands of Nicole Cashman.

About Post Author

Allan Lane

Philadelphia born and bred, Allan Lane is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of digital magazines. He launched his first publication, SportBikes Inc Magazine in 2010, followed by dosage MAGAZINE in 2019. Recently, Allan launched his third online publication, Club For Man. As a journalist, Allan covers fashion, lifestyle, culture, art, and motorcycles.

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