ENGLEWOOD, COLO.—As chairwoman of Smoke-Free Gaming, Stephanie Steinberg’s mission is to work her nonprofit out of business—to get to a point when all casinos in the United States disallow indoor smoking. “Once all gaming industry employees are protected from second-hand smoke, our mission will be accomplished,” she says. While there are other nonprofits that advocate a smoke-free working environment, Smoke-Free Gaming is the only one that targets just casinos. It has been doing so since 2004 when Steinberg founded the organization. A casino patron at one time herself, Steinberg began chatting with casino employees and learned that many of them were getting sick with asthma, different types of cancer and other ailments from the unhealthy indoor air to which they were exposed.

NEW YORK—Drew Schlesinger, a veteran of the hotel industry and a 12-year resident of Scarsdale, N.Y., was recently named general manger of the InterContinental Times Square. One of the greenest hotels in New York City, the hotel opened in July. The 36-story, 607-room hotel cost half a billion dollars to build and is being billed by its parent company, InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, as one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the city. It’s already the largest hotel in New York to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, which is assigned by the U.S. Green Building Council to projects in which environmentally sound strategies are utilized. This is the Philadelphia native’s first position at a green hotel, but he has a wealth of experience in the industry.

TORONTO—Fairmont recently made several management and supervisory-level appointments at its properties worldwide. Among them was the promotion of Sarah Dayboll to director, environmental affairs. Dayboll has been instrumental in progressing Fairmont’s green agenda and most recently oversaw the company’s commitment to reduce its carbon emissions under the World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers Program. In her expanded role, she will continue to seek out new ways in which to proactively green Fairmont’s operations. Working closely with Fairmont’s portfolio of world-class hotels, Dayboll plays an instrumental role in the day-to-day operations of Fairmont’s Green Partnership program, a worldwide environmental platform recognized internationally as being the most comprehensive green program in the lodging industry.

ANN ARBOR, MICH.—NSF International, an independent organization that aims to protect human health and the environment, has promoted Tom Bruursema to general manager of NSF Sustainability. In this role, Bruursema will lead the growing portfolio of NSF Sustainability services that assists organizations in greening their products, operations, systems and supply chains. These services include standards development through the National Center for Sustainability Standards founded by NSF International in 2010. NSF develops life-cycle based, multi-attribute sustainability standards for green products and services, including building products and materials, furniture, carpet and flooring, fabrics, wallcoverings, roofing membranes, green chemicals, and water and wastewater infrastructure. Additional services through NSF Sustainability include environmental claims testing and verification.

SAN FRANCISCO—The InterContinental San Francisco announces the appointment of Juan Pablo Laginia as the new director of operations. Holding an extensive background within the InterContinental Hotel Group, Laginia was most recently working as the hotel’s director of rooms, responsible for day-to-day operations and overseeing the front office, housekeeping, security and IT departments at the LEED certified 550-room hotel located in San Francisco’s South of Market (SOMA) district. Laginia first joined the InterContinental Hotel Group in September 2000, assisting with front desk and front office operations and management at the InterContinental Tamanaco in Caracas, Venezuela. In 2006 Laginia joined the team at the InterContinental Miami and subsequently trained to become the assistant director of front office in 2008.

ATLANTA—IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, has named Paul Snyder to be vice president, corporate responsibility in the Americas region. He officially began his new role on June 27, 2011. Based in Atlanta, Snyder will work with the region’s president Kirk Kinsell and his senior executive team and will report to David Jerome, senior vice president, corporate responsibility, IHG in Denham, U.K. Snyder leads the implementation of sustainability and community efforts throughout IHG hotels. He manages the regions’ public affairs activities, working closely with the corporate affairs, human resources and legal departments with efforts in Washington and with other groups to advocate IHG’s interests. Paul also directs IHG’s diversity work, promoting inclusion and cultural diversity at the company.

ATLANTA—IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, has named Paul Snyder to be vice president, corporate responsibility in the Americas region. He officially began his new role on June 27, 2011. Based in Atlanta, Snyder will work with the region’s president Kirk Kinsell and his senior executive team and will report to David Jerome, senior vice president, corporate responsibility, IHG in Denham, U.K. Snyder leads the implementation of sustainability and community efforts throughout IHG hotels. He manages the regions’ public affairs activities, working closely with the corporate affairs, human resources and legal departments with efforts in Washington and with other groups to advocate IHG’s interests. Paul also directs IHG’s diversity work, promoting inclusion and cultural diversity at the company.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Behind every successful green hotel project is an environmental champion—someone charged with overseeing its progress from start to finish. At the award-winning Hotel Andaluz in Albuquerque, N.M., that person is Darin Sand. As director of Sustainability for Goodman Realty Group, owner of the 10-story, 108-room LEED Gold property, Sand has overseen the property’s green transformation since the owner suggested a goal of LEED Silver in 2005. It was at a meeting in 2005 that hotel owner Gary Goodman began talking about LEED certification for the hotel that first opened in 1939 as the Albuquerque Hilton, Conrad Hilton’s first Hilton property. Sand says few in the meeting understood what LEED was. “I had to educate myself,” Sand says. “I became a LEED Accredited Professional. Having constant oversight of the project was a unique and interesting experience.”

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Behind every successful green hotel project is an environmental champion—someone charged with overseeing its progress from start to finish. At the award-winning Hotel Andaluz in Albuquerque, N.M., that person is Darin Sand. As director of Sustainability for Goodman Realty Group, owner of the 10-story, 108-room LEED Gold property, Sand has overseen the property’s green transformation since the owner suggested a goal of LEED Silver in 2005. It was at a meeting in 2005 that hotel owner Gary Goodman began talking about LEED certification for the hotel that first opened in 1939 as the Albuquerque Hilton, Conrad Hilton’s first Hilton property. Sand says few in the meeting understood what LEED was. “I had to educate myself,” Sand says. “I became a LEED Accredited Professional. Having constant oversight of the project was a unique and interesting experience.”

AUSTIN, TEXAS—For his stewardship to the hospitality industry and his leadership with various hospitality technology projects over the past 20 years, Frank Wolfe, CAE, CEO of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), will be inducted into the International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame. The induction will take place at the 2011 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC) keynote session on Tuesday, June 21 at 8:30 a.m. Under Wolfe’s leadership, HITEC, produced by HFTP, has grown to become the largest hospitality technology conference in the world. “HITEC is one of the most essential events in our industry, and there is no question that Frank’s leadership has largely been responsible. For this alone, Frank deserves recognition,” said Douglas Rice, executive vice president and CEO of Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG).