Dodie Stephens

Explore Asheville

Vice President of Marketing

Dodie Stephens is a seasoned marketing and communications executive with more than 20 years of experience across travel, tourism, real estate, agency, and public-sector roles. She currently serves as Vice President of Marketing at Explore Asheville, the destination marketing and management organization for Asheville and Buncombe County, where she leads strategy for a nearly $3 billion visitor economy. Dodie’s expertise in destination branding is rooted in her earlier tenure at Explore Asheville from 2007–2022, where she developed award-winning campaigns. Since returning in October 2023, she has overseen integrated marketing efforts that blend creative partnerships, stakeholder collaboration, and strategic media investments to showcase Asheville’s distinct character. Under her leadership, Explore Asheville received the 2025 ESTO Destination Award for Always Asheville, a crisis-relief and event marketing initiative launched in response to Hurricane Helene that supported hundreds of independent businesses and leveraged nationally visible events to accelerate regional recovery. Dodie’s work exemplifies how strategic storytelling and community-centered marketing can drive both economic impact and cultural vitality, setting a benchmark for destination marketing professionals.

Career Highlights:

• Served as 2021 Chair of the Public Relations Society of America’s Travel & Tourism Section, and has served on the boards of ArtsAVL, Chow Chow Festival, NC Blue Ridge, and Edible Asheville. 

• Held public-sector and agency roles managing campaigns in public health, education, technology, and arts, including crisis communications for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

• Directed marketing at Allen Tate/Beverly-Hanks, scaling luxury and relocation publications and custom activations for hundreds of brokers.