Natalia Velikova holds a joint appointment between the Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute where she serves as the Associate Director, and the Department of Hospitality & Retail Management at Texas Tech University, where she works as the Associate Professor. Dr. Velikova teaches courses in wine marketing and wine tourism and conducts research in the area of wine consumer behavior, wine marketing, and wine tourism. Her research has been published in several academic journals and trade publications.

Kelly Virginia Phelan is an Associate Professor at Texas Tech University. She teaches marketing, tourism, event management and human resources. She recently served as a Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Professor at the University of Botswana. Her research focuses primarily on sustainable tourism development initiatives, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as event management, consumer behavior and marketing. Her research has been published in several academic journals and other mass media sources.

Nicholas (Nick) E. Johnston is currently pursuing his PhD in Hospitality Administration at Texas Tech University. He is a Graduate Instructor for the food service and management courses in the Hospitality and Retailing department. Nick conducts research in the areas of wine consumer behavior and marketing, tourism, sustainability, and culinary arts and education. In addition, he serves as the Treasurer for the Panhandle Chapter of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Chefs de Cuisine.

Natalia delivered a talk at IWINETC 2015 titled:

First-Time versus Repeat Visitors: Different Types of Loyalty

Natalia will be publishing her findings in an upcoming journal.