Meet Director Lee Sentell
Lee Sentell, reappointed by Governor Kay Ivey in 2022 as director of the Alabama Tourism Department, has overseen tourism revenue growth in the state from $6 billion in 2003 to $22 billion in 2022. This is his sixth term in the Alabama Governor’s Cabinet.
Under his leadership, the department has pioneered yearly campaigns spotlighting such diverse themes as small towns, the arts, barbecue, natural wonders, birding and the Alabama Bicentennial celebration, winning the national industry’s coveted Mercury award six times in 12 years. Most recently, their U.S. Civil Rights Trail campaign received the International Travel and Tourism Award for best regional promotion at the World Travel Market in London, becoming the U.S. state tourism agency to be honored.
Previously, he was the first director of marketing at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville and recruited the first 100,000 students to Space Camp.
Sentell has served as a board member at the Alabama Historical Commission, Alabama Humanities Foundation, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Rosa Parks Museum, Encyclopedia of Alabama and the space museum in Huntsville.