Dr. Debby Cannon is the Director of the Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality in the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. On the faculty since 1991, Dr. Cannon’s areas of specialization include human resources, quality service management and green hospitality initiatives. She has extensive industry experience including property and corporate-level positions with Hyatt Hotels and Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Cannon was on the team that wrote the Ritz-Carlton’s first application for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Cannon has published extensively in top hospitality research journals and hospitality textbooks. She is co-author of Training and Development for the Hospitality Industry, published by the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, which is a leading textbook used worldwide.

Dr. Cannon has conducted numerous professional development programs around the world for the hospitality industry. She has made over 150  presentations including sessions for the International Council of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education, Club Managers Association of America, National Automatic Merchandising Association, Golf Club Superintendents Association of America, National Golf Club Owners Association and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Dr. Cannon is on the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Georgia Tourism Foundation, the Green Foodservice Alliance and the Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association. She is also a member of the Master Club Manager Academic Council for the Club Managers Association of America. Her doctorate degree, from Georgia State University, is in human resources development.