Rusty Branch

Rusty joined Innisfree Hotels in November of 2020 as VP of Community Engagement. Prior to this he spent 5 years as the Executive Director of the Escambia County Destination Marketing Organization (DMO). In this role he advocated on behalf of the hotel/lodging industry for the sustainability and promotion of tourism, which is an industry that represents 20,000 plus employees in Escambia County. Rusty also spent 14 years with Lakeview Center where he worked in multiple roles. During this time, his duties ranged from child welfare services to being responsible for the development and deployment of training to more than 2,000 employees located in 14 states. A highlight of Rusty’s time at Lakeview was when he led a Quality Work Environment initiative for persons with disabilities that was nationally recognized. Rusty has also advocated at the federal, state and local level for the advancement of job opportunities for persons with significant disabilities and has led six (6) members of congress to become “Congressional Champions for Disability Employment.”

Rusty is an alumnus of Univ. of West Florida where he was a member of the baseball team, has completed an Executive Education program through the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and is a graduate of Leadership Pensacola. He has mentored youth in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters as well as the Take Stock in Children programs and currently serves on the boards of CareerSource EscaRosa, YMCA of Northwest Florida, and Global Connections to Employment. Rusty resides in Cantonment with his wife Laura and three children Emma (16), Elizabeth (13) & Allen (8).