The Trustees

Lori Pepenella is the Chief Executive Officer of the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce.

She was the first woman in New Jersey to earn the designation of Certified Destination Management Executive from Purdue University with her thesis “Complexities of Marketing the Jersey Shore,” published by DMAI for their international membership. The chamber is viewed as the go-to source for news and support in the region. Lori is an Executive Board Member for the New Jersey Tourism Industry Association, a Commissioner for the Ocean County Culture & Heritage Commission and is on the Ocean County Business & Tourism Advisory Board.

Lori served on the charter board for Ocean County Military Support Committee and was named to the Ocean County College 100 Women Campaign. She has served as a core committee member for the Governor’s Conference for Tourism since 2009, and presided as Statewide President of NJ Destination Marketing Organizations from 2010-2014. Lori is a featured lecturer and mentor for both the Philadelphia and New York Non-Profit Leadership Summits, Stockton University Jersey ShoreCast, NJ Conference on Tourism, Jersey Arts Marketers and Destination International Annual Convention; contributing writer to NJ League of Municipalities Magazine; and host of LBI Region Report, a weekly radio Show. She works on economic development projects and serves on the Stakeholder Advisory Board of the NJ Sea Grant Consortium. Lori has been honored as Southern Ocean Rotary’s Paul Harris Fellow, Ocean County Freeholder’s Tourism Achievement Award, Honorary Commander at Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst and has been honored as a Woman of Achievement by the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore.