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Taylor Smith
Content Manager, Destinations

Taylor Smith serves as content manager, destinations for Meetings Today, where she leads coverage of global meetings destinations as well as the production of the biannual online magazine Incentives Today. She is also author of “The Z: Planning for the Industry’s Next Generation,” an award-winning column examining how Gen Z is influencing the future of meetings, events and workplace culture.

 

Recognized as one of Eventex’s 100 Most Influential People in the Events Industry (2024) and 50 Most Influential People in the U.S. & Canada (2025), Smith has quickly established herself as a leading voice on emerging generational shifts. In 2026, The Z earned a regional Azbee Award from the American Society of Business Publication Editors, with national honors pending.

 

In addition to her editorial work for the FOLIO: Eddies Award-winning magazine, Smith is co-host of Meetings Today’s Eventualists podcast, shedding light on the unspoken realities of a career in the events industry through authentic, raw conversations. She is also a frequent speaker, taking the stage at shows including IMEX America, MPI’s World Education Congress and SITE Global, and often appears on prominent industry podcasts and webinars.

 

Based just outside Chicago, Smith brings both professional insight and personal curiosity to her reporting, driven by a passion for the “people-people” nature of the meetings industry.

Sites and Bites That Fill Meetings With the Spirit of St. Louis

A dedicated meetings media fam experience with Explore St. Louis gave Meetings Today's Taylor Smith the opportunity to experience St. Louis’ meetings and events offerings, attractions, dining and more beyond its renowned monument and outside the doors of the newly expanded America’s Center Convention Complex.  

The Z: 4 Tips for Intentional Conversations That Lead to Real Connections

When conversations prioritize titles over thoughts, they prevent authentic connection (and often scare Gen Z away). Here are four tips from Sepideh Eivazi, founder of Dawn of the Earth and director of global accounts at Elevated Meeting Solutions, to intentionally start conversations that invite Gen Z to take a seat at the table.

MPI WEC 2025 Wraps Its St. Louis 'Rally'

The Gateway to the West played host to MPI’s World Education Congress (WEC) June 18-20, which welcomed approximately 1,900 in-person attendees to the newly expanded America’s Center Convention Complex in the heart of downtown St. Louis.

The Adult Big Wheel Club Combines Nostalgia With Gamification to Build Stronger Teams

The Atlanta-based Adult Big Wheel Club offers a one-of-a-kind teambuilding event challenge game that involves a 30-foot inflatable start line, 15-foot-tall checkered flags, game boards, buckets, game pieces, a PA system, music and more. Here's how co-owners Danny and Marta Walls took their adult-size Big Wheel-style drift trikes and turned them into a teambuilding activity like no other.