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The Leaders Redefining the Visitor Attractions Industry - Emily Popovich, Rachael Hamilton, Ruth Read, Liz Sanchez Rasking & Claire Furnival
Episode 22
Tuesday, 3 March, 2026
In this special International Women’s Day episode of Skip the Queue, guest host Claire Furnival brings together four leaders from across the global visitor attractions industry to discuss progress, challenges and what comes next. Joining Claire are Emily Popovich of KMI International, Rachael Hamilton of Rise AV, Liz Sanchez Rasking of Looking Glass Strategies and Entertainment SHE-nanigans, and Ruth Read of blooloop. They share personal career journeys and discuss the ongoing barriers women face, including pay gaps, unconscious bias, burnout, safety at trade shows and confidence in leadership. The episode highlights practical initiatives driving change, such as mentoring programmes, representation in awards and panels, pay transparency advocacy and grassroots networking groups. The conversation reinforces the importance of community, allyship, visibility and self advocacy in accelerating equality across the sector, while recognising there is still work to do before women focused initiatives are no longer needed. Key Topics Discussed Career pathways in attractions, AV, media and themed entertainment Confidence gaps and self advocacy Burnout and workplace pressures Gender pay transparency Safety and inclusion at trade shows Mentoring and leadership development Representation on boards and industry awards The role of allyship Building safe and supportive networks Priorities for the next five years Show References: Claire Furnival, Client Success Manager of JP Showsystems & previously Head of Engineering of Merac http://www.jpshowsystems.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-furnival-exec/ Emily Popovich, Director of Global Business Development of KMI International https://www.kmiintl.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilypopovich/ Rachael Hamilton, Managing Director of Rise AV https://www.rise-av.com/ https://www.iamrachael.co.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-hamilton-836a5825/ Liz Sanchez Rasking, Founder | Director of Business Development, Looking Glass Strategies https://www.looking-glass.pro/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizsanchezrasking/ Ruth Read, Director of blooloop http://www.blooloop.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthread/ There's an incredible line-up of events taking place for this year's #IWD that you can be a part of: 📅 5th March | 2:00pm EST & 7:00pm GMT Live Chat: Empowered voices: Celebrating Women who Lead and Inspire hosted by IAAPA. https://iaapa.org/event/live-chat-empowered-voices-celebrating-women-who-lead-and-inspire 📅 6th March | 1:00pm EST The Power of Connection Webinar brought to you by MUSE and the Female Leaders of Amusement Parks and Attractions.https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/b47d6a8c-57f5-4e75-b0bc-ffc33c415d11@9ce37703-53e8-441e-8fba-26704215ed39 📅 12th March | 3:30 - 8:00pm GMT Rise AV International Women’s Day 2026 | Give to Gain hosted by Rise AV. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rise-international-womens-day-2026-give-to-gain-tickets-1982282957688 Skip the Queue is brought to you by Crowd Convert. We provide attractions with the tools and expertise to create world-class digital interactions. Very simply, we're here to rehumanise commerce. Your guest host is Claire Furnival. If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on LinkedIn. Download The Visitor Attractions Website Survey Report - https://www.merac.co.uk/download-the-visitor-attractions-survey We have launched our brand-new playbook: ‘The Retail Ready Guide to Going Beyond the Gift Shop’ — your go-to resource for building a successful e-commerce strategy that connects with your audience and drives sustainable growth. Download your FREE copy here
