LaFleur's 2013 Lottery Symposium

Speaker Bio's

Grand Hyatt Hotel

April 28th - May 1st, 2013

Washington, D.C.

Dale Bowersock

Instant Game 2 Coordinator, Texas Lottery

Dale Bowersock has been with the Texas Lottery since 2000 and has held a wide variety of positions including Retailer Licensing Supervisor, Retailer Services Phone Bank Supervisor, Statewide Claim Center Supervisor, and since 2004, he has been the Instant Product Coordinator.  Dale and the Texas Products Department staff work nonstop to keep up the fast pace required to introduce 90+ exciting instant games to the Texas market every year.  Dale is very proud of the success of the Texas Lottery’s instant product portfolio and is honored to present his views on how this success occurred last year.

Director for Operations, Minnesota Lottery

Jenny Canfield is currently Director for Operations for the Minnesota State Lottery.  Since her appointment in this position in 2007, the Lottery has achieved record sales each year.  She has risen through the ranks, first serving as an administrative assistant, then Online Games Manager, Games Control Manager and, finally, Director for Operations, which essentially oversees the overall operations, systems, player payments, quality assurance, customer service, Lotto and Scratch contracts and game development of the Lottery.  She also served as Acting Director from August 2011 thru February 2012.  

COO, D.C. Lottery

In March 2010, Tracey Cohen assumed the post of Chief Operating Officer at the D.C. Lottery, marking the latest achievement in a decorated career that has spanned over 15 years in sales and marketing.

Under her oversight and management of the day-to-day operations of this income generating agency of the District of Columbia Government, the D.C. Lottery transitioned from the most antiquated gaming system in North America to its present state-of-the-art platform. In her first year, the agency saw record-breaking instant ticket sales, launched its first-ever million-dollar D.C. Scratcher, and welcomed Mega Millions—the nation’s biggest jackpot game—to its product line, contributing another $1.2 million in revenue.   

Tracey has a Master of Public and International Affairs degree from the University of Pittsburg, where she also received her Bachelor of Arts degree.

Gwen Dean

Director of Marketing, Virginia Lottery 

Gweneth Dean began her career in the lottery industry in 1995.  She’s been with the Virginia Lottery for fives years and currently leads the Virginia Lottery's Marketing Department including product innovation and development, consumer engagement, advertising and promotions, interactive strategy and research programs.  She also served as the Director of Marketing & Sales with the Vermont Lottery for 12 years.  In that position she was responsible for advertising and promotions, product development, public relations, sales, warehousing and security programs.  She attended Norwich University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in Organizational Leadership degrees.

Jean Flynn

Marketing and Merchandising Manager, Washington Lottery

Jean Flynn is Director of Marketing at Washington’s Lottery.  She received her MBA from Pacific Lutheran University and has worked in the marketing field for over 25 years.  She joined Washington’s Lottery in September 2010 after many years driving marketing plans for prominent Washington businesses that retail products in the grocery and C-store channels. 

Strategic Development Specialist, DC Lottery

John Gorman joined the D.C. Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board in 2004 as the Market Research Analyst. John now serves as the Strategic Development Specialist; a position in which he is responsible for all online and Instant ticket game and promotions development. In this capacity John helps to develop and execute the Lottery's annual Marketing and Strategic plans, with an emphasis on developing innovative products and promotions that best position the Lottery to take advantage of a rapidly changing marketplace. John also provides research and analytical support and is responsible for the Lottery's mobile marketing strategy.

Gary Grief

Executive Director, Texas Lottery

Gary Grief was appointed Executive Director of the Texas Lottery Commission in March 2010 after having served numerous stints as Deputy Executive Director and Acting Executive Director since 2002.  As Executive Director, Grief oversees a $4 billion enterprise whose mission is to generate revenue for public education and other good causes in the State of Texas. Under Grief’s leadership, the Texas Lottery has contributed more than $1 billion annually since 2004 to the Texas Foundation School Fund and other state programs. A native Texan, Grief is a graduate of the University of Texas at the Permian Basin.  Grief also serves as Lead Director for the Mega Millions consortium and First Vice-President of NASPL.

Eric Harnden

 Brand Manager, Instant games, OLG

Eric Harnden is Brand Manager, Instant games for OLG. He manages National Instant games (all price points), Instant Bingo and all $10 Regional Instant games for OLG in this position. He has been employed in this current role at OLG for the last four years. He has spent seven years working at OLG. He earned a B.B.A. – specialization in marketing from Algoma University - Gold Medal Award Winner (highest overall average in marketing specialization).