Rhonda Salisbury Earns Statewide Honor for Tourism Advocacy
Visit Yosemite | Madera County’s CEO receives CalTravel’s 2026 Brad Burlingame Award.
A familiar leader in the mountain area’s tourism community has earned statewide recognition for her work representing the industry.
Rhonda Salisbury, CEO of Visit Yosemite | Madera County, is the recipient of the 2026 Brad Burlingame Award from the California Travel Association, known as CalTravel. The award recognizes an individual or organization whose commitment and effectiveness have strengthened travel and tourism advocacy in California. CalTravel award announcement
For Salisbury, the recognition follows decades of involvement in the southern Yosemite region.
According to her professional biography with One West Tourism Alliance, she has worked in tourism marketing and hotel management in the area since 1985. After moving from the Bay Area, she made the mountain community her home and built a career around helping others discover it.
She has led Visit Yosemite | Madera County since 2010, following earlier service on the organization’s board of directors. Professional biography
Representing the Mountain Region
Salisbury’s work extends beyond promoting places to visit. Her professional biography lists involvement with CalTravel’s executive board and committees addressing government relations, sustainability and its foundation.
Her other affiliations include the High Sierra Visitor Council, Eastern Madera County Foundation and California Recreate Responsibly coalition. Those roles connect her work in the mountain community with broader conversations about tourism and responsible visitation. One West Tourism Alliance
The distinction matters in a region where a visitor’s trip can include much more than Yosemite itself. Overnight stays, restaurant meals, shopping and visits to local attractions all connect the destination with the communities surrounding it.
The Brad Burlingame Award specifically recognizes advocacy—the work of representing tourism’s interests and helping others understand its role.
Salisbury joins a statewide group of 2026 CalTravel honorees recognized for leadership, sustainability, workplace practices and other contributions to the industry. This year’s recipients also include Visit Sacramento, Visit Santa Cruz County and tourism professionals from across California. 2026 award recipients
For the mountain area, the recognition puts a local tourism leader among that statewide group, acknowledging a career rooted in the southern Yosemite community.