Visit Jackson President & CEO, Dr. Rickey Thigpen, Officially Receives Degree

Congratulations goes out to Visit Jackson President & CEO, Dr. Rickey Thigpen, a graduate of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Thigpen officially received his Doctorate in Organizational Leadership on July 8, 2022 after defending his dissertation last year.

This ceremony was delayed a year due to COVID.

The ceremony was livestreamed here on Friday, July 8, at Noon.

Thigpen began his tenure at Visit Jackson in 1987 as the Information Systems Manager and various management positions before becoming President & CEO role 2018.

Thigpen has appeared in Black Meetings & Tourism Magazine as one of the most influential African Americans in the tourism industry multiple times and, in 2020, received their APEX Award.

In 2019, Thigpen was named the Mississippi Tourism Association’s Member of the Year, and in 2020 and 2021, under his leadership, Visit Jackson received Destination Marketing Organization of the Year.

More recently, he was tapped to serve on the board of Destinations International and the U.S. Travel Association.