Paula Twidale

Paula Twidale serves as senior vice president of AAA Travel, one of North America’s largest leisure travel agencies. Twidale brings more than 35 years of experience to the nearly 60 million-member organization.

Twidale provides leadership and strategic direction for all of the association’s travel services. She creates and manages strategic alliances, maximizing relationships with preferred suppliers in an effort to increase member benefits. Additionally, her responsibilities include guiding the development of innovative technology solutions to support AAA clubs in the delivery of differentiated travel products and services to members.

Twidale most recently served as executive vice president of Collette Vacations, and was the first female board chair of United States Tour Operators Association, a nonprofit professional association that serves as the unified voice of the tour operator industry, protecting consumer interests. In addition, she has been nominated five times as one of the most powerful women in travel by Travel Agent Magazine.

Twidale holds a Bachelor of Arts from Rhode Island College. Additionally, she has completed several executive education programs (including Strategy & Innovation and Executive Leadership) at Harvard Business Continuing Education and MIT Sloan. In the community, Twidale is an active volunteer of Tourism Cares and supports breast cancer awareness. Previously, she served the Rhode Island Chapter of St. Jude Children’s Hospital and was a board trustee for Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, a non-partisan group that provides research aimed at improving state and local government.