When people think of Oakland, Peter Gamez wants them to imagine lakeside gondola rides, mountain biking, and hiking amid Redwoods. "And all within a 25-minute distance," touted Gamez, a gay man who is the new president and CEO of Visit Oakland, the East Bay city's destination marketing organization.
Gamez, 54, started leading the organization last month. For the past two years he'd been running his own shop at Hunter Hospitality Consultants, which worked with developers, owners, and hotel management companies.
Before that he'd been on the board of directors for SF Travel, serving as board chair from 2018-2019. SF Travel CEO Joe D'Alessandro, who is also gay, said that Gamez is still active on the board as the immediate past chair. "Peter is