Her Story
About Keiara
Keiara Bowen is a hospitality trainer and learning and development specialist with more than 12 years of experience in the industry. She began her career in retail and restaurants, progressing through operational roles before transitioning into training and consulting. Most recently, she served as Catering Training Manager for the World Cup, where she independently created comprehensive hospitality training programs for the catering department, earning recognition for her work with FIFA standards. Bowen holds a degree in psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia, which informs her approach to understanding customer mindsets and developing leaders. She is now seeking a director-level position focused on hospitality training and service standards. In addition to her professional work, Bowen partners with CISA on initiatives such as the Summer World Cup literacy program for K-5 students in collaboration with the Free Library of Philadelphia. She attributes her success to collaborative teams, mentors, and lessons learned from operational experience, and she emphasizes the importance of human connection, respect, and effective communication in both her work and personal life.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Keiara
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the teams I've been part of and learning from them, having different mentors throughout my career, and learning from mistakes made while working operationally.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
You don't need to know everything 100%. If you come in with an attitude and willingness to learn, that can make up the rest and help you get key information without cutting yourself off from opportunities.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Learn how to talk with anyone and carry a conversation with anyone. Be able to understand how to communicate differently with people, translate that to the customer, and maintain a calm base with an impenetrable outer shell to keep your equilibrium.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The challenge is that small companies and mom-and-pop places don't allocate enough resources to dedicated hospitality training, seeing it as something that can be done in-house without specialists. This is also an opportunity because training is everything for maintaining company standards and customer service.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being a human first and maintaining human connection. Treating people with respect in total, keeping that baseline even in upper management positions where you may not meet people face-to-face.
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