After 38 years of work at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Lisha Duarte, the company's Director of Global Sales, is embarking on a new chapter in her personal and professional life.

Duarte was one of the pioneers in harnessing the Latin American market, to the point of being a key protagonist in the growth of business, travel, and the influx of tourists to SeaWorld and, of course, Orlando.

Lisha Duarte began her relationship with SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment in 1985 when email did not exist, contracts were handwritten, and the fastest form of communication was fax. At that time, Orlando did not receive international flights, Universal had not yet opened its doors, and only English was spoken in the theme parks. The Latin American market seemed like a distant universe that could contribute little to the destination beyond a few groups from Brazil and Argentina.

Lisha Duarte bet on Latin America as a potential market for the parks. "Over time, I was offered to work in that area, and I was very confident that Latin America promised to be a good market, but SeaWorld and Orlando, who knew nothing about what it could offer, doubted what it could mean. With much persistence, I managed to make them believe that we would be able to bring in more visitors, and we invested more, learned how to work in the market, and generated new alliances. Everything was very rustic, but over the years, we progressed and expanded our reach."

Lisha Duarte worked on developing a marketing and sales structure in Latin America. In 1987, she assumed the sales management position for Latin America, and from there, the path was one of growth. "We had to overcome many obstacles, and the first was training people in what the market was and how to adapt to different ways of working. We had to overcome September 11, the pandemic, and the ups and downs of the region, which are moments that shake you. But we never abandoned the market and weathered the highs and lows."

"The fact that I spent 38 years there speaks to the passion I have for this job, and I am grateful to the Latin American market for these years of my career. One of the greatest satisfactions I have is all the people I met throughout these 38 years. I met wonderful people who allowed me to achieve significant milestones, and I developed friendships with many of them. This is not a goodbye; it's a see you later," said Lisha.