Mr. Esckilsen is an Associate Professor at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI and teaches in the Department for Sports, Entertainment and Event Management. Esckilsen teaches undergraduate and graduate courses primarily in the areas of venue management, guest experience, access management, and safety, security and risk management.  He is active in entertainment and sports, venue and event, development and management through his consulting company, ESVenues. During his 35-year career, Esckilsen has been involved in the development and management of public assembly venues in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Mr. Esckilsen also served as the Executive Director of six arenas, notably the pre-opening and management of the Mullins Center (UMass-Amherst) and the Manchester Arena (NYNEX-UK). He has booked and successfully managed more than 1,500 sports and entertainment events during his career. Esckilsen is a Certified Venue Executive (CVE) awarded by the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM). In addition, he is a Trained Crowd Manager (TCM), a Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management (TEAM) Certified Trainer and a Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE), awarded by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AH&LEI), Washington, DC. Esckilsen was a co-author of Public Assembly Facility Management: Principles and Practices, 2^nd Edition, 2009 published by IAVM and a co-author of Public Assembly Venue Management: Sports, Entertainment, Meeting, and Convention Venues, 2015 published by Brown Books Publishing. Mr. Esckilsen has also authored several articles in IAVM’s Facility Manager magazine and Facilities & Event Management magazine. Mr. Esckilsen received his A.S. Degree in Recreational Leadership from Dean College, Franklin, MA, his B.S. Degree in Recreation Administration from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH and his M.S. Degree in Recreational Sports Management from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.  Mr. Esckilsen lives in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.