Aidoo Hewton, Abena
Dr. Abena A. Aidoo Hewton
PhD, University of Delaware
Associate Professor
Tourism and Events Management
Talent Equity Advisor, Office of Inclusive Excellence
Send email to Dr. Aidoo Hewton
Phone: (703) 993-9047
Fax: (703) 993-1269
Email: aaidoo (@gmu.edu)
George Mason University
Fairfax Campus
Krug Hall 211C
4400 University Dr.
MS 4D2
Fairfax, VA 22030
Dr. Abena Aidoo Hewton, is an Associate Professor in the Tourism & Events Management (TEM) program, in the School of Sport, Recreation, and Tourism Management, at George Mason University (Mason). During the 13+ years she has been at the University, she has taught a wide variety of courses such as, Heritage and Cultural Tourism, Tourism Planning and Policy, Introduction to Tourism Management, Ecotourism, the Administration of Sport, Recreation, and Tourism Organizations, Women and Tourism, and Film and Medical Tourism.
In 2020, she co-authored the textbook, The Business of Sustainable Tourism Development and Management.
In addition, in the Summer of 2020, Dr. Aidoo Hewton contributed to the University-wide course UNIV 391 - Covid-19: The Mason Impact, where she taught a class on Navigating Tourism in the Covid-19 Era.
Currently, Dr. Aidoo Hewton serves as the Talent Advisor for the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) and she analyzes and certifies search applicant pools to ensure that they meet the Inclusive Excellence (IE) goals of the University and College. She has also led the creation of the Official Guide to Inclusive Excellence in Recruitment and Hiring of Faculty and Staff for CEHD.
She is also the creator, producer, and host of a web series, In the Know with Dr. Aidoo (https://www.youtube.com/@IntheKnowDA1021); a series created to enhance community engagement among faculty, staff, and students of the School of Sport, Recreation, and Tourism Management.
For about 3 and a half years, Dr. Aidoo Hewton served as the Fieldwork Experience Coordinator for the TEM program, during which she revamped the curriculum of the two required internship courses to enhance the overall experience for students and partner agencies; by revising the Internship Manual, adapting the manual to create a Practicum Manual, creating a pre-registration Online Orientation, and presenting about the Fieldwork Program to various industry partners. She also led the effort to revise and update all required paperwork, as well as streamlining the TEM program's Practicum and Internship Experiences Webpage.
Dr. Aidoo Hewton has served on a number of key committees including the Mason Core Committee, Mason Faculty and Curricular Activities Committee, CEHD's Inclusive Excellence Working Group and Equity Advisor Team, The Black, Latinx, Indigenous and Multiracial (BLIM) Affinity Group Planning Team, and as the project lead for the SRTM IE Goal-setting Initiative.
She has provided service to a variety of industry partners, including serving on the Board of the Prince William Chapter of the Viriginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association. She currently serves now as an At-Large Board Member of the Fairfax County Park Authority.
Prior to coming to Mason, Dr. Aidoo Hewton completed her doctorate degree in Urban Affairs and Public Policy, with an emphasis on Tourism Development, at the University of Delaware (UD). At UD, in addition to the work on her dissertation, she worked with esteemed public service faculty on issues surrounding poverty, including food stamps, the revitalization of an abandoned neighborhood and other housing issues, and was a teaching assistant for the Introduction to Consumer Policy and Leadership in Organizations courses, and then an instructor for the Leadership in Organizations course.
She received her Master of Human Resource Development degree from Clemson University while she worked as a graduate research assistant in the Human Resource Development program, and then as a Resident Director for University Housing. After graduating, she worked as a Residence Life Coordinator at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Psychology from the University of Ghana, and upon graduation worked at the Embassy of the United States in Accra, Ghana. As a Commercial Clerk at the Embassy, Dr. Aidoo Hewton worked to promote U.S. exports to, and to facilitate U.S. investments in, Ghana. In this position, she was integrally involved in various activities, including the organization of large-scale events for the Department of State and the Department of Commerce, in Accra, Ghana, and was recognized with a citation “For Proven Initiative and Self-Motivation in Serving U.S. Mission Interests.”
- Heritage and Cultural Tourism
- Tourism Planning and Policy
- Tourism as a Socioeconomic Development Strategy
- Ecotourism
- Tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa
Slocum, S. L., Aidoo, A., & McMahon, K. (2020). The business of sustainable tourism development and management. Routledge.
- Tourism and Events Management
- School of Sport, Recreation, and Tourism Management
- Office of Inclusive Excellence
- College of Education and Human Development
- School of Sport, Recreation, and Tourism Management
- Sport and Recreation Studies
- Center for Sport Management
- Administration of SRT Organizations I (PRLS 410)
- Global Understanding through Travel and Tourism (TOUR 210)
- Ecotourism (TOUR 312)
- Film and Medical Tourism (TOUR 341)
- Heritage and Cultural Tourism (TOUR 352)
- Hospitality, Tourism, and Events Management Internship (TOUR 490)