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Lalia’s introduction to the hospitality industry began at a young age as her grandmother owned and operated a popular restaurant, Eulalia’s in Spring Green, Wisconsin for decades. She became her grandmother’s “helper” at the age of five when she was given a piece of biscuit dough and told to “do as Grandma” did. While she discovered cooking was not in her DNA, Lalia did learn about the spirit of entrepreneurship from her grandmother.

Living in a small tourism-dependent town, Lalia continued on the family path working at Rock’s Round Barn Restaurant in Spring Green throughout high school and college. Upon graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, she began a managerial career in the hotel industry in Madison, Wisconsin where she served as an assistant banquet and beverage manager and restaurant manager before transitioning to hotel sales. She also taught hospitality-related classes part-time at Madison Area Technical College. During this time, Lalia went back to school and subsequently earned an MBA in Management from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

When she completed her graduate degree, she transitioned from hotel management to a career in hospitality higher education, where she began as a college instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin. She was recognized as “Outstanding Teacher of the Year” in her second year. It was at this time that Lalia began consulting in the hospitality industry.

While at UW-Stout, Lalia realized that higher education was her passion and so she decided to pursue a doctoral degree. She accepted a teaching position at George Washington University (GW) in Washington, D.C. and enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Higher Education. While completing her doctorate she served as the Graduate Program Director for tourism at GW. She earned her Ed.D. in 1992 and shortly after, Lalia became the Dean of the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management at the University of New Haven in New Haven, Connecticut. Simultaneously, she formalized her consulting business as Rach Enterprises with clients in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Two years later, she was recruited to serve as the Founding Dean of the Hospitality Program at New York University (NYU) located in New York City.  During her tenure as Dean at NYU, the hospitality program grew to include two undergraduate programs and three graduate programs in sports business, tourism and hotel management.  The Center was truly established when it was named for Preston Robert Tisch, the owner of Loews Hotels, co-owner of the NFL’s New York Giants, and a recognized tourism visionary in the city and state.

While in New York City, Rach Enterprises grew dramatically as businesses and government agencies sought her advice and analysis. After fifteen years at NYU, Lalia stepped down from the NYU deanship in 2010 and returned to teaching for a few years before becoming a full-time consultant in 2015.   

In addition to her role as an educator and consultant, Lalia has published extensively, authoring book chapters and numerous articles, and is a highly sought-after speaker and moderator. She was recognized as one of the “Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing” from Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), the “33 Most Influential People in the Travel Industry” from Travel Weekly and was featured in “Meet the 25 Most Influential Women in Travel” by Forbes Life Executive Women. Lalia is a former board member of nine tourism and hotel-related organizations.