Lead Like Corry: Anita Lopez Receives Memorial Corry Oakes Leadership Award

May 1, 2026 | Careers

Anita Lopez is “walking a little taller” since receiving the Corry Oakes Leadership Award from OTO Development. It’s both humbling and an honor, she says, to follow in such big footsteps.

“It’s an incredible feeling, being recognized for my work ethic and my impact,” says Lopez. The award means even more to her as it carries on the legacy of OTO’s late co-founder and CEO, who passed away in August 2022.

“I admired Corry so much — we all did — and I’ve always strived to follow his example,” says Lopez, who joined OTO in 2014 as a hotel night auditor and, after a series of promotions, is now the company’s Director of Operations Support. “I will cherish this award forever.”

A celebration of strong leadership in action, the Corry Oakes Award highlights behaviors that reflect the company’s principles, vision, and values. It’s presented annually to an employee who positively influences people, culture, and outcomes, recognizing not only what they achieve, but how they achieve it.

Indeed, Lopez generates consistently strong metrics by leading with busy hands and a servant’s heart. Noted for a cheerful willingness to step into any situation and embrace every challenge, she is a builder of culture, a booster of morale, and a beacon of positivity whose presence elevates everyone around her — much like the namesake of her recent award.

“I’ve worked at a lot of our hotels as part of OTO’s task force,” Lopez says, “and whenever Corry came to visit, he’d ask everyone, ‘What are you working on?’ and ‘What do you love doing?’”

And, of course, his trademark: “What can we do better?”

That’s a question Lopez has always taken to heart. “Early on, I’d raise my hand to help out at other hotels so that I could learn the various brands,” she recalls. “I was always asking what else I could do, what I could do better, what more I could learn.”

Her advice to future leaders is simple: Ask questions. Stay in learning mode. Keep “filling your back pocket” with fresh knowledge and new skills so you’ve got them ready when needed. Be willing to do the job before you have the job title. And, most of all, step up for every new opportunity.

“OTO is a company that invests in its people and promotes from within,” she says. “This is a good place to build your career.”

CAPTION: CELEBRATING STRONG LEADERSHIP in action, from left, are Cheryl Sinclair, VP, Human Resources; Anita Lopez, Director of Operations Support and recipient of OTO’s Corry Oakes Leadership Award; Matt McClelland, Chief Operating Officer; and Seema Bandukda, Senior Regional Director of Operations.

Print