Judi Nagelberg and the Logistics Behind Jeffrey Epstein’s Mindshift Conference

PostedSeptember 22, 2026

UpdatedSeptember 22, 2026

ByEpsteinWiki

Snapshot

Seema “Judi” Nagelberg was a longtime United States Virgin Islands tourism professional and the president of Island Meetings & Incentives, Inc. Her company provided local destination management services for Jeffrey Epstein’s January 2011 Mindshift conference in St. Thomas.

Released emails show that Nagelberg coordinated with Cecile de Jongh, the wife of then Governor John de Jongh and an employee of Epstein’s Virgin Islands businesses. Nagelberg worked on hotel meeting space, schedules, room setup, audiovisual needs, airport transportation, and the movement of conference guests. An attendee instruction packet named her as the local contact and told guests that Island Meetings & Incentives would meet them at the airport and transport them to the Ritz Carlton.

The conference also included scheduled visits to Little Saint James. When the hotel lacked meeting space on January 10, Nagelberg asked whether the group could instead meet at “Mr. Epstein’s” property that day. The final instructions scheduled attendees and companions to visit Little Saint James twice.

This activity occurred after Epstein’s 2008 Florida conviction and 2009 release from custody. The documents establish that Nagelberg and her company supplied event and transportation services for an Epstein organized gathering. They do not establish that she participated in sexual abuse, trafficking, recruitment, or any other crime. They also do not establish that she personally visited Little Saint James or knew what Epstein had done beyond information available publicly.

Name and Identity

Nagelberg’s full name was Seema Nagelberg, but professional materials, government tributes, and Epstein related emails identify her as Judi Nagelberg. Some public references use the spelling Judy. The released conference records consistently use Judi.

This article merges those name variations into one subject:

Seema Nagelberg
Seema “Judi” Nagelberg
Judi Nagelberg
Judy Nagelberg

The St. Thomas tourism professional should not be confused with unrelated people who share the surname or the first name Judy.

Who Was Judi Nagelberg?

Nagelberg came to St. Thomas in 1966 for what was intended to be a ten day vacation from an office job in New York. According to her company biography, she decided to remain in the Virgin Islands and accepted a temporary position with the territorial government’s new Division of Tourism.

She eventually became manager of the St. Thomas and St. John Visitor Bureaus. She remained with the tourism division until 1980. She later worked for a travel agency and a resort hotel, then spent twelve years developing and directing the destination management operation of a local travel business.

Nagelberg became president of Island Meetings & Incentives, commonly identified as IMI. The company says it was founded in 1988. Its work involved group transportation, hotel coordination, tours, meals, entertainment, excursions, and the detailed local planning required for corporate meetings and incentive travel.

That professional background explains why Epstein’s planners used her company. IMI had the local contacts, vehicles, hotel relationships, vendor network, and operational knowledge needed to move a prominent group through St. Thomas and coordinate activities at a private island.

Nagelberg was also active in professional travel organizations, including the Society of Incentive Travel Executives, SITE International, and Meeting Professionals International. Her public profile extended well beyond one client. The Government of the Virgin Islands later described her as a tireless promoter of the territory and a figure whose work resembled an unofficial extension of the Department of Tourism.

Nagelberg died in March 2021. Government and tourism officials publicly honored her decades of service to the Virgin Islands.

Sources: Island Meetings & Incentives biography, Government of the Virgin Islands tribute, Virgin Islands Free Press obituary

Island Meetings & Incentives

Island Meetings & Incentives was a destination management company. A destination management company acts as the local operational partner for a visiting group. It may coordinate airport pickups, ground transportation, lodging, meeting rooms, meals, tours, entertainment, private venues, and vendors.

IMI’s own description says clients relied on the company to plan activities, select suppliers, organize site inspections, arrange transportation, and manage programs from conception through delivery. The company advertised experience serving large corporations, travel planners, small businesses, and incentive groups.

This business model is important to understanding the evidence. Nagelberg was not identified in the Mindshift records as a scientist, donor, household employee, or personal guest. She appears as a local event professional whose company was retained to make the conference function.

That distinction limits what can fairly be inferred. A vendor can possess detailed information about schedules and movement without knowing why a client assembled a group or what happened outside the vendor’s assigned work. At the same time, destination management records can be valuable because they often identify who arrived, where guests stayed, which properties they visited, and who authorized changes.

Source: Island Meetings & Incentives company description

What Was the Mindshift Conference?

Mindshift was a private gathering organized around Epstein’s network of scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, and companions. Planning occurred during 2010, and the event took place in St. Thomas from January 7 through January 10, 2011.

The timing is central. Epstein had pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to charges involving prostitution and a minor. He completed his custodial sentence in 2009 and was a registered sex offender when the conference was planned and held.

The conference program combined private meetings with meals, games, demonstrations, social activities, and visits to Little Saint James. The attendee materials described an opening reception with Epstein at the Ritz Carlton and closed conference sessions for selected invitees. Companions could join meals, evening activities, and island tours.

The released instructions list or reference prominent participants and companions, including Murray Gell Mann, Gerald Sussman, Christof Koch, Frances Arnold, Leonard Mlodinow, Pablos Holman, Brock Pierce, Isabel Maxwell, and others. The presence of accomplished guests helped Epstein resume the appearance of intellectual legitimacy after his conviction.

Nagelberg’s role was operational. Her company formed part of the local infrastructure that allowed the gathering to proceed.

Primary evidence: Mindshift attendee instructions, EFTA00709064, conference planning and attendee record, EFTA02417574, conference summary correspondence, EFTA01998211

Early Planning and the Revised Agenda

An October 7, 2010 email thread titled “agenda revised” included Nagelberg among the copied recipients. The thread involved Lawrence Krauss, Epstein, Cecile de Jongh, and conference planning material.

Her inclusion months before the event indicates that local logistics were incorporated into the planning process well before guests arrived. It also places her in a communications chain involving both Epstein and de Jongh.

The email does not establish that Nagelberg selected the speakers, shaped the scientific program, or had a personal relationship with the invitees. Her professional role makes a logistical reason for receiving the agenda plausible. Meeting space, meal schedules, transportation, and island travel all depended on the program’s timing.

Primary evidence: revised agenda email, EFTA02420610

The December 2010 Planning Emails

A four page email chain from December 17 through December 21, 2010 provides the clearest direct evidence of Nagelberg’s work.

On December 17, Nagelberg wrote to Cecile de Jongh that she had not heard back from Al Seckel, one of the conference organizers. She said the hotel was asking for details, that an agenda was needed, and that arrivals were only three weeks away. She asked whether de Jongh could obtain information from Epstein while he was present.

The message shows urgency typical of event production. It also identifies the working chain: Nagelberg sought information from Seckel, then asked de Jongh to get decisions from Epstein.

De Jongh replied with the daily structure. Sessions would begin at 9 a.m., include a break, end at noon, resume at 2:30 p.m., and conclude at 4:30 p.m. She also stated that guests and spouses would go to the island on Saturday, January 8, from noon until 3 p.m.

On December 21, Nagelberg reported that the hotel could provide meeting space on January 8 and 9 but not January 10. She asked whether the group could go to “Mr. Epstein’s” property on January 10 for its meeting and outing with spouses. She also requested decisions on audiovisual equipment, room configuration, and other details.

De Jongh forwarded Nagelberg’s email to Epstein and asked whether the Little Saint James day could be moved to January 10 because of the hotel space problem. Epstein answered yes.

This chain demonstrates that Nagelberg was not merely listed on a document. She was actively solving schedule and venue problems and her suggestion affected planning for an Epstein property.

Primary evidence: December 2010 Mindshift planning chain, EFTA01831436

The Link to Cecile de Jongh

Cecile de Jongh was a crucial intermediary between Epstein and Nagelberg. She was the spouse of Virgin Islands Governor John de Jongh and also worked for Epstein’s Virgin Islands businesses.

In the Mindshift planning emails, Nagelberg treated de Jongh as the person who could obtain answers from Epstein. De Jongh supplied the schedule, transmitted questions, forwarded venue problems, and asked Epstein to approve a change involving Little Saint James.

The communications illustrate how Epstein’s private business operations overlapped with established Virgin Islands professional and political networks. A local event company could coordinate through a person who was simultaneously the territory’s first lady and an Epstein employee.

Later litigation made serious allegations against de Jongh concerning her work for Epstein. Those allegations are separate from the evidence about Nagelberg. Nagelberg was not a defendant in the cited litigation, and the Mindshift emails do not establish that she knew the full nature of de Jongh’s employment or any alleged misconduct.

For Nagelberg’s article, the relevant point is operational: de Jongh served as the conduit between the event planner and Epstein.

Primary evidence: December planning chain, EFTA01831436, Mindshift summary correspondence, EFTA01998211

Airport Reception and Ground Transportation

The final attendee instructions assigned Island Meetings & Incentives responsibility for meeting guests when they arrived in St. Thomas and transporting them to the Ritz Carlton.

The document named Judi Nagelberg, identified her as president of Island Meetings & Incentives, and presented her as the person to contact with questions about arrival transportation. The same instructions stated that guests would be taken back to the airport when they departed.

This role potentially gave the company access to passenger names, arrival times, airlines, flight numbers, companions, luggage requirements, vehicle assignments, and hotel destinations. Those working records would be more precise than the general conference instructions if they survived.

The published file does not show that Nagelberg personally drove the guests or greeted every attendee. The company could have assigned employees, drivers, or subcontractors. It does establish that her business was responsible for the service and that she was the listed contact.

Primary evidence: Mindshift attendee instructions, EFTA00709064

Ritz Carlton Coordination

Most of the conference activity was centered at the Ritz Carlton in St. Thomas. The released instructions describe meetings, meals, an opening reception with Epstein, and evening activities at or around the hotel.

Nagelberg’s emails show direct communication with hotel personnel about meeting room availability. She also sought information about audiovisual equipment and room setup. Those are core destination management tasks, but they are evidentially important because they confirm her active role and establish the venue where Epstein gathered the group.

The records indicate that the hotel could accommodate the group on January 8 and 9 but lacked meeting space on January 10. That constraint helped produce the proposed shift to Epstein’s property.

Further records that may exist include hotel contracts, banquet event orders, rooming lists, invoices, deposit confirmations, catering documents, security instructions, and transportation manifests. Such records could clarify which entity paid, how many rooms were reserved, and whether Epstein or an associated company was named as the customer.

Primary evidence: December planning chain, EFTA01831436, Mindshift attendee instructions, EFTA00709064, Ritz Carlton deposit record, EFTA01112185

The Little Saint James Visits

The final conference instructions scheduled two visits to Little Saint James.

The first was planned for Saturday, January 8, from approximately 12:30 p.m. until 3 p.m. The second was planned for Monday, January 10, from noon until 3 p.m. Epstein was described as leading hikes, and guests were told to bring appropriate clothing.

The December email chain shows how the second visit became part of the schedule. When the hotel reported no meeting space on January 10, Nagelberg proposed using Epstein’s property for the meeting and the outing with spouses. De Jongh asked Epstein whether the Little Saint James day could be changed, and he approved the adjustment.

The records do not specify whether IMI transported guests from St. Thomas to the island, arranged boats, hired captains, or only coordinated the land based portions. A destination management company might normally help organize such movement, but normal industry practice is not proof of what happened in this instance.

The released emails also do not show that Nagelberg personally went to Little Saint James. Her role in scheduling the visit should not be converted into a claim that she attended it.

Primary evidence: December planning chain, EFTA01831436, Mindshift attendee instructions, EFTA00709064

Why the 2011 Date Matters

Mindshift was not an event held before Epstein’s criminal exposure. It was held after his guilty plea, incarceration, release, and sex offender registration.

That chronology matters because the gathering helped restore Epstein’s access to prestigious intellectual and social circles. The Ritz Carlton setting, scientific program, private island excursions, and professional event management gave the conference the appearance of an exclusive and legitimate retreat.

Nagelberg’s company was one part of that professional presentation. The documents establish a commercial service relationship for the event. They do not establish whether Nagelberg knew the details of Epstein’s conviction or whether the company screened him as a client.

Public notoriety is not identical to individual knowledge. A fair article should state both facts: the conviction preceded the work, and the present record does not prove what Nagelberg personally knew about it.

Was Nagelberg Part of Epstein’s Inner Circle?

The available evidence does not justify describing Nagelberg as a member of Epstein’s inner circle.

Her documented role fits that of a local vendor and event planner. The emails concern schedules, hotel rooms, audiovisual needs, arrivals, departures, and venue changes. They do not show intimate correspondence, financial advice, recruitment, household management, romantic involvement, or repeated international travel with Epstein.

No reliable evidence reviewed for this article places her on Epstein’s aircraft. No reviewed record establishes that she was a regular visitor to his residences. Her appearance in conference materials should therefore be classified as a professional and logistical connection.

That connection remains important. Vendors can enable access and movement without joining a client’s personal circle. An accurate network map needs both categories and must not confuse them.

Evidence Timeline

1966

Nagelberg arrives in St. Thomas and remains in the Virgin Islands. She begins working with the government tourism operation.

1966 Through 1980

She advances within the tourism system and becomes manager of the St. Thomas and St. John Visitor Bureaus.

1988

Island Meetings & Incentives identifies this as the year the company was founded.

October 7, 2010

Nagelberg is copied on a revised Mindshift agenda email involving Epstein, Cecile de Jongh, Lawrence Krauss, and conference planning.

December 17, 2010

Nagelberg tells de Jongh that she needs an agenda and hotel details because the event is three weeks away.

December 20, 2010

De Jongh sends Nagelberg the proposed meeting schedule and the planned Saturday visit to Epstein’s island.

December 21, 2010

Nagelberg reports that the Ritz Carlton lacks meeting space on January 10 and asks whether the group can meet at Epstein’s property. De Jongh forwards the request to Epstein, who approves a change.

December 22, 2010

Attendee instructions identify Nagelberg as the local contact. Island Meetings & Incentives is assigned airport reception and transportation responsibilities. The instructions include two scheduled Little Saint James visits.

January 7 Through January 10, 2011

The Mindshift conference takes place in St. Thomas, with scheduled activity at the Ritz Carlton and Little Saint James.

March 2021

Nagelberg dies. Virgin Islands officials and tourism figures publish tributes to her work.

What the Evidence Establishes

The available records establish the following facts:

Judi Nagelberg was president of Island Meetings & Incentives.
Her company provided local destination management services for Epstein’s January 2011 Mindshift conference.
She communicated directly with Cecile de Jongh about the conference schedule and hotel needs.
She was copied on a revised agenda months before the event.
She coordinated Ritz Carlton meeting space, room setup, and audiovisual requirements.
She proposed using Epstein’s property when the hotel lacked meeting space on January 10.
Attendee instructions named her as the local contact for arrival transportation.
Island Meetings & Incentives was responsible for meeting guests at the airport and transporting them to the hotel.
The conference included scheduled visits to Little Saint James.
The work occurred after Epstein’s conviction and release from custody.

What the Evidence Does Not Establish

The reviewed records do not establish that Nagelberg participated in Epstein’s sexual abuse or trafficking.

They do not establish that she recruited girls or women for Epstein.

They do not establish that she personally traveled to Little Saint James.

They do not establish that she flew on Epstein’s aircraft.

They do not establish that she knew abuse occurred on the island.

They do not establish that she knew the details of Epstein’s criminal case when IMI accepted the work.

They do not establish that every IMI employee or subcontractor knew Epstein was the ultimate client.

They do not establish a continuing relationship outside the Mindshift event.

No reviewed source shows that Nagelberg was charged with a crime related to Epstein.

Investigative Significance

Nagelberg’s significance lies in the operational layer of Epstein’s network.

Epstein did not host gatherings by himself. Events required planners, assistants, hotels, drivers, caterers, boat operators, security personnel, technicians, and local intermediaries. Those professionals made the network mobile and presentable. They also generated records.

The Nagelberg documents show how a logistical problem moved through the chain. The hotel lacked a room. Nagelberg alerted de Jongh. De Jongh asked Epstein. Epstein approved the change. The final itinerary then directed guests to his island.

That sequence is valuable because it identifies responsibility without inventing guilt. Nagelberg managed local event logistics. De Jongh served as a conduit. Epstein made the property available and remained the central host.

The surviving emails also demonstrate how Epstein rebuilt elite access after his conviction. A polished scientific conference did more than entertain guests. It surrounded him with accomplished people and placed him back in the role of convener, patron, and intellectual impresario.

Questions That Still Need Answers

Who hired Island Meetings & Incentives for the Mindshift conference?
Which Epstein person or entity signed the contract and paid the company?
Did IMI maintain a complete guest manifest, rooming list, or transportation schedule?
Which employees and subcontractors greeted the attendees at the airport?
Did IMI arrange marine transportation to Little Saint James?
Which boats, captains, drivers, or vendors moved guests to the island?
Did Nagelberg personally attend the opening reception, conference sessions, meals, or island outings?
What did Nagelberg know about Epstein’s 2008 conviction when the company accepted the assignment?
Did the company have a client review or safety policy for registered sex offenders?
Were any women or girls from Epstein’s household included in transportation or staffing records?
Did IMI coordinate other events, guests, or property visits for Epstein before or after Mindshift?
What invoices, checks, wire records, contracts, or tax records document the relationship?
Did the Ritz Carlton retain banquet orders, security notes, guest lists, or deposit records?
Did law enforcement, the Virgin Islands government, JPMorgan litigants, or survivor attorneys obtain IMI’s records?
Are the company’s 2010 and 2011 archives still preserved?

Key Takeaways

Judi Nagelberg was a respected and influential Virgin Islands tourism professional whose company became the local logistics provider for an Epstein conference.

The strongest evidence concerns the January 2011 Mindshift gathering. It documents hotel coordination, airport transportation, schedule management, and planning connected to Little Saint James.

The work occurred after Epstein’s conviction, but the released records do not prove what Nagelberg knew about his criminal history.

Her role should be described as professional and operational, not as evidence of criminal participation.

The most important unresolved evidence may be in ordinary business records, including contracts, invoices, transportation manifests, hotel orders, and vendor lists.

Primary EFTA Evidence

Sleuth and Research Sources

Epstein Data provides the direct EFTA record access used throughout this article. The documents were checked against their underlying email content wherever readable.

Jmail provides searchable threading for released Epstein email records, including the revised agenda correspondence.

Yirah’s Epstein Files index provides a machine extracted transcription of the seven page attendee instruction packet. Machine extraction can contain errors, so the EFTA record remains the controlling citation.

The Epstein Files community research thread on Mindshift identifies a useful collection of related conference records, including the attendee lists, hotel deposit, invitation correspondence, and planning summaries. Community research was used as a discovery aid and not treated as proof by itself.

Island Meetings & Incentives provides Nagelberg’s professional background and explains the company’s destination management services.

The Government of the Virgin Islands provides an official account of Nagelberg’s importance to territorial tourism and confirmation of her death in 2021.

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