As Executive Director of Tourism Hamilton, David works with a 13-member Board of Directors liaising with local private sector organizations, provincial and federal agencies as well as with municipal council and media. Currently David is representing the City of Hamilton
Laurie Adams, President & CEO, E'Terra Inn, Tobermory, ON
Award winning Developer/Project Manager, speaker and writer Laurie Adams is a strong supporter of all aspects of tourism & sustainable development with respect to the balance & blending of philosophies in preservation, conservation and health. Laurie has been chair, director and member of many associations such as Canadian Green Building Council, Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association, Bruce Resource Land Stewardship, Provincial Board of the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation, Canadian Sustainable Tourism Advisory Council and a dedicated member of 13 for the Transition Team of the new provincially legislated Regional Tourism Organizations, Ontario.
Award winning Developer/Project Manager, speaker and writer Laurie Adams is a strong supporter of all aspects of tourism & sustainable development with respect to the balance & blending of philosophies in preservation, conservation and health. Laurie has been chair, director and member of many associations such as Canadian Green Building Council, Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association, Bruce Resource Land Stewardship, Provincial Board of the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation, Canadian Sustainable Tourism Advisory Council and a dedicated member of 13 for the Transition Team of the new provincially legislated Regional Tourism Organizations, Ontario.
Greg Baeker is a Senior Consultant with AuthentiCity, a Division of Millier Dickinson Blais, one of Canada’s leading economic development consulting firms. Greg is a nationally recognized leader in cultural mapping and cultural planning and helped introduce cultural mapping practices in Canada. He has completed cultural mapping projects in more than a dozen communities large and small across Canada, including one for the Region of Niagara in 2009 as part of the cultural plan for the Region of Niagara entitled Creative Niagara: Economy, Places, People, Identity adopted by Regional Council in March 2010. He has also completed cultural plans for cities of all sizes in Ontario and other parts of Canada. He is author of Rediscovering the Wealth of Place: A Municipal Cultural Planning Handbook for Canadian Communities published by Municipal World in 2010 that has received international acclaim.
Bill is the former chairman of the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation, and serves on the boards of the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, the Canadian National Sportsmen’s Shows and the Advisory Board of Ryerson University’s School of Retail Management. Bill was also the president of Tourism Toronto for 18 years, where he was a public advocate for Toronto events and tourism facilities. One of his most public roles was as the representative of Canada’s tourism sector during the North American free trade negotiations.
Dr. Adam Fenech's current research activities include rapid assessment of climate change impacts, climate extremes at protected areas, and validating community observations of climate with the scientific record. He has worked at the JFK School of Government at
Jeannette spearheaded the expansion into place branding with a comprehensive strategy for Washington Niagara , Ontario as well as the cities of Calgary , Alberta ; Raleigh , North Carolina and Yonkers , NY Canada
Chris is a marketing innovator with a passion for the tourism industry. Focusing on tourism development, management and marketing, Chris has been achieving outstanding results through his creative, and well researched tourism marketing campaigns aimed at experience based tourism. For 10 years, Chris was responsible for managing the tourism brand at the County of Bruce. Chris is now Partner at BC Hughes Tourism Consultants working for clients across Canada assisting them to maximize their fullest destination potential.
Beth Kümmling has been Executive Director of the Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC) since July 2004. She started as a volunteer on the Environment Committee of the BTC in 1993 and chaired that committee for 4 years, focussing on policy review and environmental education projects. From April 2001 to July 2004 Beth served on the BTC Board of Directors. As Executive Director since 2004, one of Beth's major focusses has been to raise the profile of the BTC as a major conservation organization dedicated to Niagara Escarpment land acquisition and stewardship. Prior to her work as the BTC's Executive Director Beth worked for 15 years in the field of toxic chemical management. Beth holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Guelph.
Cecil Louis returned to the Niagara Escarpment Commission in 2004, having served as the agency's Manager of Development Control from 1974-78 and Manager, Plan Preparation, to the NEC's Assistant Director from 1974-1997. After graduating with an Honours degree in geography from the University of Toronto in 1964, he was Planner to the Acting Director of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs from 1965-74. During that time Mr. Louis also served as a member of the Interministerial Task Force on the Niagara Escarpment.
Bryan Plumstead, Manager, Grey Grey County has a vibrant tourism industry, hosting 1.8 million visitors in 2007 and bringing in over $241 million in direct expenditures, supporting 2400 full time jobs and contributing $9.9 million in municipal taxes. Grey County Tourism is a department of The Corporation of the County of Grey, under the direction of the Grey County Tourism Committee, which is comprised of tourism stakeholders from across Grey County, as well as the Warden and two County Councillors. Tourism priorities, projects and budgets are overseen by the Tourism Committee, approved by the Planning & Community Development Committee, and ultimately County Council.
Stephen is a professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies of the University of Waterloo. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on various aspects of tourism, and advise graduate students on various tourism research issues. In addition to his academic responsibilities, he has extensive involvement in the tourism industry as the original Chair of the Canadian Tourism Commission's Research Committee, a member of the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership's Market performance and Assessment Committee. He has extensive consulting experience with destination marketing organizations, industry associations, and individual tourism enterprises.
Arlene White, Executive Director, Binational Tourism Alliance
At the 2006 Binational Tourism Summit, a special session was held to discuss plans for the upcoming Bicentennial of the War of 1812 to 1814 in cross-border regions. Concurrently, several other communities and organizations were having similar discussions regarding how best to prepare and the types of events or legacy projects people were interested in delivering between 2012 and 2014. The Binational Tourism Alliance is a member of this working group, and Executive Director Arlene White has played an integral role in shaping upcoming celebrations.
As Executive Director of Parks with the NPC, Debbie's responsibilities include management of Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens and School of Horticulture, Natural and Cultural Heritage, as well as Horticulture Operations and Recycling/Waste Management for the 1720 ha of parklands along Niagara River from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. A graduate of the University of Michigan and University of Missouri, the former educator has been with the NPC since 1980.
Craig Youdale, Chair, Academic Programs, Canadian Food and Wine Institute, Niagara College
