Name: Charles Arden-Clarke Organization: United Nations Environment Programme Position: Head of the Goods and Services Unit in the Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Branch of DTIE Category: UN Agency Region: Global

Charles Arden-Clarke began his professional career in 1984 with the Political Ecology Research Group. In 1990 he joined WWF International as a policy analyst, focusing on trade and environment foreign direct investment and environment, ISO standards, eco-labelling and agriculture. He led WWF’s international programme on Trade and Investment. In January 2000 he joined UNEP's Economics and Trade Branch in Geneva, with responsibilities for trade and environment matters. In April 2004 he moved to UNEP’s Division on Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) in Paris, to work on trade, economics, poverty alleviation, global public goods and agriculture, and liaison with governments and other key partners. Since January 2007 he has been Head of the Goods and Services Unit in the Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Branch of DTIE. This unit is developing a global10 year framework of programmes on SCP, promoting SCP in the tourism and food & agriculture sectors, delivering education and awareness-raising for SCP and designing and supporting implementation of SCP policies that contribute to poverty alleviation. He has BA (Hons.) in Zoology from Oxford University, in the UK, and an MSc in Zoology from Pretoria University, South Africa.

Name: Clara Torres Organization: Mexico Tourism Board Position: Deputy Director Category: Public Authority Region: Americas

Clara Torres is a Mexican communicator who has been working in tourism promotion and sustainable tourism for the last 6 years. Since 2006 she has being focused on the promotion of Mexican cultural and natural tourist sites inscribed as World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO, when she organized a photo exhibition of UNESCO Mexican sites at the United Nations headquarters’ lobby in New York.In 2010, she became the Deputy Director of Public Relation for North America, position that provided her with the platform to continuing with her work on sustainable tourism. In October she was invited by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre to participate in the World Heritage Sustainable Tourism Program Expert Meeting, held in Sils/Engadine Switzerland, where she worked in the “Destinations Group”. Her experience in tourism marketing, public relations and political affairs, combined with her passion for a sustainable development for her country, makes of her an appropriated candidate to bring to the board of the Council the voice of countries in development with tourism experience.

Name: Dr. Kelly S. Bricker Organization: University of Utah Position: Associate Professor, at the University of Utah in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Category: Academia Region: North America

Dr. Kelly Bricker is currently Associate Professor at the University of Utah in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. She also works part-time as a Senior Research Scientist – Recreation with HDR|DTA located in Sacramento, California. She completed her Ph.D. research with the Pennsylvania State University, where she specialized in sustainable tourism and natural resource management. She has special research and teaching interest in ecotourism, sense of place, natural resource management, and the environmental and social impacts of tourism. Kelly has conducted research on heritage tourism, social impacts of tourism, and natural resource-related tourism environments. She has presented papers on issues in ecotourism, sense of place, natural resource management, and incentive travel programs. She has published articles on sense of place, ecotourism certification and policy, and health and sustainable tourism relative to communities. With her husband Nathan, she developed an ecotourism operation called Rivers Fiji and serves as the Chair of TIES.

   Name: Guy Chester
   Organization: EcoSustainAbility

EcoSustainAbility’s founder and director, Guy Chester has been involved in sustainable tourism and ecotourism for over twenty five years. Guy was the founding Vice President of Australia’s Ecotourism Association and a co-author of the Ecotourism accreditation program. Guy has worked extensively with sustainable tourism certification programs in providing standards development, administrative policy and procedures, training and auditing.  Guy has developed highly regarded tourism strategies for Australian icon tourism regions including the Daintree, Port Douglas the Flinders Ranges and the South Australian Outback. He has also undertaken sustainable tourism and ecotourism projects for the World Tourism Organization and the Peoples Republic of China. Guy was the Team Leader for the development of the Fiji Tourism Development Plan 2007-2016. Guy has recently completed nine regional tourism development and tourism product development strategies for the Papua New Guinea government. Guy has was the chair of the Accreditation Committee and has recently served as a member of the Standards Committee and a strong advocate for the GSTC’s establishment. Guy is well known internationally as an expert in best practice sustainable  development, in particular in ecotourism and infrastructure development in natural areas.

   Name: Gwen Migita
   Organization: Caesars Entertainment

As the lead executive for Sustainability at Caesars Entertainment, Gwen Migita drives the development of Caesars industry leading and award winning sustainability strategy; CodeGreen. She directs an enterprise wide CodeGreen Steering Committee and serves as the corporate leader of thirty property CodeGreen Teams. Gwen also manages external relationships and stakeholder strategies for Caesars environmental and social sustainability programs. In her capacity as Community Affairs leader, Gwen directs corporate charitable giving, community relations, and HERO employee volunteer policies for the organization’s 70,000 employees at 56 domestic and international resorts. Gwen sits on National Park Trust’s Leadership Council, UN Foundation’s Global Sustainable Tourism Council Market Access Working Group, and is a Board of Governor for the Human Rights Campaign. She is also a founder and President of Green Chips, an innovative public-private non-profit in Southern Nevada which drives long‐term social, economic and environmental goals and outreach for the region. Gwen is an Executive MBA graduate of University of Nevada Las Vegas and received her BA from the University of Washington with a concentration in marketing. Gwen also studied business at the University of Portland, and then abroad in Salzburg, Austria, where she focused on political science and philosophy.

   Name: Heidi van der Watt

Heidi van der Watt graduated with a Masters in Town and Regional Planning from the University of Stellenbosch and started off working for South African Tourism (national tourism organization), establishing a new division focusing on destination planning and development.  She has been a notable contributor to policy and strategic developments related to sustainable tourism in South Africa for the last decade. Most recently, she assisted the National Department of Tourism (NDT) to draft South Africa’s national standard for Responsible Tourism, adopted through the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) as a South African National Standard (SANS 116:2010) in 2010. She was instrumental in the development of an associated accreditation for conformity assessment bodies, currently being rolled out by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS), on behalf of NDT. She also assisted the NDT with the drafting of a National Strategy for Responsible Tourism for South Africa in 2012. Ms. van der Watt has specialist knowledge of all aspects of destination development and management, including tourism sector strategy, market assessment and marketing, product development, spatial planning, institutional development, training and skills development and monitoring and evaluation.

Name: Herbert Hamele Organization: ECOTRANS Position: Founder and President Category: NGO Region: Europe

Herbert Hamele has been working 25 years in the field of sustainable tourism development in Europe. In the 80’s he carried out studies and model projects related to e.g. youth travel or German consumers’ demand for environmentally friendly tourism. In 1993 he founded and since then chairs the European network for sustainable tourism development ECOTRANS. His knowledge and expertise is on the development, monitoring, research, networking and dissemination of voluntary initiatives, tools and best practice examples for environmentally friendly, socially compatible and economically sound tourism, with a focus on about 100 eco-labels, awards and self committed initiatives worldwide. He is lead administrator of the DestiNet portal for sustainable tourism information, hosted by the European Environment Agency EEA in partnership with UNWTO, UNEP and ECOTRANS. He represents ECOTRANS in the International Task Force on Sustainable Tourism Development.

Name: Herve Houdre Organization: InterContinental New York Barclay Position: Regional Director of Operations & General Manager of the InterContinental New York Barclay Category: Industry Region: North America

One of Europe and America’s most respected hoteliers, Hervé Houdré became Regional Director of Operations & General Manager of the InterContinental New York Barclay in October 2009, and was GM of the Willard InterContinental since 2004. Previously, Houdré managed the Hôtel de Crillon and Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris and was Chief Operating Officer, Kempinski Hotels and Resorts. Houdré serves on the NY Hotel Association Board of Directors and NYC & Company. A leader in Sustainable Hospitality, Houdré published Sustainable Hospitality©, a white paper utilized by Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research. He is an SD columnist for HotelNewsNow.com, and was named "2006 Independent Hotelier of the World" by HOTELS magazine. Houdré’s efforts have been highlighted in a broad array of media in the US and abroad. His leadership achieved the 2009 Condé Nast Traveler World Saver Award, 2009 DC Mayor’s Award for Environmental Excellence and DC Chamber of Commerce 2009 Business of the Year, among others.

Name: Jamie Sweeting Organization: Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Position: Vice President of Environmental Stewardship Category: Industry Region: Global

Jaime Sweeting is Vice President of Environmental Stewardship and Global Chief Environmental Officer for Royal Caribbean Cruises. He has over fifteen years of experience in tourism, conservation and business management. Most recently, he served as senior business advisor and senior director of the Travel and Leisure program for Conservation International’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business. Sweeting received a Master of Tourism Administration from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

He is responsible for establishing Royal Caribbean’s long-term environmental strategy, including goals and objectives that ensure responsible corporate environmental performance. These objectives will incorporate factors such as climate change, destination stewardship, current and future environmental regulations and agreements, and programs that lead to sound environmental policy, compliance incident response and training.

Name: Jane Ashton Organization: TUI Travel Position: Director of Group Sustainable Development Category: Industry Region: Global

Jane Ashton was promoted to Director of Group Sustainable Development in March 2011. In this role Ashton heads up the development of policy and strategies to steer TUI Travel PLC towards becoming a more sustainable business. She also works with NGOs, industry peers, government and international bodies to help develop strategies for sustainable tourism. Since 2001 she has pioneered sustainable tourism, first at First Choice Holidays, with her remit broadening early in 2008 to become Head of Sustainable Development, TUI Travel PLC. Jane has a degree from Bristol University, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Business from Cambridge University Program for Industry.

   Name: Jennifer Seif
   Organization: Fair Trade in Tourism, South Africa

Jennifer Seif is a nationally and internationally recognized Fair Trade advocate and sustainable tourism expert who has led Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) since its inception as a non profit organization in July 2001.  She holds a number of academic qualifications in economics (Georgetown), history (Boston University), social anthropology (University of Chicago) and business administration (University of South Africa).  Prior to embarking on her career in tourism development, Jennifer worked in academia in South Africa and the USA. She still lectures occasionally on responsible tourism and is the architect of various training programs on sustainable tourism. She serves on various boards on behalf of FTTSA and in her personal capacity including the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), Fair Trade Label South Africa (FLSA) and the international Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct. She is also an elected member of the Steering Committee of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism, a multi-stakeholder initiative facilitated by the United Nations Environment Program. In 2001 and again in 2003 Jennifer was recognized by the Ashoka Citizens Base Initiative, for excellence in non-profit resource mobilization.

Name: Jiwei Xu Organization: Mt. Huangshan Scenic Area Administrative Committee (HSAC) Position: Director Category: Public Authority Region: East Asia and the Pacific

Jiwei Xu i s the director of the Mt. Huangshan Scenic Area Administrative Committee (HSAC), Chairperson of the Board of the Huangshan Tourism Development Group, President of the Huangshan Tourism Development Co. LTD. Jiwei Xu has been worked in the HSAC, Huangshan municipal government since 1985 he graduated from the college. He has worked in office, human resources management, Publicity and education, foreign affairs, mass organizations. In 1996, he became the senior manager of the Tourism Development Co. LTD as one of the founders. 5 years later, he was promoted to the director of the Tourism Bureau of the Municipality and the vice secretary general of the Municipal Government. He came back to Mt. Huangshan, and was elected President of the Huangshan Tourism Development Co. LTD in 2004, and then he became the director of the HSAC and Chairperson of the Tourism Development Group in 2009. In the beginning of 2010, he served as the Chairman of the board of the Huangshan Tourism Development Co. LTD.

Name: Leilani Latimer Organization: Sabre Holdings Position: Director, Sustainability Initiatives Category: Industry Region: Global

Leilani C. Latimer is an innovative sustainability professional with proven expertise in global strategy, marketing and business transformation. Ms Latimer leads Global Sustainability Initiatives for Sabre Holdings, the world’s leading provider of high-performance travel solutions. She develops and directs the company’s strategy and initiatives in collaboration with business leaders across the corporation; Sabre Travel Network, Sabre Airline Solutions, Sabre Hospitality Solutions and Travelocity. Her duties extend from delineating the company’s strategic direction, to developing a platform for industry advocacy, product and service innovation and corporate stewardship. Ms. Latimer is a graduate in Sustainable Management at the Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco where she works and resides. She co-chairs the CSR Committee for the National Business Travel Association, is on the Advisory Board of NoHold Inc. and is an active member of the Silicon Valley Italian Executive Council. She is fluent in Italian, and holds both US and EE citizenship.

Name: Luigi Cabrini Organization: United Nations World Tourism Organization Position: Director, Sustainable Development Category: UN Agency Region: Global

Luigi Cabrini (Italy) holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Pisa and has completed postgraduate courses in International Law, History and Economics. From 1978 to 1982 he worked as a journalist and editor in Rome. In 1982 he joined the United Nations assuming responsibilities in cooperation for development and refugees programs in Mexico, Pakistan, Somalia, Switzerland, Poland and Spain. Luigi Cabrini joined UNWTO in 2002 as Regional Representative for Europe. Since June 2007 he is the Director of the UNWTO Sustainable Development Programme, whose mission is to promote the sustainable development of tourism in line with the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism with special focus on the Millennium Development Goals. The Programme undertakes research, develops manuals and provides guidance and training to member States and other tourism stakeholders on sustainable tourism policies and their application to tourism destinations. Luigi Cabrini speaks fluently Italian, English, French and Spanish and has a basic knowledge of Polish and Russian. He is the author of various articles, speeches and papers.

Name: Shannon Stowell Organization: Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) Position: President Category: Association Region: North America

Shannon Stowell is president of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), His education and early profession were spent in environmental chemistry and biology including working for NOAA in Alaska, then8 years with an environmental firm. He co-founded www.altrec.com, a successful outdoor and adventure travel gear retailer selling brands such as The North Face, Patagonia, Eagle Creek. He directed the company’s business development, affiliate marketing and non-profit relations for 6 years. In 2004, Shannon revitalized the ATTA which has held six Adventure Travel World Summits in Europe and the Americas since and has been a global hub for adventure travel professionals. The ATTA also publishes Adventure Travel News TM and operates an online community for the sector. Shannon served four years on the Board of the American Hiking Society and has worked with his city’s local food bank, council and library over the years. Shannon co-authored a book in 2008 published by National Geographic: Riding the Hula-hula to the Arctic Ocean- A guide to 50 Extraordinary Adventures. He has studied Mandarin Chinese and travels the globe extensively speaking on adventure travel and ecotourism. EDUCATION: B.S. Biology, Seattle Pacific University 1990; CERTIFICATION: Fisheries Observer, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).