Board of Directors

				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: 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: 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: 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: Richard Edwards Organization: Ecoism Global Position: Founder Category: Industry Region: North America		Richard Edwards Richard has worked in key management positions and as a consultant with several award-winning adventure companies and assisted large travel industry veterans, such as Hilton, Wyndham, Harrah's and American Express in developing their green and carbon management strategies. With over 20 years of experience in marketing, ecotourism and community development in Latin America, he is quoted regularly in international media and has spoken around the world on the topic of green travel. Condé Nast Traveler magazine lists Richard as a Top Travel Specialist, an honor he’s received for several years, consistently citing his travel creations as “Trips of a Lifetime”.
				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: Judy Kepher-Gona Organization: Basecamp Foundation Position: CEO Category: NGO Region: Africa		Judy Kepher - Gona is the CEO Basecamp Foundation, Kenya. She is a specialist on Ecotourism with over ten years experience, most of which were spent at the helm of Kenya’s national ecotourism society, Ecotourism Kenya. She is credited with the initiation, development and implementation of Africa’s premier and most successful sustainable tourism certification program, the ESOK Eco-rating scheme, as well creating awareness on community based tourism in Kenya. She is an international speaker and has made many presentations at signature ecotourism events globally. Judy has served in many local and international committees working to create a better understanding of ecotourism. Judy joined Basecamp Foundation in 2008 and is today the CEO overseeing Basecamp Foundations projects in Masai Mara and Lamu in Kenya and Rajasthan in India. The recently created Naboisho Conservancy in Masai Mara is a highlight of her time at Basecamp Foundation and facilitation of development of the first conservancy management plan using NEMA’s new guidelines. Community participation in conservation, tourism and sustainable land management are major areas of interest. Judy is an alumna of University of Nairobi with academic qualifications in sociology.
				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: Steve Noakes Organization: CQUniversity-Australia Position: Senior Lecturer Category: Academia Region: East Asia and the Pacific		Steve Noakes is Senior Lecturer in Tourism at CQUniversity-Australia. He is founding Chair of Pacific Asia Tourism Pty Ltd, an international project management company focussed on tourism’s capacity to contribute to the MDGs and the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, and Director of Ecolodges Indonesia, owning/operating five ecolodges with a wildlife & biodiversity conservation focus across Indonesia. In 2008, he was honoured with the inaugural Ecotourism Australia Medal recognising his extensive 30 years active engagement in the Australian and international tourism industry – particularly in ecotourism and the broader sustainable tourism development agenda. He is a long standing member and advocate for sustainable tourism practices with the Bangkok based Pacific Asia Travel Association having served numerous terms on the PATA Board of Directors, Industry Council, Sustainable Tourism Committee and Education Committees. He was an active Pacific Asia contributor to the development of the GSTC and takes advantage to promote and represent the GSTC in his regular professional activities throughout Pacific Asia and Africa. Steve has also been an active participant in the UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts, the World Committee on Tourism Ethics and with the Themis Foundation contributing to UNWTO projects in Indonesia, Korea, Bhutan and East Africa. He has also worked as a sustainable tourism consultant to the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, International Labour Organisation, Asian Development Bank and a number of Governments and industry in the Pacific Asia region, southern Africa and east Africa. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Griffith University, Australia.
				Name: Rick Parnell Organization: United Nations Foundation Position: Chief Operating Officer Category: UN Affiliated Region: Global		Rick Parnell serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund. Mr. Parnell oversees all aspects of the Foundation’s operations, including finance, grants, budget, HR, operations and board liaison. In addition, he supervises all Foundation staff, ensures the efficient and effective allocation of resources across departments and, along with the president, executive vice president and senior vice president for public affairs, forms the Strategic Planning Committee, which is responsible for creating and directing the Foundation’s core mission and activities. Before joining the United Nations Foundation in 2001, Mr. Parnell was the senior operations officer for the American Red Cross National Development team and oversaw the day-to-day operations of a $1 billion fund-raising campaign for the national organization and its 1,100 local chapters. Mr. Parnell also served as chief of staff to the president of the University of Florida for 10 years. He holds a B.A. in American History from the University of Florida.
				Name: Fabian Roman Organization: Fundacion Plan 21 Position: President Category: NGO Region: Latin America and the Caribbean		Fabian Roman is the President of Plan21 Foundation, an Argentine NGO. He has a large experience as a sustainable tourism consultant, including the Cluster of Sustainable Tourism of the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter American Development Bank and the Italian Cooperation, among others. Fabian is a chemical engineer graduated in the Buenos Aires University, and has a specialization in Sustainable Development and Environmental Management from the Bolivarian University of Chile and he is finishing his Master in Sustainable Tourism Management in the University for International Cooperation of Costa Rica. He has an academic career as Titular Professor and Research Director from the Lanus University of Argentina, and Coordinator of the Cooperation Area of the International Center on Tourism and Development. Fabian is the author of “Tourism and Sustainability, a complex relationship” and co-author of “Tourism and Poverty, an approach to tourism development models”. Fabian has vast experience in the private sector, as Sales Manager and VP. In the last years, he has been dedicated to work in a local, national and regional level to spread the concept “sustainability” into the tourism industry.
				Name: Ronald Sanabria Organization: Rainforest Alliance Position: VP, Sustainable Tourism Category: NGO Region: Global		Ronald Sanabria has worked with the tourism industry on certification, productivity, quality assurance and sustainability since 1992. He joined Rainforest Alliance's Sustainable Agriculture program in 1998, and two years later began developing the organization's tourism program. During his tenure, Sanabria has coordinated projects Latin America, supporting sustainable tourism training and technical assistance for hundreds of tourism businesses and community-based operations while connecting them with the marketplace. With support from the Multilateral Investment Fund, Sanabria led the creation of the Sustainable Tourism Certification Network of the Americas. Sanabria was the recipient of the 2008 EXPOTUR Friend of Nature Award. The same year he was featured by Conde Nast Traveler as one of the “trail blazers. Since 1992, he has taught at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Costa Rica. A Fulbright scholar from Costa Rica, Sanabria holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Costa Rica and an M.A. in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University.
				Name: Santiago Soler Organization: Inter-American Development Bank Position: Senior Regional Specialist and Sustainable Tourism Coordinator Category: Pubic Authority Region: Latin America and the Caribbean		Santiago Soler is the Senior Regional Specialist and Sustainable Tourism Coordinator for the Inter-American Development Bank. He holds an MBAs in International Management and Development Economics in Latin America from the George Washington University & University of Maryland. Mr. Soler has 20 years of experience in international development projects working for management consulting companies, donor agencies, and multilateral organizations. He has extensive experience in the design, implementation, and evaluation of tourism projects promoting competitiveness, technology, innovation, sustainable tourism, and environmental management systems and conformity assessment in general in mostly every country of Latin America and the Caribbean. As the founder and Coordinator of the Sustainable Tourism Cluster of about 50 multiyear and multimillion projects of the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the IADB, Mr. Soler currently manages projects being implemented in 22 countries, with over 40 executing agencies, impacting approximately 9000 SMEs, for a total amount of non reimbursable technical assistance funds of US$75 million. In 2011 the MIF launched the Agenda “Solutions for the Sustainable Tourism Sector Ecosystem” that takes into account very important lessons learned during the last 7 years of project implementation. The Agenda, led by Santiago Soler, emphasizes the systematization of knowledge into solutions to be delivered through a marketplace that will articulate sector supply and demand, leveraging MIF´s work with partners.
				Name: Anna Spenceley Category: Individual Region: Africa		Dr Anna Spenceley is an independent consultant based in South Africa. She works on sustainable tourism issues for a wide range of international agencies, including the World Bank group, the International Trade Centre, UNWTO and SNV. Anna’s work includes participatory policy and master plan development, triple bottom line assessments (economic, social, and environmental), tourism certification and indicators, market research, value chain analyses and also training. Anna is leader of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group, and is on the ExCo of the WCPA Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group. She is also a member of the IUCN Southern Africa Sustainable Use Specialist Group. Anna is on the editorial board of the International Journal for Sustainable Tourism, the Journal of Educational Travel and also the Journal of South African National Parks: Koedoe. Her book publications include "Responsible Tourism: Critical issues for Conservation and Development" and "Evolution and Innovation in Wildlife Conservation.
				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).
				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: Clara Torres Organization: Mexico Tourism Board Position: Deputy Director Category: Public Authority Region: Latin America and the Caribbean		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: 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.

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Board of Directors