Calling all changemakers & sustainability leaders!

Angelina Martinez Pérez

General Manager for Expediciones Sierra Norte, Pueblos Mancomunados

Angelina was born in the North Highlands of Oaxaca, México, she has a Bachelor of Tourism Business Administration, has extensive experience in community based-tourism, with special emphasis on intercommunity cooperation, product development, networking and marketing process. For more than 10 years she has led one of the most successful cases of Community based-tourism in México called “Pueblos Mancomunados”. Angelina has been a speaker at important tourism events such as ATMEX. Currently Delegate in Oaxaca for the Mexican Association of Nature Tourism and Ecotourism (AMTAVE). Proudly of Zapotec origin, passionate traveler and in love with nature and outdoor activities.

Anna Drozdowska

Marketing and Food Tourism Expert, founder of Travel Design

Anna Drodzdowska is a Business Strategist and Tourism Consultant with over 20 years of experience creating award-winning projects for international brands and the tourism industry. As a communication expert, passionate storyteller, and sustainable food travel consultant, Anna Drodzdowska works worldwide to promote regenerative food tourism. She is often invited as a guest speaker to talk about food tourism, food systems, or regeneration. Anna is committed to protecting cultural and culinary heritage – her vision is to leverage Local Food Heroes and support farmers to switch to regenerative farming to take care of the soil and biodiversity. She also works as Ambassador of Planet Happiness NGO and as a travel and food & wine journalist, publishing stories in lifestyle and travel magazines such as National Geographic Traveller. She cooperates with Michelin Star Chefs, organizing cooking shows and fine dining festivals.

Ayako Ezaki

Director of Training Strategies & Development, TrainingAid

Ayako Ezaki is Director of Training Strategies & Development at TrainingAid, an international tourism training company specialized in sustainable tourism, providing practical and accessible professional development opportunities for industry professionals. Having worked for more than a decade in tourism professional training and education, Ayako specializes in content building, educational program design, training facilitation and project planning. Through TrainingAid’s partnership with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), Ayako serves as Training Director to manage the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training Program. In addition, Ayako serves as the Expert Coordinator for Tourism Declares Climate Emergency, a global network of tourism industry stakeholders coming together to make tourism more climate positive.

Chi Lo

Resources Director, Travel Unity

Chi Lo is a sustainable tourism expert with a breadth of experience across four continents. She specializes in sustainability strategic planning and reporting, cross-sectorial and cross-cultural relationship building, with particular interests in community-based tourism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), wildlife, (food) waste, and certification. Chi Lo currently leads Travel Unity’s Resources department, and as a consultant, she works with sector entities aiming to become more sustainable. Her affiliations stretch widely, including serving as an advisory board member for the World Tourism Association for Culture & Heritage, and sitting on the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Communications & Membership Working Group – among other industry and community engagements. Chi Lo is happiest exploring the wide world with her husband and young children.

Jamie Sweeting

President, Planeterra

Jamie has spent the last 25 years working in tourism, conservation, development, and business management. Prior to his role at Planeterra, Jamie was Global Chief Environmental Officer at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and led the travel industry program at the Center for Environmental Leadership in Business at Conservation International. He was formerly Chairman at Sustainable Travel International and has served on the boards of The International Ecotourism Society, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Travel. Jamie has developed, led, and managed many community tourism, ecotourism, and biodiversity conservation projects throughout his career. While Program Manager of Conservation International’s Ecotourism Program he played a pivotal role in implementing 36 ecotourism initiatives in 18 different countries.

Jen Murphy

Writer & Editor

Jen Murphy is a freelance journalist and content creator who splits her time between Boulder, Colorado and Maui. Her travel writing has appeared in publications including the Wall Street Journal, Conde Nast Traveler, Outside, Travel + Leisure, and Men’s Journal. A story she reported in 2021 for Bloomberg on the future of ranching was recently honored with a North American Travel Journalists Association award. Jen Murphy has worked with brands including Eleven Experience, Wildsam, and Faherty.

Jim Sano

Vice President, Travel, Tourism & Conservation, World Wildlife Fund

Jim Sano directs WWF’s community-based conservation travel programs, serves as the technical lead for WWF’s partnerships with private sector travel companies, and oversees the organization’s educational trips for its most committed members and supporters. Jim was formerly President of Geographic Expeditions, a San Francisco-based adventure travel company that offers educational travel, location management, and sustainable travel consulting services. Before joining Geographic Expeditions, Jim served as a National Park Service ranger and special assistant to the Superintendent at Yosemite National Park. Jim currently serves on the Tompkins Conservation Board of Advisors. He was the Mono Lake Foundation’s founding president, a founding director of the Natural Step, and a Yosemite Restoration Trust board member. Jim is also an Emeritus Board Member of the Trust for Public Land – serving 23-years on its executive and project review committee, and was a member of WWF’s National Council for 10-years. Jim is the recipient of five National Park Service Special Achievement awards. He also led the first American men and women’s expedition on the rarely attempted Lho Pass-West ridge route on Mt. Everest, the first guided crossing of South Georgia Island (a flagged expedition), and other expeditions throughout Asia and Latin America.

Lebawit Lily Girma

Journalist & Photographer

Lebawit Lily Girma is an attorney turned award-winning journalist and photographer with more than a decade working in the travel industry. She is currently editor-at-large at Skift, where she contributes to global tourism coverage with a focus on destination management, equity and sustainability. As Skift’s former tourism reporter, Lily’s stories ranked as the most viewed in 2021. In addition, she is a freelance travel writer whose articles on sustainable travel and the Caribbean have been published in BBC Travel, CNN, Travel + Leisure, and Conde Nast Traveler, among others. She has authored guidebooks for Moon Travel Guides, as well as provided content, strategy and editorial guidance for tourism boards and brands. Lily appears regularly in the media to discuss tourism industry insights and trends, such as on CNN with Richard Quest, Bloomberg, NPR, and CBC Canada. She has presented, participated in and moderated discussions at major conferences, including Skift Global Forum, ITB Berlin, WTM Africa and TravelCon. Born in Ethiopia, raised in Cote d’Ivoire and educated on three continents, Lily is passionate about prioritizing nature and host communities as key beneficiaries of tourism. She is an advisory board member for Impact Travel Alliance and tweets @SunandStilettos

Neil Rogers

Co-Founder, Rewilding Europe Travel

Neil Rogers is a Stockholm based veteran of the travel industry and has held senior positions with award winning travel brands such as Journey Latin America, International Expeditions (now part of Exodus Travels), the Lodge at Chaa Creek and The Family Coppola Hideaways. He’s consulted globally for NGOs, NTOs, DMOs, and tourism clusters including for EU Interreg Projects, the UNDP and Wild Salmon Center in Kamchatka, the Oak Foundation, NCE Tourism Fjord Norway, Kiruna in Swedish Lapland, the Government of Guyana, Rewilding Europe, and for PACT, Belize’s National Conservation Trust. A lifelong commitment to conservation, sustainability and nature-based tourism has led Neil to serve as the Chair of the Destinations Working Group at the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, as Vice Chair of the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund, and as a judge and inspector for the WTTC’s Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.

Pierre Thiam

Chef, Restaurateur, Cookbook Author and Co-Founder + President of Yolélé Foods

Pierre Thiam is a celebrated chef, restaurateur, award-winning cookbook author, and entrepreneur. Born and raised in Senegal, he is known for his innovative cooking style, at once modern and eclectic yet rooted in the rich culinary traditions of West Africa. He is the chef and owner of critically acclaimed Harlem, NY restaurant Teranga, which serves fast-casual West African fare directly sourced from farmers in the region. Pierre is the author of three cookbooks including his latest, The Fonio Cookbook, released in October 2019. He has won numerous awards and accolades for his cooking and advocacy. He is on the board of directors for two global nonprofits, IDEO.org and SOS Sahel.

Sarika Bansal

Editorial Director at AFAR Media

Sarika Bansal is the editorial director at AFAR Media. In 2021, she wrote and edited the book “Tread Brightly: Notes on Ethical Travel.” She was the founder and editor-in-chief of BRIGHT Magazine, an award-winning digital magazine that told fresh, solutions-oriented stories about social change. Prior to that, she incubated two social impact publications at Medium, developed curriculum for journalists at the Solutions Journalism Network, and served as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Her byline has appeared in the New York Times, Guardian, VICE, and other publications. She holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard College and a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Sarika has lived on five continents, speaks four languages, and is currently based in a cottage in a forest in Nairobi, Kenya. She lives with her husband, daughter, and elderly German shepherd.