Andre Kiwitz (he/him) is the CEO and Founder of Ventura Travel, a global network of travel brands focused on responsible tourism and local impact. With over 20 years of experience, he has built a team of 100 people across Germany, Colombia, South Africa, and beyond. Andre is passionate about innovation, personal growth, and creating meaningful travel experiences. He leads with a clear vision while empowering his team through structure, trust, and fun.

Beth Santos (she/her) is the founder and CEO of Wanderful, a leading global community of women travelers, travel content creators, and entrepreneurs. She's the creator of the WITS Travel Creator Summit, the Bessie Awards, and Wanderfest, the first major outdoor travel festival by and for women. Named one of the top changemakers in travel by Business Insider, Conde Nast Traveller, and Travel Pulse, she also serves as Godmother of the Azamara Onward cruise ship. Beth is the author of Wander Woman: How to Reclaim Your Space, Find Your Voice, and Travel the World, Solo, and owns Ula Cafe in Boston, where she lives with her husband and three children.

Dan Christian is a highly accomplished global travel executive, entrepreneur and business leader with over 20+ years of experience. His expertise includes business strategy and digital transformation, executive leadership and team development. He has a proven track record of developing successful marketing strategies that drive growth. Dan now leads the Acceleration Team, which empowers brands and start-ups to scale, and he hosts the popular ‘Travel Trends’ podcast. He is also a sought-after public speaker and advisor.

Douglas Quinby started Arival to fill the void in insights, information and conferences for travel’s third-largest sector: in-destination experiences. Since its founding in 2016, Arival has become the defining platform for the sector, with conferences worldwide, a series of definitive research reports and the Arival.travel media site and newsletter covering news and insights for day tours, activities, attractions and experiences. Prior to Arival he served as Senior Vice President of Research at Phocuswright.

Edmund (he/him) is a critical futurist: he uses quantitative modeling to understand the trends shaping the future of travel. He's the founder of Equator, an AI startup that uses data to future-proof travel brands. He's built visitor impact calculators for destinations, modeled investment for adventure travel in Panama, and explored how overtourism is changing visitor sentiment. Prior to Equator, Edmund spent almost a decade building impact models for aid programs and refugee crises. He's a Substacker and Youtuber, who has spoken at events all over the world, and been featured in Travel Weekly and Forbes.

Eva Mossberg (she/her) is a passionate and relational senior operations and logistics professional with over thirty years of experience and an extraordinary track record in sustainable adventure tourism, international education, and hospitality. She possesses a keen understanding of the evolving industry trends impacting operations across North and South America, and brings a forward-looking perspective on how operational strategies can adapt to and lead regional industry shifts.

Fiona Hastings is the Vice President of Product & Engineering at American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT), with a background spanning B2B Fintech, Procurement, Finance and Traveltech. She holds a keen passion for building and leading full-stack engineering teams that deliver exceptional B2B-focused digital experiences directly tied to commercial outcomes. With expertise in SaaS, innovation, technology, travel, spend management, payments, and digital partnerships, she drives transformative technological solutions that translate technical innovation into measurable business value.

Gilad Berenstein (he/him) is an AI entrepreneur, board director, and venture capital investor who leads Brook Bay Capital, an AI-focused fund. He sits on the boards of both established corporations and early-stage startups, with a particular passion for travel, hospitality, and experiential lifestyle businesses. With deep expertise in artificial intelligence and personalization, Gilad advises and mentors leaders across major consumer brands in travel, retail, and related sectors, as well as institutional investors including private equity firms. Recognized by Skift as one of the most forward-looking voices in travel, Gilad is helping guide the industry through its AI-driven transformation.

James Barnes (he/him) spent over a decade as a music educator, inspiring students through performance and travel. Today, he serves as Director of Operations for Perform America, TX, helping ensembles create unforgettable memories. Drawing on his teaching background, James blends his love of music with his organizational prowess!

James Lemon (he/him) is Stripe’s Global Lead for Hospitality, Travel & Leisure, where he helps travel companies modernize their financial infrastructure by combining deep industry expertise with payment innovation. With experience spanning 15 years across startups and global brands, James has held leadership roles at IHG Hotels & Resorts, Travelport, and Hostmaker—the tech partner behind Marriott Homes & Villas—and also founded and exited Otolo, a global mentoring platform for hospitality professionals. At Stripe, which processes over $1.4 trillion annually for millions of businesses including Airbnb, Booking.com, Marriott, and Uber, James supports clients in enhancing customer experiences, driving innovation, and streamlining operations. A respected speaker at events like Phocuswright, Websummit, and ITB Asia, he is known for his practical approach to navigating the evolving travel payments landscape. 

Jamie-Lee Abtar (she/her) is an award-nominated marketing strategist with 15+ years of experience shaping bold, inclusive brands across the travel, leisure, and hospitality space. From destinations and tour operators to global campaigns, she’s worked with leading organisations including Intrepid Travel and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.

A passionate travel experience marketeer and business developer, I have supported inbound and outbound tourism in Europe and North America as a tour operator product manager as well as visitor attraction promoter. For ETOA I oversee the associations' global travel company network and represent a range of key European destinations.

Jessica Flores (she/her) is the Chief Experience Officer at Tourism Cares, where she has served for 17 years in a variety of roles. In her current position, she sits at the center of culture, strategy, and operations, aligning teams and resources so the organization thrives from the inside out. She is responsible for supporting staff, fostering an inclusive workplace, and ensuring all programs and partnerships are rooted in Tourism Cares’ mission. With a collaborative and industry-focused approach, Jessica helps maximize Tourism Cares’ impact for its members and the global travel community at large.

JoAnna Haugen (she/her) is an award-winning writer, speaker, consultant, and solutions advocate who has worked in communications-related positions in the travel and tourism industry her entire career.
She is also founder of Rooted, a solutions platform at the intersection of sustainable tourism, social impact, and storytelling. Through Rooted, JoAnna helps tourism professionals reimagine travel experiences and support sustainability using strategic storytelling.
JoAnna’s work has been published in more than 60 print and online publications. In 2021, Newsweek named JoAnna a winner in the storytelling category of its Future of Tourism awards.
She is an curious traveler and hopeful global citizen who currently lives in Bucharest, Romania.

Josh Chang (he/him) is VP of Product at WeTravel, a travel enthusiast, and a proud girl dad. Having lived on four continents and organized two MBA trips of 50 students each, he has seen the life-changing value of well-run, multi-day trips—as well as the challenges of operating them. That’s why Josh is now applying his over 16 years of experience leading tech innovations to build the all-in-one operating system that multi-day travel businesses deserve.

Katalina Mayorga (she/her) is the CEO of El Camino Travel, an IRL and digital community for bold women travelers with a passion for culture, hidden gems, and going off the beaten path. A seasoned industry veteran, she has led El Camino to become one of the most popular consumer brands for women travelers, was recently named one of the 15 most influential women in travel by Condé Nast Traveler, and sits on the Advisory Board for the Tory Burch Foundation. She is regularly featured in prominent publications like the New York Times, Vogue, and Washington Post for pushing the boundaries of the consumer experience in travel.

Kelsey Tonner (he/him) is the founder of Guest Focus Tour Business Coaching and for two decades he’s been helping tour business owners as a mentor, consultant, speaker, experience designer, guide trainer, and award-winning tour leader. Since 2015, their programs have helped over 2,000 tour operators from 75+ countries around the world and Kelsey has been a regular speaker at over 35 industry events and conferences. 

Kgomotso Ramothea (she/her) has served as the Chief Executive Officer for ATTA® Memberships since September 2024 where she is responsible for growth and management of ATTA® membership and execution of strategic partnerships for exclusive member benefit. 

Kimberley (she/her) is a Partnerships, Business Development and Sales Specialist who has many years of working across travel and media brands, most notably TUI, Kuoni, The Times & Sunday Times, and Travelzoo, with her latest time being spent across the travel technology space with Travolution.

She has successfully hosted many digital and in-person events for all of the above brands, as well as creating award-winning marketing campaigns, managing affiliate initiatives and creating editorial opportunities.

A seasoned CEO with over 20 years of experience in the travel industry, Kirsten (she/her) has led initiatives across five continents, specializing in guest experience and innovative product creation for group touring. Known for a strategic vision and a hands-on approach, Kirsten has built and transformed travel experiences that resonate with global audiences and drive business growth.

Based in Seattle, Leigh Barnes (he/him) is the President of the Americas at Intrepid Travel, overseeing operations and growth across North, Central, and South America. Since joining Intrepid in 2010, he has held key roles including Chief Purpose Officer and Chief Customer Officer. Under his leadership, Intrepid launched industry-first Ethical Marketing Guidelines, championed better DEI representation in travel storytelling, and expanded First Nations partnerships across global 

My name is Luke (he/him) and I am the Senior Product Designer in WeTravel! I love to craft the digital experience for the travel organizers! I am also a casual road cyclist and home barista. My best travel memory was the 5-day Inca trail in Peru.

Meredith Rangel (she/her) is the Founder of Bookable Tourism, with over 20 years of experience in tourism and travel technology. She helps attractions and tour operators implement best-fit booking systems and build effective distribution strategies. A passionate advocate for digital transformation in tourism, Meredith empowers businesses to streamline operations and boost revenue. She is also an Arival Ambassador, supporting industry innovation and connectivity.

Minnia (she/her) leads research product launches for ChatGPT at OpenAI, including models like o1 and o3, multimodal products like image generation and Voice Mode, as well as agentic capabilities like deep research and Operator. Previously, she led product marketing teams at the NBA and Spotify. Originally from Toronto, she currently lives in San Francisco.

Mitch (he/him) is a partner at Tourpreneur, a global tour operator community with 20,000 members. Tourpreneur offers coaching, education and peer support for operators. He is also CEO of TripSchool, a global school offering tour guide & tour leader training. He lives in Brooklyn with his dog Pip.

Rachael (she/her) acts as the primary link between domestic tourism products and regions, and the Australian Government agency responsible for promoting Australia globally. With over 10 years of industry experience, Rachael has a diverse tourism background specialising in the tech and online space for the Tours, Experiences and Attractions sector having worked at Rezdy - a global booking software and channel manager, and Expedia Group. She also has experience in back and front-of-house hotel operations for brands including Hyatt and Ovolo.

Pivoting into the SMME tourism sector following a 15-year corporate career with British American Tobacco and Hyundai Motor Distributors Rob is recognised as an active industry protagonist and pioneer with multiple CEO Global awards for outstanding contribution in the Tourism Sector. After more than 20 years of international experience in tourism, market development and business consulting, Rob enjoys a special interest and skills in business coaching, mentoring and development. Rob is an accredited ICF coach and highly experienced entrepreneur, business leader and innovator with a passion for exponentiality through the development and empowerment of women and youth as leaders.

Achievements and Awards:

• SATSA Board Director and Vice-Chair – current
• AID Board Committee Chair (Access Inclusivity and Diversity)
• Mentor and Coach to 2017 SA Tourism, SATSA Hidden Gems Indaba preparation and development program.
• Trainer, facilitator and mentor to the Limpopo High-Flyers Project.
• Winner Southern SADC 2019 Titans Building Nations CEO Global awards for outstanding contribution in the Tourism Sector
• Winner SADC Regional 2019 Titans Building Nations CEO Global awards
• Winner PAN Africa 2020 2019 Titans Building Nations CEO Global awards

Sheri (she/her) doesn’t just create content; she engineers demand. With over a decade of experience scaling B2B tech companies, including spear-heading HubSpot's first webinar for the INBOUND counference, she’s helped brands transform marketing from a cost center into a predictable revenue engine. Her approach? Aligning marketing with how buyers actually make decisions - turning high-intent leads into conversions, on autopilot. Sheri will help you ditch random acts of marketing to build a system that drives real business growth.

Sofya Muhrer-Muromets (she/her) is the Sustainability Manager at Evaneos, where she leads strategy and action around decarbonization, overtourism, and shaping the narrative of sustainable travel. With years of experience in the travel industry—especially within travel tech—she works to turn bold sustainability goals into tangible transformation. She believes we need to move beyond depersonalized sustainability messaging—and toward more honest, human-centered storytelling that inspires real change. Sofya is a strong advocate for collaborative effort, knowing the challenges we face in tourism and climate can only be overcome together.

As the CEO of WeTravel, Ted (he/him) leads the company’s mission to simplify and scale operations for multi-day travel businesses worldwide. With a strong background in fintech and B2B SaaS, Ted brings a customer-first mindset to solving the operational challenges faced by travel organizers—from payments and traveler experience to logistics and team efficiency. Since joining WeTravel in January 2023, he has focused on driving innovation across the platform and expanding global capabilities. Ted’s leadership is grounded in a passion for technology that empowers real-world experiences and helps businesses grow sustainably.

Dale’s (he/him) responsibilities at USTOA include managing the association’s government advocacy on issues affecting tour operators, developing the association’s strategic marketing 
initiatives, and working with other leaders and decision makers in the travel industry to identify mutual challenges and opportunities.  Dale also serves as a key ambassador and spokesperson for USTOA.  He holds the distinction of being the third president in USTOA’s 50-year history.