Speakers
Jon Montgomery |
|
KEYNOTE SPEAKER |
|
|
Join Jon Montgomery, Gold Medal Olympian and Host of The Amazing Race Canada, as he takes us on an inspiring journey through Canada's vibrant tourism industry. In this captivating session, Jon will share his unique perspective on exploring and appreciating the value and gifts of Canada’s tourism landscape. Hear firsthand about the incredible destinations he has visited, the diverse people and cultures he has encountered, and the unforgettable experiences that have fuelled his pride in being Canadian. Jon will also reflect on his pride in representing Canada on the world stage during the 2010 Winter Olympics, and how that experience has deepened his appreciation for Canada's tourism treasures. From coast to coast, Jon's adventures reveal the heart and soul of Canada’s tourism ecosystem, highlighting the extraordinary beauty and hospitality that make Canada a world-class travel destination. Don't miss this opportunity to be inspired by Jon’s stories and insights, celebrating the essence of what makes Canada truly special. |
Anne-Marie Forcier
DIRECTOR, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
Anne-Marie has over 37 years of experience in tourism, marketing and destination development with the private sector as well as with numerous nonprofit organizations. She is currently the Director of Program Development with the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) since 2022. Past employment highlights include Tourism Development at the Société Économique de l’Ontario (SÉO), Manager of Tourism Skills Development at St Lawrence College, Manager of the City-College Opportunities Office in Kingston, Executive Director of the Rideau Heritage Route Tourism Association for 10 years, where she managed the Regional Destination Management Organization along the UNESCO World Heritage Rideau Canal and Manager of Visitor Services for the Kingston Economic Development Corporation. Anne-Marie is a graduate of Algonquin College in Ottawa and has her Municipal Administration Designation and many executive education courses from Queen’s University. She is fluently bilingual and originally from Northern Ontario, has 2 adult children, and now lives at Chaffey’s Lock on the Rideau Canal. She also owns Rideau Tours & Rentals, a small seasonal company.
Gabrielle Mueller
MARKETING MANAGER – CULINARY TOURISM ALLIANCE
Food was made to be a connector, and Gabby believes that there’s nothing more powerful than sitting around a table (preferably with a few craft beers) to connect people. Growing up in Oxford County, local food was something Gabby always had access to but never appreciated until much later. Food’s ability to be a force for change in the environment, insocial interactions and beyond has pushed her to understand that food is much more thansomething you eat. With an Honors BA majoring in history from Trent University and a Master’s in Public history from Western University, Gabby spent a few years working in the museums and archives world before realizing that she was missing one thing: people! Falling accidentally into the tourism world when hired to do some freelance work on the Oxford County Cheese Trail forTourism Oxford, Gabby quickly realized that she doesn’t just love working with people, she loves telling their stories. Luckily, her background in history prepared her for all the writing that comes with that! Six years (and many cheese curds) later, Gabby’s work with Tourism Oxford grew to full-on content creation. Leading the charge on social media, blogging, vlogging and websitecontent, she quickly fell in love with tourism’s ability to help food producers rediscovertheir passion and to help their local community. During her time with Tourism Oxford, Gabby also became a certified Experiential Tourismcoach through Southwestern Ontario Tourism Corporation’s Unlocked and InspiredCoaching Program and has become completely enamoured with helping businesses create meaningful experiences to change how people see travel. She has played a role in gettingseveral experiences to market including the award-winning Tree to Table experience whichhas won Ontario’s Best Culinary Experience at the provincial and regional levels. Gabby started as Digital Media Coordinator at the Culinary Tourism Alliance, and has since been promoted to Marketing Manager. Gabby can’t wait to dive in and begin telling stories from across the province.
Angela Nagy
CEO, GreenStep Solutions Inc.
In 2008, Angela founded GreenStep Solutions, a company that provides sustainability strategies, program development, assessments, and certifications to help small and medium-sized enterprises measure and improve their sustainability performance and reduce their carbon footprint. To date, GreenStep has worked with more than 5000 businesses and organizations including utilities, government, industry associations, and
businesses ranging from one to thousands of employees. Through their Sustainable Tourism Divison, Angela and her team provide solutions that help tourism destinations and businesses to improve sustainability performance through the use of purpose-built, industry-specific assessment and certification programs.
Angela has been trained by former Vice President and Nobel Laureate, Al Gore, David Suzuki, and IPCC scientists to deliver the Climate Reality Project. She is certified in Organizational GHG Accounting through the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute, and as a Sustainability Practitioner through The Natural Step. Her experience also includes politics, and Angela has served as an elected official at both the municipal and regional
levels, elected on a platform of sustainability.
Shaylyn Robertson
SENIOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM SPECIALIST
Shaylyn supports research and marketing related to our Sustainable Tourism division, helping to grow our impacts as we expand our sustainable tourism assessment and certification programs for tourism destinations and businesses in Canada and globally. Shaylyn has experience in project coordination, tourism marketing and economic development in roles with various organizations, local government, and post-secondary institutions. She has lived and worked in several countries and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Studies from the University of Northern British Columbia.