Eric Brodnax serves as vice president and general manager of The Away Network, an online travel content company under Orbitz Worldwide, a brand of Travelport, Inc. The Away Network includes sites like Away.com, GORP.com and OutsideOnline.com. Brodnax joined the Away Network in 1999 as vice president of marketing and business development. In 2000, he was appointed senior vice president of marketing and site operations where he managed all aspects of the consumer experience and built an audience of over 3 million website users per month and 1 million active email subscribers. His focus on bottom-line costs resulted in the Away.com website having one of the lowest documented cost per user in the travel industry. Prior to joining the Away Network, Brodnax served as vice president of marketing and business development for Customer Insites, Inc., director of marketing for PowerDigm Systems, and founder and general manager of Harvest Wine Imports, Inc. Brodnax holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University and a Masters in Business Administration in Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School of Business. He is an active kayaker and biker, and competed in the 1988 Olympic Games, held in Seoul, Korea, as a member of the Equestrian team.

Costas Christ - is an internationally recognized expert on sustainable tourism and serves as Chairman of the World Travel and Tourism Council - Tourism for Tomorrow Awards that promote global tourism best practices. He is a contributing editor and columnist for National Geographic Adventure magazine and Chairman of the Adventures in Travel Expo Conferences. Costas works with Big Five Tours and Expeditions on their "Spirit of Big Five" travel philanthropy program that helps to protect the cultural and natural heritage of our planet. His travels and sustainable tourism work have taken him to more than 100 countries and six continents.

He is a founding member and former Chairman of the Board of The International Ecotourism Society and served as a Senior Director for Ecotourism at Conservation International in Washington DC, where he supervised sustainable tourism development projects in 22 countries.

In addition to his monthly column in National Geographic Adventure, Costas' articles and essays on travel and tourism have appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune, and Times of London. He is the lead author of Tourism and Biodiversity: Mapping Tourism Global Footprint and a contributing author in Wilderness: Earth's Last Wild Places and has appeared many times on television and radio, including CNN, BBC, National Public Radio, CBS, ABC, and NBC. He is a frequent keynote speaker at international tourism conferences and has designed and led sustainable tourism training programs and workshops worldwide.

Kristin Dahle - Even though tourism is a new field for Kristin, travel and adventure have played a major role in her life. In her younger days she traveled extensively and now she brings her husband and three children around the world to share her passion. Kristin is grateful that she now is able to combine one of her great interests with her professional life.

Kristin joined Innovation Norway New York in January 2007 as Director of Tourism Americas.
She has a broad experience within marketing and has held executive marketing and management positions within several industries; media, consumer goods, medical device and the restaurant business. She has been representing companies as Bristol Myers-Squibb, Gillette and Eastman Kodak Company. Her favourite job though, was the years she spent as a ski instructor in the Norwegian mountains.

Kristin has a degree in economy and marketing from IHM Business School in Stockholm.

Scott Fitzsimmons - President of Seattle-based Zegrahm Expeditions and a Fellow of the Explorers Club, Scott has spent a quarter of a century in the travel industry, serving as a field leader and holding a wide variety of executive positions. After graduating from the University of Washington, Scott was among the first U.S. tour leaders in China, shortly thereafter managing the planning of tours to the country. During his subsequent administrative tenure at three different cruise lines, Scott became acquainted with the Zegrahm Expeditions founders, and eventually joined the company in 1997. Scott has traveled extensively; while at Zegrahm he has been involved in the development, sales/marketing, and operations of many innovative travel programs. Scott has lead groups to Star City, Russia, for basic cosmonaut space training, submersible dives to the Titanic, scouted emerging destinations like Libya and Algeria, and led a variety of group adventures world-wide.

Jerre Fuqua is President of First Choice Expeditions based in the U.S. A 23-year veteran of travel marketing and management, Fuqua oversees the strategic development and brand positioning of the subsidiary companies including Travcoa, Intrav, Country Walkers, TCS Expeditions, International Expeditions, Park East, Caradonna Dive Adventures and iExplore Travel.

A fifth-generation Colorado native Fuqua has been active in the outdoors from an early age. He moved to Alaska after college in the mid 1980s and was dedicated to responsible growth of the Alaska travel industry for more than 20 years.

As an executive for Glacier Bay Tours and Cruises, the concessionaire for Glacier Bay National Park, he helped to create a small-ship and adventure travel niche by incorporating naturalist led sea kayaking, hiking, and cruising by inflatable landing craft in Alaska's backcountry waterways. He also developed the "School of Adventurology" and "Certified Adventurist" training curriculum, adopted by The Travel Institute to help travel sellers better understand the adventure traveler.

Wendy Hesketh is born in Mexico with british background, studied languages and has been an entrepreneur in many areas like fashion and furniture design, printing, trade show organization and consulting in strategic planning. Organizer of the Adventure and ecotourism expo in Mexico City which in 2007 will celelbrate it's 9th edition. President for 2 periods of AMPROFEC (Trade show, convention and meetings association) and presently in her second period as president of AMTAVE.

K.C. Hoppe joined Virtuoso in January 2007 as the director of their tour operator program, currently consisting of 65 suppliers. She also manages VAST (Virtuoso Active & Specialty Travel) - a collection of 29 active and specialty travel companies who collaborate on joint marketing and sales initiatives to maximize their exposure within the Virtuoso network and with consumers. Prior to joining Virtuoso, K.C. worked with Backroads as Marketing Partnerships Manager for 10 years. In this role, KC oversaw their travel industry program including their Virtuoso relationship and organized partnerships and promotions with internationally recognized organizations, foundations and publications. K.C. was instrumental in the launch of Virtuoso's VAST program, having served as advisory board chairperson for three years. She also worked as a Concierge at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, San Francisco and in Paris, France as a Sales Assistant for Hotel Information Systems.

KC enjoys biking, yoga and swimming and of course international travel. She works from her home office in Alameda, CA (a small island south of Oakland) with her husband, Ted, and 7-year old son, Jack.

Michael Kaye - Born December 11, 1941, is not only the CEO and President of CRE but also a pioneer in eco-tourism and adventure travel. In 1978, Michael started the first rafting company in Costa Rica. Since that time his vision and focus have created a company that is known the world around for its high quality of service and it's dedication to sustainable development. Michael's writings include the ecotourism essay for the 15th anniversary issue of CONDENAST TRAVELER, and the forward on eco-lodge design for JUNGLE LUXE, a coffee table book on, "Indigenous-Style Hotel and Remote Resort Design Around the World," by Justin Henderson. When he is not at work (rarely) or pounding out emails (always) you will find him and his wife of 28 years, Yolanda, cruising the roads and trails of Costa Rica on their tandem mountain bike. Michael was also a guest speaker at the ATTA's 2005 Adventure Travel World Summit.

Kristin Lamoureux is the Director of the International Institute of Tourism Studies at The George Washington University, as well as an adjunct faculty member of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, specializing in the planning and development of sustainable tourism. Currently, her duties include the oversight of all IITS activities including the Career Education Program and the administration of all grants/contracts such as the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail Interactive Guide project with the US National Park Service and a USAID project focused on Sustainable Tourism Development in Rural Areas of Mozambique.

Additionally, she is involved in several projects focusing on the development of tourism competitive clusters as a means for economic development in various destinations including Bulgaria, Dominican Republic and others. Ms Lamoureux served as a consultant on a World Bank funded project entitled "Honduras: Sustainable Coastal Tourism Project" intended to lessen poverty in the Northern Coastal regions of Honduras. She has also worked as tourism consultant to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Ecotourism Society, and Conservation International, among others.

Ms. Lamoureux has been involved in tourism projects within the United States as well as abroad beginning with Ecuador where she lived for several years. She has an A.S. from La Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, a B.S. from Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island and a M.T.A. (Master of Tourism Administration) from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She is presently completing a Ph.D. in Business Administration with a focus on Strategic Management and Tourism Development at the same university.

Praveen Moman is co-founder and managing director of Volcanoes Safaris, a unique great ape eco-tourism business that specializes in mountain gorilla safaris to Uganda and Rwanda and was set up in 1997. Today Volcanoes has over a hundred staff, four ecolodges that Praveen has built and offices in Uganda, Rwanda, the UK and USA. Praveen was born and grew up on safari in Uganda before the winds of change brought him to Britain; he now divides his time between Africa and London. He was keen to make a contribution to the continent where he was born and to the rebuilding of the Great Lakes region after a decade of conflict. Praveen is responsible for designing and building Volcanoes eco-lodges, the company's extensive in-house empowerment program, the company's Partnership activities and the future development of this special brand. Praveen believes strongly that partnerships between the private sector, communities, park authorities and conservation organisations are essential to protect the threatened great apes of Africa and to give communities a stake in this process. As part of this approach, Volcanoes' empowerment program ensures that the management of its safari and lodge operations is in the hands of African staff, many of whom have survived conflict. As the "public voice of Volcanoes", he regularly lectures in the USA and Europe on the unique great ape eco-tourism model that Volcanoes has created and acts as a consultant to governments and non-profit organisations on developing eco-tourism elsewhere in Africa.

Praveen has a first degree in the Biological Sciences from London University and a Master of Philosophy in Art History from Cambridge University. Before he founded Volcanoes, he had a long career in policy making and politics. He worked as a political adviser for a number of Ministers in the UK including Lord Heseltine, the former Deputy Prime Minister in the UK; Lord Newton, when he was Leader of the House of Commons, based in Parliament and in the Cabinet Office; Lord Renton when he was Minister of the Arts and was involved in the creation of the Department of Culture and the setting up of the National Lottery; he worked as a member of the Cabinet of Lord Cockfield, Vice President of the European Commission, working on the creation of the European Internal Market; and as a member of the secretariat of advisers for Conservative MEPs in the European Parliament dealing with Africa, development and international relations. He is a European Parliament Robert Schuman scholar. He also worked as a policy official in the Confederation of British Industry and ran a company undertaking property refurbishment in London. Praveen is a trustee of Seva Mandir UK, a respected Indian charity working with rural communities in Rajasthan, India. He is a former VSO volunteer in Jamaica. Age 52.

Peter Rudy - In 1994, I took my first trip with KE as a client. In my years with KE since, I have served as legal counsel, trip designer, and trip leader. I met my wife while designing a cycling trip through the Serengeti. Currently, I am a director of the company, with responsibilities for sales, marketing and operations for North America.

Chris Seek is a marketing consultant and international tourism development specialist with over 7 years of experience. During the last 5 years of work in tourism development, Chris has provided marketing and consulting services to over 300 tourism micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and tourism associations in over 17 countries. Services included business planning, website development, graphic design, Internet marketing, photography, virtual tours, video production, international representation, cluster development, business development training, sustainable tourism certification, cross promotion advertising campaigns, and travel trade seminars. Chris holds an MBA in Marketing and Sustainable Tourism from American University in Washington DC. and a BA in communications from Wake Forest University.

Alicia Stevens is the Senior Advisor for International Business Development Director of AMNH Expeditions, the educational travel program of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. AMNH Expeditions offers more than sixty educational expeditions around the world each year in the company of museum scientists to all seven continents, with emphasis on Africa, the Middle East, Russia and the Former Soviet Republics, Central, East, and South Asia, and the Polar regions.

In addition to her role at AMNH Expeditions, Ms. Stevens is active in sustainable tourism efforts, serving as a consultant on sustainable tourism for the United Nations and the National Geographic Society, coordinating seminars on sustainable tourism for the American Museum of Natural History and the World Bank, and serving as a judge for the Smithsonian Institution's Sustainable Tourism Awards. She joined the American Museum's delegation to the United Nations Earth Summit in Johannesburg in 2003 and represented cultural tourism at the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in 2004.

Ms. Steven's travels take her all over the world, and she is a member of many international organizations, including The Explorers Club and the Advisory Counsel of the Educational Travel Community. Prior to joining the American Museum, Ms. Stevens coordinated educational seminars for the Smithsonian Institution.

Ang Tshering Sherpa is the President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, Managing Director of Asian Trekking of Kathmandu, Nepal, and Honorary Consul of Belgium to Nepal. With more than 30 years experience in the travel trade, he serves as (executive) chairman of numerous respected travel, hotel and transportation organizations. Among his many accomplishments, he's served as Vice President of Trekking Agents Association of Nepal, as advisor of the Sherpa Association of Nepal, earned lifetime membership of the of Human Rights Organization of Nepal, served as the Honorary Leader of China Tibet Expedition to All 14 Peaks of above 8000m to Mt. Lhotse and as Chairman of Poverty Focus Tourism Development Programme - Nepal, as Advisor of Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (2002 - 2005), as Leader of Nepal-China Golden Jubilee Friendship Expedition 2005 organized by The Government of Nepal & China, as a Member of High Level Committee under the Chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal for the Golden Jubilee Celebration(2006) of establishment of Diplomatic relation between Nepal & Japan, and as Leader of NMA Delegation to UAAA general Assembly in Beijing, China 2006. Among his many awards, Ang Tshering Sherpa was decorated "The mark of honour of knight in the Order of Leopold" by Majesty the King of Belgium, and "Suprabal Gorkhadakshin Bahu" by His Majesty the King of Nepal. Additionally, he earned the life time achievement Award for the highest contribution in the field of Tourism on the Occasion of Nepal Unification day 2058 BS, the "MAN OF THE YEAR 2002" by the American Biographical Institute Board of International Research, USA, and the "2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century" Nominated and Declared by International Geographical Center Cambridge.

Richard Weiss is an active/adventure travel industry veteran with over 30 years experience in the field. Originally a New Yorker with an undergraduate degree from Stanford, he moved to Canada in the late 1960s after a disagreement with the US government over his role in foreign policy, particularly in Southeast Asia. He stayed in Toronto for twenty years where he received an MA from the University of Toronto in Classical Chinese Poetry. Richard began his career in the adventure travel business leading wilderness trips for the Sierra Club in the late 1960s canoeing and backpacking throughout Canada and Europe. After a couple of failed but interesting careers (college academic, professional chef, et al.), he quickly got more comfortable and better fed by leading bike trips for Toronto-based Butterfield & Robinson in France and Italy, becoming their Director of European Operations in the mid-1980s. He returned to the US in 1988 to head the international division of Vermont Country Cyclers. Richard’s shift back to more adventurous travel started when he became CEO of Mountain Travel Sobek in 1995. Since then he has held senior executive positions with Backroads and Grand Expeditions, where he had responsibility for five GrandEx companies from Vermont to Boca Raton as President of the Eco/Adventure platform. Most recently Richard spent two years setting up Adventures by Disney, The Walt Disney Company’s entry in the (so-called) active travel space. Richard supports a variety of non-profit ventures by sitting on a number of boards of directors over the years. These include: The International Ecotourism Society, Environmental Traveling Companions (offering rafting and seakayaking to disabled children), Sustainable Travel International, Global Service Corps, Travelers’ Philanthropy Fund and others. He currently heads Strategic Travel Consulting, an Oakland-based consulting firm, where he offers all levels of travel-related consulting, and manages his executive and life coaching practices.