Emerging Tourism Leaders Summit
From Learning to Leading
Full Program Coming Soon.
Felicia Mariani
CEO – VTIC
Felicia has had a long and accomplished career in the tourism, entertainment, and events sectors across both the USA and Australia. Commencing her Australian career in Melbourne in the early 90’s, Felicia joined the team at Tourism Victoria responsible for launching the highly successful and internationally lauded “You’ll Love Every Piece of Victoria” campaign. Felicia leads Victoria’s peak body for the tourism and events industry. She has held senior management roles in Tourism Victoria and Tourism NSW, is a former CEO of Tourism Tasmania, and was Managing Director of the Australian Tourism Export Council. Felicia is passionate about the power of tourism and events to drive regional economies.
Phillipa Harrison
Managing Director – Tourism Australia
Phillipa is the Managing Director of Tourism Australia and is responsible for driving Tourism Australia’s strategies to create sustainable demand for Australia’s tourism experiences internationally, and working with the tourism industry to support the sector’s recovery. Phillipa first joined Tourism Australia in February 2017 as Executive General Manager International, to lead the organisation’s international operations for Asia, the Americas, Europe and New Zealand as well as Global Distribution and Partnerships. Prior to joining Tourism Australia, Ms Harrison spent six years working for Hamilton Island Enterprises and before that held a variety of globally-focused senior sales, marketing and product roles across ecommerce, retail and wholesale tourism platforms, based in both London and Sydney.
Sara Quon
CEO – Sovereign Hill
Sara Quon has been the CEO of Ballarat’s Sovereign Hill Museums Association since 2019. Sara is passionate about the award-winning outdoor museum’s place in the cultural, economic and social fabric of Ballarat. She was the inaugural CEO of Tourism North East, the regional tourism board for the Victorian High Country and has worked in senior roles in major events, food export, innovation and strategy, both in Australia and internationally. Ms Quon sits on the board of the Committee for Ballarat and the Executive of the Council of Australasian Museum Directors. She was previously a board member of Outdoors Victoria and HotHouse Theatre and a member of the Federation University Business School Industry Advisory Group.
Simon Kuestenmacher
Director and Co-founder – The Demographics Group
Simon presents on demographic and global trends that are shaping Australia today and into the future and his observations are enjoyed by corporate, government and industry audiences alike. He is a columnist for The New Daily newspaper and a regular contributor to The Australian newspaper; and he is a media commentator on demographic and data matters. In his spare time Simon has authored three books on maps and runs what is by now the world’s largest Twitter account dedicated to maps and data. His social media posts reach over 35 million people every month. Simon ranks as one of the world’s top 10 influencers in data.
Christopher Jakobi
Aboriginal Learning Officer – Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria
Jakobi is a proud Djap Wurrung man of Western Victoria and Aboriginal Learning Officer at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV). RBGV leads in nature-based educational programs focused on First Peoples culture, Science & STEM, Sustainability and Health & Nature connection. Jakobi is passionate about tourism and education, he strongly believes in harnessing the power of storytelling to engage people through traditional ecological knowledge and science communication. Through sharing culture, knowledge and stories, connecting tourists and students alike to land and water through plants and landscapes and exploring our own obligations to Care for the Country.
Taryn Elder
MC
Taryn is a former media broadcaster turned senior content director, with 15+ years of experience working for some of Australia’s biggest tourism, sports and major events brands. Passionate about all things travel and events, Taryn has a wealth of experience working directly with tourism organisations and operators on innovative campaigns, social media and content projects. Taryn oversaw the transformation of Visit Victoria’s social and digital media channels, managed the commercial distribution of AFL’s Media’s multi-million dollar content program, relaunched Cricket Australia’s digital media strategy and has worked on hundreds of content projects that have reached millions of fans globally.
Alex Dugdale
Director – Lift Up Leadership
Alex focuses on transforming frontline managers into effective leaders at his organisation LiftUp Leadership. Leveraging two decades of sales, customer success and leadership development experience, he supports people in defining and achieving their leadership goals while empowering their direct team to perform at their best. Alex has Global Fortune 500 Company experience, consulting C-Suite and has trained hundreds of leaders in more than 30 countries specialising in helping managers build and forge their leadership philosophy.
Matt Sykes
Founder and Chief Regen Officer – Regeneration Projects
Matt’s professional background includes business consultancy, landscape architecture, environmental advocacy and tourism development. He grew up at the intersection of Boonwurrung and Gunaikurnai Country in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Learning from First Nations Elders as well as Western eco-pioneers has shaped Matt’s unique approach to business. He has the ability to move between big systems-level thinking and grassroots localised action, always looking for a practical starting point and clearly communicating the steps forward.
Madeleine Sawyer
Tourism Midwest Victoria
As a proud advocate of tourism as a profession, Madeleine has taken on roles across the industry in the accommodation sector, the caravan and camping industry, in research and industry development. She is passionate about the important role that the visitor economy plays in telling the story of a region, culture and people, all the while enriching the lives of the community when developed and managed in a sustainable manner. In her current role at Tourism Midwest Victoria, she is working to empower and advocate these benefits for the Ballarat region through tourism product and industry development.
Izabelle So
Digital Marketing Officer – Bendigo Tourism
Since commencing work in the tourism industry in 2014, Izabelle has played a key role to help position Bendigo as a leader in regional Australia. Izzy has been integral in coordinating Bendigo’s digital promotions of its major events and exhibitions and has worked closely with local businesses to build the digital capacity for the region. Izzy has made a big impact across the Bendigo region by successfully project managing the region’s new website platform, developing six tourism websites. Izzy is the winner of 2019 VTIC Young Achievers Awards and has been a part of the multiple awards winning team in Bendigo.
Ebony Flett
Red Hill Candle Co
Over two decades of working in tourism, hospitality, and events lead Ebony Flett to establish Red Hill Candle Co in 2016. Ebony’s diverse professional background includes local council and private sector experience across multiple countries. A passionate advocate for the industry, Ebony is committed to inspiring future leaders through her journey of adaptability, resilience, and innovation.
More Speakers To Come.
Your Questions Answered
Yes! We are offering regional Victorian’s tickets at member prices. Get in touch with your local regional tourism board for the offer code.
You can also get in touch with us via info@youngtourismnetwork.com.au.
We’ve designed the pricing with students in mind so we don’t have a discount on the ticket price specifically for students.
If you’re a student with one of our education provider partners, we do offer a discount to sign up as a member. Talk to your education provider to see if they are a partner!
You heard right!
We’ll be holding an after party in the city following the conference and we’d love for you to come along. There will be entertainment, drinks, food and a chance to talk about what you learnt at the summit.
We’ll be announcing more details soon.
- Complimentary parking is available onsite.
- By tram – take route 57 tram and disembark at stop 32 (Showgrounds Village Shopping Centre)
- By bus – take bus no.472 or no.404
- Pop in for an hour or stay for a while – it’s free to attend.
Choose Tourism – an Australian Government initiative.
