PRESENTED BY:

Alex Bernardes | Director General at LGBT+ Turismo EXPO

Alex Bernardes is a communications professional with over 20 years of experience in marketing coordination and event production. He is the co-founder of Brazil’s only printed LGBT+ tourism magazine, which he managed from 2008 to 2022, contributing significantly to the visibility of LGBT+ tourism. He also founded and serves as the general director of the LGBT+ Tourism Expo, the largest B2B event in Latin America focused on LGBT+ tourism, and co-organized the first LGBT+ Tourism Pavilion at Festuris, a major milestone for the industry.
Alex has shared his expertise on Brazilian LGBT+ tourism at international forums such as GNETWORK360 in Argentina, where he has been a featured speaker at eight editions, and We Trade in Colombia. Domestically, he has spoken at key events, including ABAV, WTM, the BLTA Forum, and the LGBTI+ Business and Rights Forum, among others.
In addition to his work as a speaker and event organizer, Alex is the creator of “Understand to Better Serve,” a training program aimed at helping the tourism trade better serve the LGBT+ community. His extensive experience and dedication have established him as a leader and advocate for inclusivity in tourism across Latin America and beyond.

 Laís Souza​ |  Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager– Talent & Culture at Accor

Laís is a passionate Social Scientist with a strong academic foundation and specializations in Operations Administration, Social Project Management, and Diversity and Social Inclusion in Human Rights. Her career reflects a steadfast commitment to promoting equality and fostering inclusive spaces.

Currently serving as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Manager at Accor, Laís is at the forefront of driving transformative initiatives across the Americas region. She collaborates closely with affinity groups and diversity committees, implementing comprehensive strategies that embed DEI principles into the organization's culture and operations.

With a deep understanding of the complexities of human rights and social inclusion, Laís works to empower underrepresented groups, promote equitable opportunities, and inspire systemic change. Her leadership not only advances Accor’s DEI goals but also sets a benchmark for inclusivity within the global hospitality industry.

Mie Kitano​ | SynFiny Advisors Japan representative, Non Executive Director of Shimadzu

Mie Kitano is the Japan representative, Partner of Synfiny Advisors a consulting firm focused on Operational and Organizational improvements with Advisors in Japan and across the globe from 2022.

Prior to this she has 30 years of corporate leadership in end to end Supply chain, Procurement, Sustainability and Communications at Proctor & Gamble and as the head of Corporate Relations, Executive officer managing Government affairs, Patient Advocacy, Market Access, CSR and Communications at Eli Lilly Japan. She has worked with multi-cultural organizations developed through on the ground assignments in Germany, US and Japan.

Outside of her work for over 10 years, she also contributed passionately to D&I and talent development as the co-leader of American Chamber of Commerce Japan (ACCJ) Business Programs Committee and previously as the leader of ACCJ Women in Business Committee where she has been recognized as the leader of the year.

She is serving as an external advisor for JETRO Osaka and Kobe City Gender Equality center.

 Bella Vongvisitsin​ | Co-founder, Inclusive Tourism Asia; Senior Lecturer, Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Dr Bella Vongvisitsin (she/her), a Senior Lecturer at Hong Kong Metropolitan University and co-founder of Inclusive Tourism Asia, is a seasoned scholar in tourism management with a focus on community-based tourism, diversity and inclusion, and tech start-up entrepreneurship. She has led impactful tourism development projects in Thailand, Hong Kong, ASEAN, and Asia-Pacific. Advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, she is a former President of ILGA Asia Foundation, an award-winning civil society organization. Bella’s expertise spans community development, inclusive tourism, and service design. She was also a recipient of the 2018 IGLTA-PATA Building Bridges Fellowship, attending the ILGTA Global Convention in Toronto. Her experience with IGLTA has inspired her to create Inclusive Tourism Asia as a consortium of LGBTQ+ scholars in Asia, working on meaningful projects delving into the Asian nuances of LGBTQ+ tourism.

Donnya (Zi) Piggott | CEO and Co-Founder, Pink Coconuts

Donnya (also Zi) is the Caribbean Lead for Open For Business, Open For Business is a coalition of leading global companies dedicated to LGBT+ inclusion across the world. Zi is also a Product Manager, CEO and Co-Founder of Pink Coconuts - a new LGBTQ+ travel startup focused on creating spaces for queer travellers to thrive. Zi was given the prestigious Queen's Young Leader Award by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for their work as an LGBTQ Caribbean Advocate and the co-founder of B-GLAD, an LGBTQ organisation focussed on advancing the social, political and economic environment for LGBTQ people to live, work and play. Zi has spoken at forums like TEDx Bridgetown, Heineken's National Conference, UK Black Pride, One Young World, Human Rights Campaign, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta & London, International Gay and Lesbian Association Conference in New Zealand. In 2017 Zi became a Watson University Scholar focused on Social Entrepreneurship in Boulder, Colorado. In 2019, Zi was named the winner of the Sustainable Development Goal 10 Challenge by One Young World - a world wide organization and competition which saw thousands of entries from all around the world. Zi received the award at the annual conference in London that year. In 2021, Zi was the reciepient of the David Martin Business Fellowship Award by the International LGBTQ Travel Association.

Maria Cuba | Director of Community Partnerships, Airbnb

Maria Cuba is a Puerto Rico native raised in Massachusetts. She is one of Airbnb’s earliest employees and the founder of their Latino ERG “Juntos”. Her work focuses on working with and for multicultural communities at Airbnb as the Director of Community Partnerships. Previously, she was the Global Diversity Lead for Airbnb’s Experiences platform bringing equitable opportunities and representation to hosts from all demographics.  Her current work also centers on creating inclusive products and ensuring the dignified representation of all people. She is the former co-vice-chair of the IGLTA Foundation board and a current board member for the IGLTA, also serving as an advisor to multiple socially focused organizations. Maria loves birds, puzzles, big trees and a story with a good plot. Her paths lead to continued advocacy for underserved communities.

Fabrice Houdart | Executive director, Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors

Besides his role as Executive Director of the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors, Fabrice consults with Fortune 500 companies on LGBTQ+ issues and teaches at Georgetown University a class titled “Queering International Development.”

He worked for the United Nations/World Bank system for 19 years. Among other roles, he served as a Human Rights Officer at the United Nations in New York from 2016-2020. He co-authored and led the UN Global LGBTQ+ Standards of Conduct for Business, the largest corporate social responsibility initiative on LGBTQ+ issues globally.

Fabrice volunteers on several non-profit Boards, including Outright Action International, Housing Works, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, and Open for Business. However, Fabrice’s most important work is parenting his ten-year-old twins, Maxime and Eitan. He has been a member of the Cosmos Club since March 2020.

Núria Abellan Calvet | Professor, CETT Barcelona

Núria Abellan Calvet (she/her) is a Professor at CETT Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy. She holds a Tourism Degree from CETT and a Master’s Degree in Gender Studies from the University of Sussex. She is currently working on her PhD through CETT and the University of Lleida, focusing on Lesbian Tourism. She is also the coordinator of the Master’s in LGBT Tourism, and her research focuses on gender perspective on tourism, LGBTIQ tourism, and cultural heritage.

You can follow her on LinkedIn and Twitter at @Abellan Calvet, and you can consult her publications through her Orcid ID 0000-0002-1174-1272 and her Google Scholar account: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6dFYdTEAAAAJ&hl=en.

Sean Howell | Co-Founder, Buffalo Market

Sean Howell serves as the CEO of the LGBT Foundation, a not-for-profit organization with the mission to utilize blockchain technology to achieve equal rights and acceptance for all members of the LGBT+ community worldwide. He is currently Chairman and one of the founders of Hornet, a gay dating and social network, where Sean helped the company grow its user base to 25 million and its editorial division to become the largest global LGBT+ newsroom at Hornet, Howell also oversaw the company's corporate responsibility efforts under Hornet impact, organizing social justice and health related activations. Prior to Hornet, Sean Howell was a fellow of the World Affairs Council, as well as a Trustee and President of the Young Professional International Network. He has helped numerous organizations leverage technology to expand their impact through his work with the MSM Global Forum along with serving on various nonprofit boards and committees including UNAIDS, E-CDC, PFLAG and chair of the center for public health and human rights at Johns Hopkins university. He is a founding member of the UN Global Coalition for HIV prevention and technical advisor to UNDP’s LGBTI inclusion index. He has published scientific papers and is the principal investigator in the upcoming UNAIDS global study on LGBT wellness. 

Amine Gabbouj | Coordinator, IGLTA Foundation

Amine Gabbouj is committed to promoting equality and advocating for LGBTQ+ tourism in developing destinations. He serves as the coordinator of the IGLTA Foundation, leveraging his expertise in international tourism management to drive positive change in the industry.

Amine holds a Master's degree from the Higher International Institute of Tourism in Tangier, where he honed his skills in tourism management. He recently graduated from CETT, an affiliate of the University of Barcelona, where he completed the first-ever LGBTQ+ tourism master's program in history.

Amine is committed to creating a more inclusive and welcoming tourism industry for LGBTQ+ travelers, particularly in emerging destinations where infrastructure and awareness are lacking. Through his work with the IGLTA Foundation and beyond, he is dedicated to driving progress and promoting positive change in the industry.

BIlly Kolber​ | Co-Founder and CEO, HospitableMe

BIlly Kolber is a renowned voice in the LGBTQ+ travel segment, and a global innovator in inclusive hospitality. As the Co-Founder and CEO of HospitableMe, he and his team provide inclusive hospitality strategy and training for tourism, retail and healthcare organizations around the world, helping them provide a more respectful and inclusive welcome to diverse customers, patients and guests. Their clients include some of the world’s most respected and powerful brands, including Booking.com, NYC & Company, The Kering Group, Discover Puerto Rico, The Travel Corporation, AIG Travel, and Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB. 

Billy has a degree in Biology from Yale University, but has spent his entire career in travel, running an American Express travel agency before launching OUT&ABOUT, the first gay and lesbian travel magazine in the USA. He launched ManAboutWorld Magazine in 2012, one of the first built-for-mobile magazines of any kind, and HospitableMe in 2017. Currently, he and the HospitableMe team are launching a new curriculum:  Everyone Welcome: Seven Secret Principles of Inclusive Hospitality. This innovative approach to diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging empowers hospitality providers to provide more personalized, authentic and considerate service to all guests, through the lens of 14 different forms of diversity/identity. 

Billy traveled and sang around the world with the Yale Whiffenpoofs, was a top selling Avon Representative for a decade (including 4 years as #1 in Avon’s Manhattan headquarters district), and is a two-time annual Pie Contest champion in Water Island. He served on the board of Yale.NYC for seven years, plus four years on the Yale Alumni Board of Governors, and is the only two-time recipient of a Yale Alumni Leadership Award. A 3rd generation native New Yorker, he has visited 74 countries, and currently lives with his husband in Frankfurt, Germany.

Jamie Anne Harrell | Emory university's Goizueta Business School

Jamie Anne Harrell (she/her) is the business intelligence and data analytics lead at Emory university's Goizueta Business School, where she earned her MBA in 2016. Jamie leads the financial reporting and analytics department at Goizueta, and is responsible for the school’s operational data analytics strategy.
With over 20 years of experience in the hardware and software  industry, Jamie has held VP positions in two public companies and has co-founded and sold two self-funded software startups. Jamie was the first openly transgender graduate of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. She is a keynote speaker on diversity. Her DE&I speaking events have included moderating Goizeuta’s Out in Business panel, and keynote sessions at the Atlanta Women Who Code affiliated conferences. Notably, she was the keynote speaker at The Center for Civil and Human Rights / LGBT Institute’s Diversity in Business Forum in 2017. In 2018 Jamie received the prestigious Atlanta Business Chronicle inaugural Diversity and Inclusion award for Outstanding Voice, and in 2019 she was named Transgender Advocate of the Year at Emory University. She currently serves as member at large on the Goizueta Business School Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Council. As a community organizer, she also volunteers to run the Atlanta Trans Social Group. Jamie was past PTA co-president at her daughter’s elementary school, is the proud parent of two wonderful daughters, Sparrow Nicole and Anna Christina Harrell. She is a self-produced musician with her debut instrumental album “Memories of Home” released on December 21, 2020.  

Greg DeShields | Executive Director, Tourism Diversity Matters 

Greg is a qualified Tourism/Hospitality and Academic Professional Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE) proficient in developing and implementing plans, strategies, and initiatives specifically designed to raise destinations image for diverse, multicultural travel. He is also an experienced Certified Diversity Executive (CDE), with demonstrated cultural competence, strategically positioned to assist organizations to remove systemic barriers to inclusion, lead culture change, and transform their brand. A longtime tourism and hospitality professional, Greg is a native Philadelphian with a passion for his work and is dedicated to giving back to the next generation of hospitality leaders. Tourism Diversity Matters is a new organization that was founded as the collaborative leader of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives and concepts that can address the blind spots of ethnic disparities and provide decision-makers in the tourism and events industry access, resources, and tactics to develop more effective Diversity & Inclusion strategies that will engage and retain a diverse workforce.

Zoe Moore | Strategic EDI Consultant, Grow with Zomo
A Strategic Equity, Diversity & Inclusion consultant, Zoe Moore is challenging the status quo across the hospitality, events and tourism industries. She is using her platforms to educate leaders about supplier diversity, inclusive organizational culture and diverse representation in leadership. 

Zoe Moore resides in Smyrna, GA with her 18-year-old son, Jourden Moore of JEM Innovations. She loves homemade chocolate chip cookies, photography and traveling.

Daniela Wagner  | Group Business Development Director at Jacobs Media Group & Director of EMEA, Pacific Asia Travel Association, (United Kingdom)

Daniela Wagner heads up the international team at Jacobs Media Group, the group’s international marketing services brand, providing strategic services, market intelligence, dedicated global events, networking and partnership building with companies wishing to target the UK travel trade, or for the UK businesses seeking to internationalise. Daniela has a demonstrable track record of outstanding achievement within the travel industry and has applied her entrepreneurial and interpersonal skills very effectively in large corporate and start-up environments. Fluent in both German and French, she has an extensive network of top-level industry contacts around the globe. In addition to her role at Jacobs Media Group, Daniela is also Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa at PATA, responsible for driving strategic relationships with international institutions and private companies. She is also responsible for coordinating European PATA chapters, recruiting and retaining members, coordinating key events (including PATA Advocacy dinner) and securing sponsorship.

Fred Mayo | MBA, PhD, CHT, CHE

Fred Mayo, MBA, PhD, CHT, CHE, retired in December 2019 from fifteen years as Clinical Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management at New York University.  Before that, he ran his own consulting firm and was the dean of the faculty at The Culinary Institute of America for twelve years.  His book Planning an Applied Research Project in Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management was published in 2013 by Wiley; Modern American Manners: Etiquette Advice for Hosts and Guests was published in 2017 by Skyhorse Press.  He has presented research on etiquette and soft skills at EUROCHRIE and lectured at etiquette dinners for a number of college program.  Currently serving as Executive Director of Outreach and Partnerships (interim) for ICHRIE, he has been coordinating and presenting talks and workshops at ICHRIE for the past twenty-five years.