Kate Charters - Principal, Organisational Management and Executive Services

Kate Charters is a Director of Management Solutions (Qld) Pty Ltd, a professional development and training company with particular interest in regional and rural issues at public policy and service delivery levels. Kate has worked at senior levels in government in policy and management and conducted a number of organisational and service reviews across a range of agencies including community groups, peak bodies, government and tertiary institutions. Kate’s interests are particularly in maintaining program and service integrity in the transition from policy to implementation and creating environments which optimize organisations’ abilities to be creative and motivated to set and achieve their goals.

Kate chairs the National Steering Committee for Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia (SEGRA) conference. SEGRA is Australia’s premier conference and is recognised as Australia’s most credible independent voice on issues affecting regional Australia.

Tony Charters has over 25 years' experience in nature based recreation and sustainable tourism planning, development and management across the public, private and non government sectors. Over the past 15 years he has contributed significantly to the development of more sustainable practices and professionalism within the tourism industry, both nationally and internationally. Tony has a history of innovation and success conceiving and contributing to leading edge projects that have pushed the boundaries of protected area management and sustainable recreation and tourism. These include:

• developing benchmark ecotourism initiatives;
• providing leadership in industry development;
• driving strategic and destination planning for sustainable tourism and;
• initiating stakeholder engagement and partnership development.

He also undertakes industry conferences driven by policy agendas and relevant current industry issues. He initiated the Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia national conference, now in its twelfth year, and continues to successfully convene the Tourism Futures Conference, now in its eight year. He has also convened many national and international conferences for Ecotourism Australia and is currently the convenor of the organisation’s Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference. Tony serves on the Board of Ecotourism Australia and of The International Ecotourism Society.

Tony is the principal of Tony Charters and Associates which retains specialists in tourism research; planning and development; nature and ecotourism; sustainability; climate change and certification. We assist leading tourism operators; protected area managers, tourism commissions and industry bodies with: destination development and marketing; strategic planning; sustainability; bridging the public and private sectors; eco-lodge design; climate change response; media commentary and advocacy.

Jessica is the Business and Event Manager for Management Solutions (Qld).  Jessica has high level budget, administrative and coordination responsibilities for the four business branches of the company.  Jessica also provides the professional conference services related to the conduct of the Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia Conference as well as secondary roles related to a number of other national and international conferences conducted by Tony Charters and Associates.

Raine Davies holds a degree in Event Management and has 6 years of international experience in event and project management, with major events in her portfolio including the Australian of the Year Awards 2010 and the V Festival, UK 2006.

She has coordinated:

• State and National award projects for Ministers and the Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh for the Department of the Premier and Cabinet and the Office for Women, Queensland Government;
• a variety of worldwide superyacht events (conferences, boat shows, exhibitions and awards) for the superyacht magazines Boat International and Dockwalk; and
• sponsorship for major UK festivals, including Isle of Wight and V Festival;

Rebecca Arthurell holds a Bachelor of Tourism Management degree from the University of Technology Sydney. Through various roles within the tourism industry she has acquired strong skills in areas such as events management, business administration and tourism marketing. In 2008 Rebecca completed a twelve month internship with Tourism Australia and has also worked on events such as the 2009 Gold Coast Airport Marathon and World Youth Week Sydney.

Annelies is a Tourism Analyst and Conference Coordinator for Tony Charters and Associates and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Tourism Management. In previous small business positions and through extensive travel she has developed excellent administration and organisational skills as well as practical insights in the tourism industry. She has strong interpersonal and communication skills and over the last 3 years with Tony Charters and Associates has continued to provide valuable project support, co-ordination and liaison for both the projects division and the conference secretariat for the national Tourism Futures Conference.

As the Coordinator of the Ecotourism Australia’s highly credited Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference, Annelies is responsible for the organisation and staging of the conference liaising with multiple stakeholders to develop the conference program and facilitate stakeholder engagement as well as coordinating marketing campaigns.

Annelies is adept at developing and coordinating complex travel arrangements and itineraries involving large numbers of people and multiple locations. She also has a high level of familiarity with the tourism network of industry associations, government bodies and relevant stakeholder organisations. She has experience in website development and maintenance and project, administration and accounts management.