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Ian Powell - Chair
Managing Director & GM, Paul's Restaurants Ltd.
& GM, Inn at Laurel Point
After obtaining a degree in Hotel Administration at the Birmingham College of Food in England, Ian immigrated to Canada in 1978 and spent the next 16 years in various senior level management positions for both CP Hotels and CN Hotels. In 1998, Ian was appointed as GM at the Fairmont Empress Hotel following four years as the GM at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. After a short stint in Bermuda with the Fairmont group, Ian returned to BC and is currently the Managing Director of Paul's Restaurants Ltd. based in Victoria and also manages its flagship property, The Laurel Point Inn. Ian has contributed countless hours to various industry and business associations and foundations. He was the Chair of the Tourism Industry HR Task Force study which set the foundation and strategy for the creation of go2. Ian was on the go2 Board from 2002-2004, during its start-up, and served as Vice Chair for one year and Chair for one year, and then rejoined us in 2008 until current.
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Kate Dodd - Vice Chair
Director of Finance & Administration
Mount Washington Alpine Resort
Kate is the Director of Finance & Administration at Mount Washington Alpine Resort. As part of her portfolio, Kate is responsible for ensuring department supervisors have the skills and knowledge to carry out their human resources responsibilities. Prior to her CGA designation, Kate worked for 4 years as a server and bartender, and also owned and operated two restaurants for 8 years. She also has a BA in Psychology from the University of Manitoba. Kate was previously on the go2 Board from 2004-2010 and over the years served as Chair of the Finance, Industry Training and Industry Health & Safety Committees. Kate is also very active with the HR Committee for Canada West Ski Areas Association.
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Owen Bird
Executive Director
Sport Fishing Institute of BC
Owen is the Executive Director of the Sport Fishing Institute (SFI) of BC. He is a lifelong angler who learned to fish starting in a row boat off the shores of Bowser, BC. He has worked as a guide, been involved in management and sales for a number of coastal fly-in lodges, and produced North American-broadcast TV fishing shows for 10 years. More recently, Owen has served as Director of Best Standards and Practices for the SFI, where he oversaw the development of the Tidal Angling Guide certification program - an industry designed, first-of-its-kind in North America certification. He also serves as Executive Director of the Family Fishing Society of British Columbia. Owen has a BA from UBC and was a Level 2 CSIA Ski Instructor and holds an advanced PADI (scuba diving) certification. He has worked in northern Scotland and London at various pubs and hotels and has traveled through over 35 countries.
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Anthony Everett
CEO
Northern BC Tourism Association
Anthony is the CEO of Northern BC Tourism and has over 20 years of tourism industry experience. His first steps into the tourism and communications business were at The Butchart Gardens and the Greater Victoria Hospitals Foundation. Anthony's specialization in travel media relations gained him positions as Manager of Travel Media Relations for Tourism Victoria and Account Director for Tartan Public Relations, before he accepted the challenge to experience and promote BC's north in 2006. Since 2011, Anthony has been honoured to Chair the Board of Directors for the Prince George Canada Winter Games 2015 Host Society. He sees the 2015 Canada Winter Games as a pivotal moment for tourism development in northern BC with the event expected to generate $100 million in economic activity. His latest interest is a return to the sport of triathlon after a 5 year lay-off and confesses that the saddle of his road bike hasn't gotten any softer.
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Eda Koot
General Manager
Delta Burnaby Hotel & Conference Centre
Eda is currently the General Manager at the Delta Burnaby Hotel & Conference Centre, a position she has held since July, 2010. Eda's career with Delta spans over 20 years in both Alberta and BC having worked in Calgary, Victoria, Whistler and Sun Peaks. While her background is primarily in rooms, her passion is for the operation as a whole with a particular interest in developing strong, effective teams. Having completed the diploma program at SAIT in Calgary followed by leadership courses at the University of Guelph, Eda is currently completing her degree in Hospitality Management as an Executive Cohort at VCC . Her industry and community involvement has included various committees, serving as a Board member for Tourism Sun Peaks and currently as a Director with the 2012 Burnaby Senior Games.
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Margaret McCormick
Acting Executive Director, Tourism Partnerships for Destination British Columbia
Margaret McCormick is the Acting Executive Director, Tourism Partnerships for Destination British Columbia. Her role is to provide direction for programs that build tourism business throughout British Columbia in a way that is inclusive of industry, achieves more collectively than independently, and contributes positively to the value of the overall provincial tourism industry. These programs include working with tourism regions, cities, sectors, communities, and individual tourism businesses throughout the province to increase connections between industry and consumers. Tourism Partnerships also works to strengthen world-class customer service provided throughout BC through WorldHost Training Programs and the Network of 110+ Visitor Centres. Margaret has been with Destination BC for 30 years beginning her career as a summer student in a Visitor Centre. She is the proud mother of twenty-year-old, two-time Olympian Riley who has represented Canada at the 2012 Olympics in London in the sport of diving.
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Kate Pelletier
Dean of Instruction, Schools of: Digital Media & Music, Hospitality & Tourism, and Industry & Trades Training
Selkirk College
Kate is currently Dean of Instruction at Selkirk College in the West Kootenays where she is part of the senior management team and is responsible for the Schools of Hospitality and Tourism, Industry and Trades Training and Digital Media and Music. Kate has spent over 25 years in post secondary education and has experience at a variety of varied institutions and a deep knowledge in the area of trades and apprenticeship. In 1998 Kate was seconded, for a year, to the Industry Training Apprenticeship Commission (ITAC) as the Executive Director of Operations where reporting to the CEO she was responsible for all of the field and program development operations. Kate holds a bachelors degree in education from UBC and a master's degree in religious education from the Canadian Theological Seminary. Kate has been active in the post secondary system participating in various committees over the years including Articulation Committees, Trade Advisory Committees, and the BC Association of Trades and Technical Administrators (BCATTA) where she currently serves as president.
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Heidi Romich
Owner/Operator
Heidi's Restaurant
Heidi has been the owner/operator of Heidi's Restaurant in Cranbook for over 13 years. For the last seven years, she has also been the auxiliary instructor for the Culinary Arts Program at the College of the Rockies. Heidi currently chairs the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame, and is the incoming provincial chair of the BCRFA. She completed an International Tourism Management Diploma in Austria and taught International Tourism in Malaysia. Heidi participates on go2's advisory committee for the Industry Training Program and was on go2's Board of Directors from 2004-2006.
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Caroline Schein
Vice President, People and Operations Development
Boston Pizza International Inc. (BPI)
Caroline Schein, is the Vice President, People and Operations Development for Boston Pizza International Inc. (BPI), Canada's number one casual dining franchisor with over 325 locations across Canada. She has been with BPI since April 2006. Prior to BPI, she was with Best Buy Canada Inc for 20 years in a number of roles and areas such as operations, sales, marketing, advertising, training and human resources. Caroline has an MBA from Royal Roads University and is currently doing a PhD in Organization and Human Systems at Fielding Graduate University. Caroline is a member of BCHRMA and is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP), also a member of both ASTD and CSTD and is a Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP).
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Paul Street
Director, Food and Beverage
Whistler Blackcomb
Paul is the Director of Food and Beverage (F&B) at Whistler Blackcomb which employs up to 3,700 people during peak season from all over BC, Canada, and internationally. The F&B operations consist of 19 restaurants - from food courts and alpine huts to full service dining and bars. Paul was also responsible for bringing the Canadian BBQ Championships event to Whistler which he has overseen for the last 7 years. Over the last 14 years he worked his way up through the F&B ranks at WB and brings 30 years of industry experience at all levels and areas of the F&B industry, as well as earning a Degree in Hospitality and Tourism from Ryerson University in 1990. In addition, Paul has worked in the outdoor adventure industry with Outward Bound Canada and is a certified Association of Canadian Mountain Guide (ACMG). Currently he sits on the board of the Whistler Chamber of Commerce and chairs the Liquor License Advisory Committee for the Resort Municipality of Whistler.
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Paul Vallee
Executive Vice President
Tourism Vancouver
Paul Vallee is Executive Vice President of Tourism Vancouver. He has been with the bureau since 1989 and is responsible for the successful delivery of the bureau's annual strategic plan, performance monitoring and overseeing the departments that deliver sales and marketing. Paul has served on various boards and committees, including chairing the Destination Marketing Association of Canada, the BestCities Global Alliance, ETHOS, the 2010 Olympic Bid Marketing Group and the Better Business Bureau of Mainland BC. He also sat on the boards of the Destination Marketing Association International, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program, and the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Task Force. Paul has a Master of Arts degree from the University of Waterloo in Ontario that saw him specialize in travel attitudes and motivations. Paul is also a member of faculty at Capilano University where he teaches international destination marketing.
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