Elisa Guillén Argueles
Elisa Guillén Argueles is a tourism professor at the Technological Institute of Cancún. She holds a PhD in Human Geography from the University of Reading. Her areas of research include environmental auditing and tourism sustainability in the Mexican Caribbean.
Travis Bays
Travis Bays is a founder of Bodhi Surf + Yoga, in Costa Rica. His degrees from the University of San Diego in economics and anthropology, and his passion for surfing, led him to create an environmentally sustainable surf tourism business with positive impacts on the surrounding community. He wears many hats at Bodhi, including surf instructor and coordinator of daily operations.
Esteban Biondi
Esteban L. Biondi is associate principal at Applied Technology & Management, where he provides specialized engineering, environmental, and consulting services for coastal resort projects and marinas. He has engineering degrees from Argentina and the United States and has directed over 100 consulting assignments in 30 countries.
Luke Elder
Luke Elder is a master of environmental management candidate in the Yale School of Forestry at Yale University, where he focuses on corporate social responsibility and private sector solutions to climate change. Previous positions include program associate at The Ocean Foundation and field station manager for The Nature Conservancy.
Kreg Ettenger is associate professor of anthropology at the University of Maine, where he also directs the Maine Studies Program and Maine Folklife Center. Previously, he was founding chair of the Program in Tourism and Hospitality at the University of Southern Maine. He has a PhD in anthropology from Syracuse University.
Samantha Hogenson
Samantha Hogenson is the managing director of the Center for Responsible Travel. She was one of the first undergraduate students of geotourism and holds a master of tourism administration from The George Washington University, with an emphasis in sustainable tourism management. Samantha resides in Charleston, South Carolina.
Martha Honey
Martha Honey is the cofounder and executive director of the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST). Over the last two decades, Martha has published and lectured widely on ecotourism, Travelers’ Philanthropy, cruise and resort tourism, coastal and marine tourism, climate change, and certification issues. She holds a PhD in African history from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and an MA in African American history from Syracuse University. She worked as an international journalist for 20 years, based in East Africa and Central America.
Julia Lewis
Julia Lewis holds a master’s degree from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. She earned a degree in coastal environmental management and broadly focused her studies on the sustainable development and conservation of marine resources. As an intern with the Environmental Defense Fund, Julia’s work was specialized in the environmental impacts of cruise tourism. Previously, Julia worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she monitored international agricultural development projects around the world.
Rick MacPherson is a marine ecologist, conservationist, and science writer. He has worked worldwide in tropical marine science and coral reef conservation, marine protected area planning and management, and community-based conservation. He owns Pelagia Consulting, an ocean science and conservation consultancy with a mission to improve marine protected area (MPA) effectiveness and community support.
Kennedy Obombo Magio
Kennedy Obombo Magio is a CONACYT Research Fellow at the Technological Institute of Cancún. He is a distinguished member of the National System of Researchers in México (SNI Level 1) and holds a PhD in tourism management from the Universidad de Occidente. He does research on tourism sustainability in the Mexican Caribbean.
Mark J. Spalding
Mark Spalding is president of The Ocean Foundation. He is also advisor to the Rockefeller Ocean Strategy, and designed the first-ever blue carbon offset program, SeaGrass Grow. Mark serves on the Sargasso Sea Commission and is a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Blue Economy, Middlebury Institute of International Studies. He holds a JD from Loyola Law School and a master’s in Pacific international affairs from the University of California San Diego.
Robin Swaisland
Robin Swaisland is president of the Marine and Yachting Association of Grenada (MAYAG). Originally from the United Kingdom, he has lived in Grenada since 2003. An experienced professional engineer and project manager, he was part of the team that managed Grenada’s recovery from Hurricane Ivan. In 2007, he joined Camper and Nicholsons Marinas as project manager for the construction of Port Louis Marina in St George’s.
Shengxiao “Sole” (Sunshine) Yu is originally from Hangzhou, China. She graduated from the University of Chicago with degrees in comparative human development and human rights. As an intern at Bodhi Surf + Yoga, Sole helped design their Travelers’ Philanthropy Program. Currently the Director of Partnerships at GlobeMed, she remains connected to Bodhi as a consultant and volunteer.