Until May 2006, Frances Figart was editor-in-chief of Courier Magazine, the official publication of the National Tour Association (NTA), which has travel industry members in forty countries. Under Frances' direction, Courier underwent a widely celebrated redesign, of both content and graphics and, as a result, is now rated the most valued magazine in the industry over all other trade publications. Along with providing mainstream travel industry articles, she used Courier as a vehicle for educating readers about responsible travel, helping tour operators, tour suppliers and destination marketing organizations develop sustainable business strategies.

Frances' new enterprise, Green Travel Consulting, provides sustainable travel professionals with a range of communications and project management support. She is a member of Sustainable Travel International, The Adventure Travel Trade Association and The International Ecotourism Society and has spoken about responsible travel to audiences at six industry conferences in the past year.

Frances received her bachelor's degree in English from Kentucky's Berea College. After a stint in advertising, she was a writer and editor at Knight-Ridder's Lexington Herald-Leader, before becoming chief writer at a graphic design firm. Before joining NTA, she was a freelance writer and director of the non-profit organization GO Women (Greater Opportunities for Women), which she founded to help low-income women in Appalachia become more economically viable.

She was a founder of the first community recycling center in Oregon. As public affairs director for an Oregon television station, she spearheaded award winning environmental campaigns.

In the 10 years she lived in Asia, Nancy immersed herself in learning about the fragile nature of Southeast Asia’s indigenous people and the eco systems that support them.

When she returned to the US, she and her partner Allan Friedman discovered a way to channel their environmental commitment through STI. Nancy is collaborating with Brian Mullis of STI and STI board member Jessica Hall-Upchurch to develop online courses for travel agents who want to market sustainable travel.

With 25 years’ experience as a facilitator/coach and as executive producer of over 40 media-based learning initiatives in the US and Asia, Nancy now utilizes her diverse communication and training skills in the travel industry. A graduate of Texas A&M with degrees in mass communication, sociology and linguistics, Nancy was the first American to complete a PhD in online learning at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Explore Asia specializes in customized tours to Southeast Asia and China based on traveler passions. A core value of the company is the delivery of immersive experiences that empower travelers to recognize and act on responsible tourism.

Christina Heyniger founded Xola Consulting, in 2004 to work with enterprising businesses in the adventure travel industry - tour operators, blended adventure-voluntourism organizations, industry associations, and travel companies promoting sustainable development. Through Xola she's provided consulting and research services to sustainable tourism operators around the world from the Caribbean to India, Morocco, Cambodia, Bhutan, and China.

Prior to founding Xola, Christina worked for eight years as management consultant in a range of industries - aerospace, communications, higher education, federal government - and supported large enterprises on projects at a various levels within the organization - from strategic planning at the executive level to operations procedures within individual divisions.

Christina speaks regularly at industry events on topics ranging from small business management to humanitarian aid and international development through responsible tourism. In 2005 Xola created Off the Radar, a newsletter to support responsible entrepreneurial adventure travel operators around the world.

She holds a BA in Communication from Cornell University, an MA in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University, and an MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurship from American University.

Dr. Edward Sanders, Eco Tourism International

Dr. Ed Sanders has a broad background in sustainable development planning, environmental finance, ecotourism project development, and international public policy issues. He co-founded Eco Tourism International, an ecotourism consulting firm specializing in market assessments, feasibility studies and project planning. He is a former Vice-Chairman of the Board of The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) and currently serves on a part-time basis as Director of Special Projects at the Center for Sustainable Tourism in the Business School at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He co-authored The Business of Ecolodges: The Economics and Financing of Ecolodges (TIES, 2001) and authored a comprehensive study of the U.S. outbound ecotourism market for the World Tourism Organization, The U.S. Ecotourism Market (WTO, 2002). He is a partner in a 13,000-acre ecotourism and conservation project in southern Belize.

Dr. Sanders had previously co-founded an international environmental consulting firm (Sanders International, Inc.) and an international business consulting firm (IPAC, Inc.). Prior to that he served as Staff Director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee following a career as a civil servant in the President's Office of Management and Budget where he rose through the ranks from Budget Examiner to Associate Director. Ed has a BA in economics from Pomona College, a Ph.D. in economics from Yale University, and attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Dr. Weissman has over 25 years of experience in environmental policy, standards, and enforcement. He joined Green Seal in 1993 as Vice President of Standards and Certification, becoming President and CEO in late 1996, and he served as Chair of the Global Ecolabelling Network from 1994 to 1997. Prior to joining Green Seal, he was responsible for developing national policy and guidance for the Superfund program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He also served as a Congressional Science Fellow and worked for The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut. He holds a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in physical geography and environmental science, a masters in natural resource management from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a bachelors degree from Harvard University.