Whistler Cultural Symposium Speakers & Bios

Keynote Speaker: Frank Antoine

What is Reconciliation? Appropriation vs appreciation. The Importance of Truth and Reconciliation through Tourism.

Indigenous Tourism British Columbia (ITBC) co-chair Frank Antoine is the co-founder of Moccasin Trails, a cultural tourism company based in Kamloops, BC. He worked at Quaaout Lodge & Spa at Talking Rock Golf Resort for more than a decade and was vital in the development and marketing of authentic Indigenous cultural tourism programs and projects in the Skwlax community.
Frank is a strong cultural ambassador and proud to share the traditional knowledge he carries. Frank has sat on a variety of tourism boards, including the Adams River Salmon Society, Shuswap Trail Alliance, Hat Creek Society, McAbee Group, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, as well as Indigenous Tourism of British Columbia.

Q&A - Tourism Whistler, Whistler Blackcomb, Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW)

Learn some insights on actions being taken by local Whistler organisations, Whistler Blackcomb and RMOW on climate change; diversity, equity & inclusion; and reconciliation.

Lead by Barrett Fisher, President & CEO, Toursim Whistler alongside Geoff Buchheister, COO, Whistler Blackcomb, and Jack Crompton, Mayor, RMOW

Panel #1: Diversity in the Outdoors

What needs to be done to promote a more inclusive, diverse culture in the mountains, and what role does the media play?

Moderator: Dean Nelson, He/Him

Dean Nelson is a travel expert specializing in LGBTQ Travel and is an LGBTQ activist. For the past 12 years, Dean has produced the award winning annual Whistler Pride and Ski Festival, co-founder of Mr. Gay World in 2009 and the founder of Pride House at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. In 2018 his alma mater, Thompson Rivers University, bestowed one of the greatest honours of recognition the University is able to give to an individual for his contributions to LGBTQ tourism and leadership in LGBTQ visibility and awareness with a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. He was also recognized by the International Gay Lesbian Tourism Association (IGLTA) with a Pioneer Award for his ongoing dedication and inspiration of linking LGBTQ Tourism and Sports. In 2017 Travel Gay Canada recognized Nelson's dedication with the LGBT Tourism Leader of the Year Award. A Social Media contributor to #iLoveGay and brand ambassador for Whistler, BC, Canada (Tourism Whistler + Whistler Blackcomb) and a freelance travel writer. Dean has visited over 100 countries and has visited all seven continents visiting various Pride events, conferences, tours and destinations

Panelist: Gregory Scruggs, He/Him

Gregory Scruggs is the outdoors reporter at The Seattle Times. His coverage of diversity in the outdoors won the 2022 President’s Award from the Outdoors Writers Association of America in the newspaper category. Gregory’s reporting has taken him aboard a sailboat with a three-year-old, down mountain bike trails eating the dust of a team of high school girls, deep into the snowy backcountry with avalanche observers, and along riverbanks to watch a teenager train for women’s whitewater kayaking international competition. He lives in Seattle, the traditional lands of the Duwamish people, which is the home base for his adventures into the Cascade Mountains and out on the Salish Sea with his wife, Yiting, and toddler, Lena.

Panelist: Indra Hayre, She/Her

Indra Hayre is a Vancouver local, born and raised in the suburbs but has spent her adult life in the city and its mountains. She works full time for Earls Restaurants and is a freelance Diversity and Inclusion Consultant and Model on the side. She advocates for diversity and inclusion in all aspects of life. Combining her drive for representation in outdoor spaces with her desire to educate, Indra founded an organisation called Incluskivity. Here, she elevates the voices of traditionally marginalized groups in the snow sport community through sharing interviews. Additionally, she creates programming geared to breaking down barriers to entry for marginalized folx, focusing on creating psychological safety and subsidizing costs..

Panel #2: Destination Resilience

From urban planning and policy decisions, to shifts in corporate operations, to advocacy and empowerment, hear from those facing our climate crisis who are involved in protecting the natural environment in Whistler and beyond.

Moderator: Leslie Anthony

Leslie Anthony is a Whistler-based writer, editor, creative director and author of several books. His wide-ranging and award-winning work encompassing sustainability, climate, geodiversity, biodiversity, environment, adventure travel and alpine skiing appears regularly in magazines around the globe—and locally in titles like Pique, Mountain Life, British Columbia and Canadian Geographic. He holds a PhD in Zoology/Evolutionary Ecology from the University of Toronto and is: a longstanding Research Associate at the Royal Ontario Museum; a board member of the Whistler Naturalists, Sea to Sky Invasive Species Council, Canadian Herpetological Society and PlaygroundBuilders.org; a Terrestrial Ecology and Biodiversity Advisor to the Átl'ka7tsem/Howe Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region; and Content Director and Steering Committee member for the Sea to Sky region’s Fire & Ice Aspiring UNESCO Global Geopark.

Panelist: Arthur De Jong

Raised on a dairy farm in the Fraser Valley, Whistler Councillor Arthur De Jong joined the Blackcomb professional ski patrol at the age of 19 – the season Blackcomb opened. Whistler instantly became the perfect outdoor office for Arthur as he moved from one management role to the next including Ski Patrol Director, Manager of Mountain Operations, and his 25+ year role as Senior Manager of Planning and Environment at Whistler Blackcomb. Arthur’s passion is to find solutions at both the local and international levels to the challenges of climate change and loss of biodiversity. Having travelled and consulted in resorts throughout the world, he has a very deep appreciation for one of Whistler’s most unique and significant aspects – a very large portion of the community lives in the resort. Arthur is also the longest serving volunteer member of the Vancouver crisis line. His other passion in life is to spend time with his wife Nicola biking, hiking, skiing and kayaking together.

Panelist: Claire Ruddy

Originally from the UK, Claire followed a Masters in Environment and Business by working with small and medium sized businesses to reduce environmental impacts through improved processes, training and creating cultural shifts. Upon moving to Canada in 2006, she joined Whistler’s environmental charity, AWARE and switched focus to the natural environment and habitat protection. In 2013, She became AWARE’s Executive Director and is well networked in the Sea to Sky Region. Familiar with working with different stakeholder groups and vested interests, Claire believes in finding the common ground amongst stakeholders as a path to moving forwards. On her days off Claire can be found outside with her rescue dog Sula (which translates to ‘Little Bear By The Water’).

Panel #3: Reconcili-Action

Indigenous tourism has the power as a tool to create positive change by providing opportunities for public education and personal transformation, both of which play a role in reconciliation.

Moderator: Kiana Alexander-Hill (She/Her)

Kiana is a proud urban Métis (Fraser family) iskwew, mother, daughter, unlearner, curator and a lover of a good cup of tea. Kiana is the Lead Executive at Raven Institute, Director at Indigenous LIFT Collective and Team Lead at Iskwew Air, Canada’s first Indigenous woman owned and operated airline in Canada. In 2019, Kiana was named WXN's Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada in the Future Leaders Category and Future of Good’s 2019 list of 21 Young Impact Leaders. In 2020, she went on to complete her Masters degree in Leadership at Royal Roads University with distinction for her thesis titled: A Journey to kiscâyâwin ᑭᐢᒑᔮᐃᐧᐣ: Belonging Within us, Around us and Between us A Co-Created Exploration into Cultivating Collective Belonging for Young People- her work was awarded the Governor General's Gold Medal. Alexander-Hill is the hopeful one- fiercely in pursuit of ensuring all young people across the lands know unwaveringly that they are leaders and that they belong.

Panelist: Heather Paul (She/Her)

Heather Paul is the Executive Director of the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler, BC. Opened in 2008 as a legacy of the 2010 Winter Olympics and an unprecedented shared territory agreement between two Nations, the SLCC is where Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Líl̓wat7úl cultures meet, grow and are shared.

Panelist: Cecilia Point

As the Director of Finance for Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, Cecilia Point contributes to the overall success of the organisation by effectively managing all financial tasks for the organisation including financial accounting and reporting, developing, implementing, and ensuring compliance with internal financial and accounting policies and procedures, developing and maintaining financial accounting systems as well as preparing and reviewing monthly results and monthly variance reporting. Cecilia also prepares budgets and financial reports for funding applications and project management accounting. A member of the Musqueam Indian Band, Cecilia has worked in the travel and tourism industry in excess of 25 years. She has donated a tremendous amount of her time to her nation and a number of local Aboriginal causes, which currently includes sitting as a volunteer Board Member on 2 cultural and women’s organisations in Vancouver’s downtown east side.

Panelist: Debbie Olsen

Debbie Olsen is an award-winning Métis travel writer and a national bestselling author. Debbie’s maternal grandmother was Wendat from Quebec and she has spent many years learning about the Indigenous side of her family and experiencing Indigenous culture across Canada. Debbie is a long-time Calgary Herald columnist and she contributes to many other publications including BBC Travel, AFAR Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, Canadian Geographic, Nations Magazine, TravelAge West Magazine and others. Debbie has contributed to 13 Fodor’s travel guidebooks and is the author and co-author of four travel books including a Globe and Mail bestseller. Debbie has won awards for her writing and her photography and in 2012 she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her community volunteer efforts. Debbie loves culture, history, adventure, nature, photography, great food and family – not in that order. Debbie and her family write a popular travel blog called Wander Woman Travel Magazine (wanderwoman.ca).