Board of Directors

Allyson Tonelli (she/her)

Allyson Tonelli (she/her)

CHAIR

Kingston. ON

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Allyson Tonelli’s dynamic career in sales, advertising, and integrated marketing has given her the opportunity to work in film and television, sport and recreation, and now tourism. As Director of Sales for Tourism Kingston, she oversees the Travel Trade, Business Events, and Sport and Wellness portfolios. Allyson is responsible for creating robust sales pipelines, innovative sector development plans, and most importantly, business relationships, that anticipate and respond to the ever-changing tourism landscape.

Janet Guthrie  (she/her)

Janet Guthrie (she/her)

VICE CHAIR

City of Leduc, AB

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Janet Guthrie is the Sport Tourism Coordinator for the City of Leduc, a community recognized by the GSI Canada Index as one of the country’s top sport hosting communities with a population under 50,000. Involved in sport hosting throughout her life, Janet’s passion for sport tourism took hold in university when she had the opportunity to host the World Junior Luge Championships during her practicum experience. Ever since, she has strived to deliver a stand out experience for all events, leading to consistent recognition at the STC Prestige award.

Scott Pritchard (he/him)

Scott Pritchard (he/him)

TREASURER

PGA TOUR Americas

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A sports industry professional with nearly 20 years of experience in business development, Scott Pritchard is currently the Executive Director – PGA TOUR Canada. He is passionate about building and fostering new relationships as well as finding new and innovative ways to grow personally and professionally. His current focus is on building effective sponsorship / partnership programs, strategic planning and event management. 

 

A graduate of the University of Ottawa with a B.A. in Communications/Political Science, he also has a Professional Certificate in Public Sector and Non-Profit Marketing from Carleton University and is a graduate of the Broadcast Journalism program at Humber College. He is also a Certified Association Executive, the internationally recognized designation from the Canadian Society of Association Executives. 

Carson Ackroyd

Carson Ackroyd

BOARD MEMBER

Tourism Calgary, AB

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Carson Ackroyd is a Sales, Marketing and Communications professional with more than 25 years of experience in a number of industry sectors.

He started his career with the Sun Media organization where he worked for 13 years in a number of roles that included running the marketing, promotions and circulation sales for both the Edmonton Sun and the Calgary Sun before transitioning to lead the advertising sales team at the Calgary Sun. He transitioned to become the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for ATCO for more than a decade. In this role, he had a 100+ person team responsible for all aspects of marketing and communications for a multi national conglomerate in the energy, utility and structures and logistics business.

In 2018, Carson became the Sr. Vice President of Sales at Tourism Calgary where he leads a team responsible for attracting sport & major cultural events to the city as well as meetings & conventions.

In addition to his professional background, Carson has served on the Board of Tourism Calgary, Ag For Life, Calgary Blizzard Soccer Club and Silver Springs Golf Club.

Zanth Jarvis (he/him)

Zanth Jarvis (he/him)

BOARD MEMBER

Tourism London, ON

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Zanth Jarvis is an experienced sport tourism professional who currently serves as the Director of Sport Tourism with Tourism London. Over the past decade, Zanth has played a large role in helping to attract numerous national and international sporting events to London, Ontario. This includes the 2023 Tim Hortons Brier, 2022 Vanier Cup, 2018 Para Hockey World Cup, and 2018 Ontario Summer Games, which have helped drive significant visitations and economic impact to the city. A graduate of Western University’s Sport Management program, Zanth’s connection to London and sports run deep. He’s also spent many years working with Sport Tourism Canada and their clients on the STEAM program, overseeing data collection for economic impact projects. Zanth’s unique experience working with Sport Tourism Canada, along with his perspective as a host city, will provide valuable insight to the Board of Directors

Colby Pridham (he/him)

Colby Pridham (he/him)

BOARD MEMBER

Events East Group, NS

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Colby Pridham is a strategic leader in the sports, entertainment, and events industry, known for his expertise in driving growth and fostering valuable partnerships. With a wealth of experience in sales strategy, relationship management, stakeholder partnerships, and event management, Colby brings a diverse skill set to the field. As the Senior Manager of Partnerships & Event Development at Events East Group, his visionary leadership at Scotiabank Centre has been instrumental in propelling growth and achieving remarkable outcomes. Additionally, his commitment to community development is evident through his involvement on the board of Kids Up Front – Atlantic. Colby’s dedication to advancing sport tourism in Canada, combined with his ability to deliver results, makes him an invaluable asset in his role as a board member.

Cindy Medynski (she/her)

Cindy Medynski (she/her)

BOARD MEMBER

Explore Edmonton

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As the Director of Sport and Culture Events at Explore Edmonton, Cindy Medynski aims to bring once in a lifetime experiences to Alberta’s vibrant capital.

While working to elevate Edmonton’s profile internationally as a leading sport hosting destination, she guides a motivated and enthusiastic team as they curate a wide array of sports and cultural events that celebrate the spirit of Edmonton. In her role, Cindy collaborates within the unique and dynamic City of Edmonton/Explore Edmonton partnership, working since 2017 to bring significant economic and social impacts to Edmonton.

Her dedication to sport and events began as a young multi-sport athlete and event volunteer, eventually working her way on to some notable local organizing committees in Edmonton, like the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the ITU World Cup Triathlon.

A firm believer in the transformative power of sport tourism, Cindy sees events as catalysts for human connection, community enrichment and destination development. Having been born and raised here, Cindy has proudly chosen to raise her young family in this extraordinary city.

Michelle Collens (she/her)

Michelle Collens (she/her)

BOARD MEMBER

Sport Hosting Vancouver, BC

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Michelle Collens is a senior leader working closely with all levels of government, tourism partners, and community organizations driving economic and social development opportunities in the City of Vancouver. A graduate of UBC playing varsity volleyball for the Thunderbirds, Collens has made a career of her passion for sport. Focused on the area of sport events, she has worked with great organizations such as UBC Athletics, Sport Kelowna, 2010 Legacies Now, and BC PavCo.

Kevin Eshkawkogan

Kevin Eshkawkogan

BOARD MEMBER

Indigenous Tourism Ontario

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Kevin is an Anishnabek and is a member of the M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island.

Kevin has been a key player in the development of Indigenous cultural tourism in Ontario since 2003. Kevin was an integral part of the development and growth of the Great Sprit Circle Trail (GSCT) on Manitoulin Island, one of the country’s most renowned Indigenous tourism organizations that provides culturally authentic Indigenous experiences to visitors along with marketing support to Indigenous operators.

He has provided leadership to GSCT for over 15 years and has imparted his guidance to countless individuals throughout Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada, and beyond.
Kevin works tirelessly to unite Indigenous tourism providers, grow market reach and bring meaningful employment opportunities to the region.
Kevin is a mentor and visionary who works closely with his community to ensure sustainable and organic growth within the Indigenous tourism industry.
In 2015, Kevin was named the Tourism Champion of the Year by the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. He has also been recognized by numerous media outlets for his accomplishments within the industry.

Kevin sits on a variety of boards including the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO).
He has also helped establish ITO, Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC), Northeastern Ontario Tourism, Destination Northern Ontario, the Manitoulin Hotel and Conference Centre, and many other tourism organizations and businesses. He also sits on the Destination Ontario Sector Advisory Committee, Tourism Skillsnet Ontario Council, and the Trans Canada Trail Indigenous Advisory Committee.

Lori Talling (she/her)

Lori Talling (she/her)

BOARD MEMBER

Sport Durham, ON

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Lori Talling has led the Region of Durham’s sport tourism program (Sport Durham) since 2015. She has collaborated with national and provincial sport organizations and community partners to host multiple sport events in Durham Region, with a focus on providing memorable participant experiences and generating lasting sport and social legacies. Lori has a passion for leading initiatives that champion inclusion and accessibility, such as the award-winning 2019 Ontario Parasport Games. Her first role with the Region of Durham was as a project and risk management consultant for the first region-wide festival. She also held increasingly progressive information technology, project, internal audit, and risk management roles during her 20-year career at Rogers Communications.

Nolan Thiessen (he/him)

Nolan Thiessen (he/him)

BOARD MEMBER

Curling Canada

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Nolan Thiessen is in the unique position today of playing a leading role in organizing some of the biggest sporting events in Canada, events that in his past life as an athlete he we was trying to win, and on three occasions actually did.

Nolan, earned his CPA, CA designation in 2006 while articling at a national accounting firm before moving into a managerial role with a big four firm for five years.

Nolan, then took a hiatus from corporate life while competing internationally in curling, winning three Brier Championships as well as one gold and one bronze at the World Championships.

Post playing career Nolan started working in various areas of Curling Canada’s business operations where he now leads the events team to help drive exceptional experiences for athletes, ticket purchasers, broadcast viewers, sponsors as well as funding agencies who help deliver Curling Canada’s Season of Champions.

Nolan, has served in the past as Chair of the World Curling Federation’s Athlete Commission and currently serves on the World Curling Federation Competition & Rules Commission.

Kathleen Trainor  (she/her)

Kathleen Trainor (she/her)

BOARD MEMBER

Tourism Barrie, ON

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Kathleen Trainor is the Executive Director of Tourism Barrie. Kathleen Trainor has over twenty-five years of experience in business in both the private and non-profit sectors. Kathleen is entrepreneurial by nature, and she combines her wide range of skills, knowledge, experiences, and creative big-picture strategic project management skills with her business performance.

For the past five years, Kathleen’s Board of Directors experience has been as Treasurer and President of the Destination Marketing Association of Canada (DMAC). During her tenure with DMAC, she facilitated the evolution of the organization to become the Canadian Destinations Leadership Council (CDLC).  The CDLC is a standing committee of Destinations International, which is a forum for Canadian destination organization executives to meet regularly throughout the year to coordinate key industry issues, including advocacy, resourcing, policy, and marketing.

Kathleen is committed to growing and strengthening the tourism sector as a leading economic driver for communities across Canada. 

Kathleen has lived and travelled extensively around the world. Her world travels and cross-cultural experiences have given her the ability to relate to people of different cultures and circumstances and skills in conducting business in this multicultural country and the global economy. And, most importantly, seeing Canada’s strengths as a world-class destination.

Linden Leung

Linden Leung

BOARD MEMBER

Volleyball Canada

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Linden Leung is the Chief Operating Officer for Volleyball Canada and has been with the organization for over fifteen years. He is involved with various business areas including , sport event planning, strategic planning, human resources, and financial management. Linden is a strong believer in sport tourism being beneficial to communities and sport organizations. He is currently putting the finishing touches on his MBA from Queens University.