WASHINGTON, D.C.—The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) announced that Wade Davis will be a featured keynote speaker at the upcoming Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference 2008 (ESTC 2008), to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from October 27 to 29. A National Geographic Explorer, an ethnographer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker, Davis is an inspirational story teller with vast knowledge of Indigenous societies and cultures, myth and religion, and the global biodiversity crisis—to name just a few of the numerous fields of research that have taken him across the globe. In 2004, he was made an Honorary Member of the Explorers...

Name: Diana Beltran Title: Environmental Development Manager Organization: Grand Hyatt New York Years with hotel: “I just celebrated my one-year anniversary in August.” My primary responsibilities: “Every day I concentrate on different projects—in areas ranging from housekeeping to waste management. The biggest thing I am working on now is sustainable purchasing.” What keeps her motivated each day: “What keeps me motivated is making a difference here. I don’t consider this a job. It is more like a hobby.” Organization’s most significant environmental accomplishment so far: “The project that paid the biggest dividend so far was our lighting retrofit. We installed more than 5,000 compact fluorescent...

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, has appointed Faith Taylor as vice president, Sustainability and Innovation. Based in Parsippany, N.J., Taylor is responsible for leading the strategic vision and direction of Wyndham Worldwide’s environmental policy and programs while overseeing all key conservation and preservation initiatives across the businesses including Wyndham Hotel Group, Group RCI and Wyndham Vacation Ownership. Taylor also oversees the Wyndham Worldwide Green Council as well as the rollout of Blue Harmony, a turn-key spa and fitness program that incorporates a green strategy to promote environmental awareness. Additionally, she will manage the...

Name: David Jerome Title: Senior Vice President for Corporate Responsibility Organization: InterContinental Hotels Group Years with company: Two My primary responsibilities: “Helping to define the company’s corporate responsibility strategy and helping to execute that strategy. Understanding how the company’s business objectives intersect with societal needs. My responsibilities cut across a lot of silos in the company.” What keeps me motivated each day: “I like the complexity of the issues and have the fortune of working with a lot of smart people. It is a lot of fun.” Organization’s most significant environmental accomplishment so far: “The many individual accomplishments across our company, from the Willard...

CHICAGO— Georg R. Rafael, managing director of Rafael Group S.A.M., has been named the 2008 recipient of the “International Hotelier Global Citizen” award. Rafael will be honored at the sixth annual International Hotel Conference, which will be held October 15 to 17 at the Cavaleri Hilton in Rome, Italy. The award is presented to a hotelier who has made a major impact on both the hospitality industry and humanitarian causes. A grant of €5,000 ($7,863) will be donated to Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders), one of a number of charities actively supported by Rafael. MSF received the 1999 Nobel...

Name: Michael Oshman Title: Executive Director Organization: Green Restaurant Assn. Year Founded: 1990 My primary responsibilities: “I supervise most of the employees here and make sure that everything we do matches our mission and the sincerity of it. We make a point of remembering why we are here, which is to help our industry reach a point of sustainability.” Organization’s most significant environmental accomplishment so far: “The thousands of individual steps we have helped restaurants make throughout the years, the pollution we have helped to prevent, the trees we have prevented from being cut down.” Our biggest environmental challenge: “Helping to educate. There is a...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—GLM, a dmg world media business, has named Lynn White, a 27-year tradeshow industry veteran, as show manager of the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show (IH/M&RS). As show manager, White will be responsible for day-to-day direction of the annual hospitality industry tradeshow. White will report directly to GLM senior vice president Phil Robinson, who retains his responsibilities as show director. White succeeds Christian Falkenberg, who has been named show manager of GLM’s New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF). “Lynn brings nearly three invaluable decades of show management experience to her new position,” Robinson said. “She will be leading a...

BOSTON—Further increasing the property’s emphasis on reducing the carbon footprint of its hotel and meeting facilities, Seaport Hotel and Seaport World Trade Center (Seaport) announced the appointment of Matthew V. Moore as director of rooms and environmental programs. In 2005, Seaport established its comprehensive environmental program called Seaport Saves. Today with more than 20 green initiatives in place, the program focuses on energy-saving and carbon reducing features including BioX composting, ‘smart’ thermostats, and an ozone laundry system. “At Seaport, we believe in providing guests with a luxury experience while also minimizing our impact on the environment,” said Jim Carmody, vice president...

Name: Carmen Baker Title: Vice President of Responsible Business Organization: Carlson Hotels Worldwide My primary responsibilities: “My primary responsibilities include overseeing our business ethics, culture, community and environmental programs.” What keeps me motivated each day: “It feels really good to have this job. There is an ROI associated with it. It is a lot of fun for me.” My biggest challenge: “The environmental piece is the biggest challenge. There is so much communication around the environment that it is difficult to read through what is real. Another challenge is staying focused on infrastructure strategy.” MINNETONKA, MINN.—Carmen Baker, who took on the role of vice president...

Name: Dan Ruben Title: Executive Director Organization: Boston Green Tourism My primary responsibilities: “To help Greater Boston hotels and convention centers determine their environmental goals, improve their environmental performance and increase the number of green-certified facilities in the Boston area." What keeps me motivated each day: “There are many hoteliers in our organization who are passionate about greening their facilities, and who build excitement by initiating new programs and sharing them with their peers. I’m also motivated when I can bring ideas to the group, like combined heat and power or green cleaning products, and see hotels pursue them.” Organization’s most significant environmental accomplishment...