Meet the Speakers

Ginger Bruner is a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) and trainer. She has nearly 20 years of applied human resources and management experience within the tourism and hospitality industry. Joining go2HR in 2016, Ginger brings experience in developing, facilitating and supporting HR programs, as well as facilitating a range of college and university recruitment initiatives. Based in Kelowna, BC, she works with tourism operators and stakeholders in the regionalization of key recruitment, retention and training initiatives as outlined in the BC Tourism HR Strategy.

Kelly Galaski is a sustainable tourism professional with over 20 years of experience across hospitality and tourism businesses in the private and non-profit sectors. She worked for several years in hotels in Ontario, BC and Alberta and then spent over 10 years in community tourism development and responsible travel with international organizations Planeterra and G Adventures, working in over 25 countries. She is now the Managing Director of Symphony Tourism Services, a subsidiary of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, providing research, marketing, consulting and skills development services to communities and tourism businesses throughout the province including the five RDMOs of the BC Regional Tourism Secretariat.

Managing Director for Beattie Tartan Canada, Deirdre Campbell has been a communications professional in Canada for over 20 years based in Victoria, BC. A respected business entrepreneur, Deirdre has been named a PR practitioner of the year, recognized as a YW/YMCA Woman of Distinction for her work in the community and was awarded the PR contract to represent Canada’s Northern House during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which won the gold medal for pavilions. Deirdre holds Destination Canada and Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada among her clients.

Having worked in leadership internationally for over 30 years, Theresa Ito is passionate about people and loves nothing more than being part of their growth. During her career in hospitality, Theresa led teams at iconic brands, including Fairmont Hotels, Le Meridien, Sandals Resorts and Hilton International. Based on Vancouver Island, she now successfully develops leaders and teams through her company, Blue Mountain Solutions Inc., and enjoys servicing a host of local and international clientele, assisting them to thrive in business. Theresa is a certified John Maxwell Team Member, a facilitator for “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and was an instructor at Royal Roads University. 

Heather Greenwood Davis is a Contributing Writer and on-air storyteller for National
Geographic. She is also a Feature Writer for The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star,
Travel+Leisure, Outside, Canadian Geographic, AFAR and other national and international publications.
The popular media personality has appeared on television stations across North America including Good Morning America, CBS Sunday Morning and The Morning Show. She is the resident travel expert on The Social – a national daily lifestyle show – and co-host of Get, Set, Go! On CHCH.
Heather believes in travel as a change agent, and has shared insights as a speaker in university classrooms, at conferences and at trade gatherings hosted by TravMedia, US Travel Association, Destination Canada, SATW and others.
Her words and opinions have been featured in spaces ranging from O Magazine to NPR. Heather is also the voice behind GlobetrottingMama.com – an international, family travel blog that features the adventures she takes with (and without) her husband Ish and their two sons, Ethan and Cameron. You can always reach her on Instagram and Twitter at @ByHeatherGD