For over ten years, Heather Bury has been a driving force in the advancement of sport tourism in Saskatchewan. As a member of the team at Discover Saskatoon, she has been an integral part of all of the major sport events hosted in Saskatoon in the past decade. She works closely with the Friends of the Bowl Foundation, an organization responsible for the $64 million rejuvenation of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex, one of Canada’s largest multi-sport facilities.

Sheena McCrate is in her second term as Director with the Board of Sport Tourism Canada, and currently serves as Vice Chair. Most recently, she held the position of Chief Executive Officer with St. John’s Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (SJSEL) where she oversaw the management and operation of the two largest event venues in the province of Newfoundland & Labrador. During her tenure with SJSEL, St. John’s hosted several national events including JUNOS 2010, the 2010 Four Nations Cup, the 2014 AHL All-Star Classic and the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier. In May 2019, Ms. McCrate was recognized for her achievements by being nominated as one of the VenuesNow Women of Influence. Ms. McCrate’s volunteer activities include serving as a member of the Newfoundland & Labrador Provincial Sports Complex Board of Directors and coaching minor basketball in her community.

One of Canada’s leading sport tourism and major event professionals, Grant MacDonald brings 30+ years of experience to his role with STC. Working with host cities, host organizations and host venues, he has established a reputation as a trusted and knowledgeable leader of organizations and major projects. A member of STC’s Board of Directors from 2007 to 2019, he served as Chair from 2011-14. In 2020, Grant chaired Sport Tourism Canada’s COVID-19 Recovery Task Force and he has been the Head of Consulting for Sport Tourism Canada since 2019. Grant will be focused on sport tourism’s role in Canada’s recovery from the community to international levels.

Neal has worked in the major event industry as a consultant, marketing and communications professional and volunteer. As a national leader in Canada’s event hosting industry, he has assisted business, government and communities to attract and deliver numerous sport and culture-related events. He currently serves as Director, Marketing and Communications for the 2023 North American Indigenous Games.

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.

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.

Dean McIntosh is the Vice President, Events and Properties for Hockey Canada the National Sport Organization for Hockey in Canada. For over 25 years, starting with the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997 Dean has worked in the Sport/Hockey industry. Dean’s experience with Hockey Canada over the last 22 years has included overseeing the Coaching portfolio, Sponsor servicing portfolio and more recently delivering on all Events hosted in Canada including the IIHF World Junior Championship, IIHF Women’s World Championship and all Hockey Canada Domestic Events – collectively driving over $75 million in economic impact annually. Dean resides in Calgary with his wife Carolyn and 3 daughters.

Andréanne Paquet has been managing the sports market at Sports Events Montréal – led by Tourisme Montréal since 2016 and has been working in the field of sports for the past 10 years. She studied communications at the Université de Montréal and is currently pursuing her MBA at HEC Montréal. 

Andréanne began her career in media relations for the Montréal Canadiens then for the Montréal Impact. Following this, she was responsible for marketing and partnerships at SPORTSQUÉBEC before joining the partnership team at the Montréal Alouettes. Since joining Tourisme Montréal, Andréanne has collaborated on bids for numerous sports events including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2020 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, the 2019 Montréal Judo Grand Prix and the FINA Diving World Series 2018-2021. Andréanne has also played a major role in developing sports tourism in the city and contributing to Montréal’s Sports Events Strategy. She believes in the collaborative approach when it comes to events bidding and hosting and tends to develop meaningful and long-term partnerships. Most recently, she has helped create a unique new identity for this market: Sports Events Montréal. 

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.