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.

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 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.

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.

Annie is Business Development Manager for Tourism Winnipeg. For the past six years, she has been responsible for attracting sports and special events to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her main focus is attracting tourism business through the sport federations.  

Annie grew up in Normandy, France. She graduated from the University of Normandy with a Bachelor in Law and Political Sciences and a Master’s degree in Trade Development.  

Annie is a Winnipeg lover and has lived in the city for the past nine years. She loves creative industries and volunteers her helping local cultural events and charities. 

Annie speaks French and English fluently and loves dancing bachata when she has some spare time. 

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.

Matt has over 15 years of progressive management experience in high profile, complex, public/private governed organizations and possesses the ability to foster collaboration across federal, provincial, and municipal governments while demonstrating the ROI for all stakeholders and the community large. Currently, he is the General Manager of the Rath Eastlink Community Centre, one of Atlantic Canada’s premier sport, entertainment & recreation venues, located in Truro, NS. As a leading industry professional within the Maritimes, Matt is proud to serve as Chair for the Event Atlantic Society, a membership based advocacy group for Pan-Atlantic event tourism. Locally, in Central Nova Scotia he is also the Chair of Events Truro-Colchester, one of Canada’s fastest growing secondary markets and event hosting destinations.

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. 

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.