Serene Porter, Six Nations First Nation, Ontario

Serene Porter, owner of Serene & Wander Consulting, is a multidisciplinary artist and consultant
specializing in community engagement and cultural inclusion. With roles like Indigenous advisor for
the 2024 Juno Awards, Nova Scotia Music Week and Director of Culture & Engagement for the 2023
North American Indigenous Games, Serene integrates Indigenous culture into major events,
fostering understanding and appreciation among diverse audiences. Serene’s strengths in cultural
awareness training and creating spaces for meaningful Indigenous inclusion ensure that projects are
not only successful but transformative.

Marie Zimmerman has worked for five Canadian arts festivals in music, dance, jazz, film, and literature, acting as Artistic Director, publicist, HR consultant, emergency plan architect, strategic planner, Treasurer, and Executive Director.  She is one of the founding members of the Guelph Fab 5, a collective of local arts festivals.  She has managed carbon measurement and reduction projects, helped festivals achieve net carbon zero and thus win national and international sustainability awards, spearheaded community engagement projects, award-winning tourism initiatives, robust risk-management strategies, and powerful creative partnerships among businesses, not-for-profits, and government bodies.  She has a passion for the tourism industry as well as for sustainability, education, and arts and culture, which she brings to her new role as Director of Projects and Partnerships with Regional Tourism Organization 4 (RTO4).  She is a 2024 recipient of the Three Rivers Woman of Distinction Award. 

Carson Ackroyd
Senior Vice President of Sales, Tourism Calgary 

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.

Ron Sutter 

Ron Sutter played 18 season in the National Hockey League, joining his brothers Brian, Brent, Darryl, Duane and Rich Sutter, all of whom played in NHL. He was the highest draft pick of the family, taken 4th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1982 and was the last of the Sutter brothers to retire from the NHL. Ron and his twin brother Rich both played on the Lethbridge Broncos in the WHL, and together they led that team to the Memorial Cup in 1983.

He made his NHL debut in 1983 with Philadelphia and played with the Flyers until the 1991–92 season, when he was traded to the St. Louis Blues.  He spent  2 seasons playing amongst Rich while being coached by his older brother Brian. After that, he became somewhat of a journeyman in the NHL, playing for St. Louis, the Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, and San Jose Sharks within 4 seasons. Sutter played 4 seasons with the Sharks, being coached by older brother Darryl where he primarily became a defensive centre. Sutter would finish off his career with the Calgary Flames, and retired in 2001. After retiring, he worked for several seasons as a scout for the Calgary Flames.

Larry Shaw

Larry Shaw is a nationally recognized leader in entrepreneurship and economic
development, named a Startup Canada Entrepreneurial Leadership Award winner and one
of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOs. He has been the architect of cross-functional growth
initiatives that connect business, academia, government, and communities to drive regional prosperity. As the founder of Planet Hatch, New Brunswick’s first startup accelerator, and the force behind Ignite Fredericton and Knowledge Park, Larry has helped launch more than 300 companies and create over 4,000 jobs.

Beyond infrastructure, Larry’s leadership has focused on community economic growth by
leveraging regional assets, building competitive positioning, and advancing experiential
tourism as an element of Atlantic Canada’s broader economic story. He has led
transformative projects such as regional collaboration for community-based tourism
featuring hospitality and buy-local strategies to national leading infrastructure programs
such as the $40M Cyber Centre, Canada’s first dedicated Level II cybersecurity R&D facility, which anchors hundreds of high-value jobs and strengthens the country’s innovation capacity. His work consistently blends strategic foresight with place-based identity, creating lasting opportunities for entrepreneurs, researchers, and communities alike.

Larry Shaw’s hallmark is building ecosystems where business, government, academia, and
communities converge. By aligning strategic infrastructure with regional strengths, he
continues to advance innovation based prosperity across Atlantic Canada and beyond.

Paul Tingley

Paul is a decorated athlete from Halifax, Nova Scotia and considered one of the
top sailors in the country. He is a five-time time Paralympian, a three-time Paralympic
medalist (Gold in 2008, Bronze in 2000 & 2016), a bronze and gold medallist at the
world sailing championships in 2009 and 2010 respectively and is a member of the
Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame. He was a member of the Canadian Sailing Team for
18 years and was named Sail Canada’s Sailor of the Year in 2008. In addition to his
impressive sports resume, Paul has worked as a Community Developer with the Rick
Hansen Foundation, a Parasport Coordinator with Sport Nova Scotia, and is presently
employed as an Accessibility Officer with the Nova Scotia Department of Communities,
Culture, Tourism and Heritage. Paul is credited with advancing a wide range of
parasports provincially and nationally, including sailing, sledge hockey, sit ski, table
tennis, and wheelchair basketball.