Mr. DeBrine is currently a Senior Project Officer for sustainable tourism at UNESCO. From 2021 to 2023, he served as a destination advisor and sustainable tourism expert for UNESCO. Before this, he coordinated the UNESCO World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme, establishing a global framework to create coordinated sustainable tourism solutions for heritage conservation and local community development. In his role as a Senior Project Officer, he has led the implementation of global tourism projects and fostered private sector partnerships for UNESCO. Previously he was the Director of the World Heritage Alliance at the United Nations Foundation —a global community of travelers, members of the travel industry, government groups, non- governmental organizations, and the United Nations working together to preserve and protect World Heritage sites while supporting local communities. With extensive experience in sustainable development and tourism, Mr. DeBrine held the position of Deputy Director of the International Tourism Partnership for the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum where he worked with major hotel companies to create practical sustainability strategies and tools for the tourism industry. Formerly, Mr. DeBrine worked as a Forestry Officer for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization where he helped shape an international partnership for sustainable development in mountain regions. This builds on his many years as an environmental campaigner for WWF working on climate change, endangered species and sustainable tourism issues in the US and Europe. Mr. DeBrine holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

With more than two decades of experience in sustainability, education, tourism, and international cooperation, Vaso Anastasopoulou serves as Head of Development for EU Programmes & Innovation Networks at TÜV AUSTRIA HELLAS. She leads European-funded initiatives that promote sustainable growth, inclusion, and ESG excellence across the tourism and hospitality sector. Her career began in the hospitality industry, where she served as a Hotel Managing Director, gaining first-hand experience in tourism operations and quality service management, knowledge that continues to inform her current work. She has since held senior roles in vocational education, consulting, and project management, designing and implementing innovative programmes that advance sustainability, skills development, and responsible governance. Holding an MBA from Staffordshire University and an MSc in Adult Education from the Hellenic Open University, and a Bachelor in Marketing, she combines strategic vision with a strong commitment to fostering sustainable competitiveness in the tourism industry.

Marco Galaverni is a nature lover with a PhD in Biodiversity and Evolution. In particular, he has been studying large carnivores in Italy and abroad for over 15 years, with dozens of published scientific papers. After working as a research collaborator at ISPRA (the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research), he’s currently serving as the Oases, Education & Activation Director at WWF Italy, while collaborating with its spin-off WWF Travel in carryng out wildlife travels across the world.

Oana Penu is passionate about Workforce Transformation for the energy transition and social equity. She leads the InnoEnergy Skills Institute an emerging virtual company within InnoEnergy targeting the skills shortage within the batteries, solar PV, and green hydrogen value chains. Oana has over fifteen years of experience in several B2G roles in the energy, health and consumer electronics industries.

Gregorio is PhD in telecommunication engineering by Cartagena Technical University. His thesis addressed the challenges of industry 4.0 technology in education. He has more than 12 years in European projects coordination for research, innovation and education. During these years has coordinated big partnership projects such as the centre of vocational excellence ALLVIEW. Before that, he worked as a software developer for different sectors such as e-health or online marketing. Gregorio is currently the director of Skills Divers, which is devoted to accompany training centres on their path to vocational excellence. During the last years, he has leaded the developed of sustainable and inclusive educational experiences related to hospitality and tourism with the technology as conductor.