Conference Speakers
Carol Patterson, President
Kalahari Management Inc.
Carol Patterson is well known as a tourism industry consultant, speaker, and author.
Her company, Kalahari Management Inc., provides assessments, strategic planning, and feasibility studies for tourism destinations. It publishes a quarterly newsletter EcoTourism Management on tourism issues and best practices. Carol is also the author of the books, Accountants and Other Daredevils: Unlocking Your Inner Superhero and Reinventure: How Travel Adventure Can Change Your Life and leads workshops on The Road Less Traveled: Finding Unconventional Work/Life Solutions to help people bring the passion and fun back to their lives. Other books Carol has written include The Business of Ecotourism, The Business of EcoTourism Development and Management, and Saving Paradise: The Story of Sukau Rainforest Lodge.
Carol has degrees in Business Administration, Economics and Geography, and holds a Certified Management Accountant Designation. In 1991 she was named Merit Winner in the Pannell Kerr Forster Research Award competition and in 2005 won an Excellence in Tourism Award from the Nevada Commission on Tourism for a study on product development and marketing strategies for nature based tourism in Nevada. Carol also received the prestigious Woman of Vision award from Global Calgary TV, the Calgary Herald and the YWCA.
Carol is an active member of various community organizations. She is a private pilot, and created and operated the “Flying Zoo to You” program for the Calgary Zoo from 1985 to 1987. A Senator of the Calgary Zoological Society, Carol has contributed to the live collections, education and business operations committees and is a Past President of the Society. She also served on the board of Watchable Wildlife Inc, a U.S. non profit organization promoting responsible wildlife viewing ethics.
