Kelly Galaski
program & operations manager, Latin America projects
After working for several years in hotels in my native Toronto and in Western Canada's resorts and then spending a lot of time travelling, I decided that I really wanted my career to focus on sustainable tourism and international development. I returned to university to complete a Master in Environmental Studies (MES) degree with a focus on sustainability strategies for business and tourism for community development. My major research involved working in southern Costa Rica with local residents on a community-based tourism (CBT) assessment and planning process which gave me an insight into the challenges, benefits and opportunities of CBT. My work with Planeterra has evolved from working on a range of activities, including marketing and communications and coordinating international partnerships, to now being responsible for our Latin America program as well as internal functions such as accounting and training. With our Latin America project coordinators and Planeterra Ambassadors we identify local partners for the development of projects in each of our industry partners' important destinations, helping to link local projects with travellers who are looking for ways to make a contribution in the destinations they visit.
