SEASIDE, Calif., February 13, 2017 – The Sustainable Hospitality Management program at CSUMB has partnered with community leaders, public officials and hospitality professionals to bring the first-ever sustainable hospitality symposium to the Monterey peninsula Feb. 23, 2017.

Partners of the symposium include the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Monterey County Hospitality Association, the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, the Monterey County Workforce Investment Board, the Santa Cruz County Economic Development Agency, local cities and firms as well as the Government of Costa Rica.

CSUMB is also thrilled to announce that Congressman Jimmy Panetta, who was recently selected to serve on the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans and the Subcommittee on Federal Lands, will be joining the list of notable speakers.

"The Sustainability Symposium is bringing together the creme-de-la-creme of policy-makers, public officials, hospitality leaders, green developers and builders as well as educators from Costa Rica and the United States. The goal is to shape the future of the Monterey Bay region as the leading sustainable hospitality, eco-tourism and eco-recreation region in the country,” says Shyam Kamath, Dean of the CSUMB College of Business.

The former President of Costa Rica, José María Figueres, will keynote the symposium with a team of leading sustainable hospitality CEOs and the Minister of Tourism from Costa Rica. Figueres was the primary architect and public official who pioneered Costa Rica’s sustainable hospitality development and ecotourism strategy.

Allison Gosselin, Director of Engineering and Sustainability at Aramark Leisure Services and Julie Packard of the Monterey Bay Aquarium will also address attendees at the reception. Leaders will be discussing topics such as sustainable hospitality, eco-tourism, eco-recreation development and tactics for attracting sustainable investment and public-private partnerships to Monterey County.

"At Aramark, a deep commitment to reducing our environmental footprint is a driving factorin our management of Asilomar Conference Grounds, and we’ve made significant strides in water and waste management,” says Gosselin. “The symposium presents a great opportunity to learn from other environmental leaders and discover new ways for Aramark to continue to make an impact."

Additional speakers include: President Eduardo Ochoa, Dean Shyam Kamath and Sustainable Hospitality Management Program Executive Director John Avella of CSUMB; Ted Balestreri, CEO of Cannery Row Company; Costa Rican hospitality firm CEOs Alfonso Gómez, Jose Alvaro Jenkins, Karin Zurcher and Roberto Fernández along with Tourism Minister Mauricio Ventura of the Government of Costa Rica; John Laird_,_ California Secretary of Natural Resources; Cody Plott, COO of the Pebble Beach Company; Kurt Gollnick, COO of Scheid Vineyards; Margaret Spring, Vice President of Conservation and Science and Chief Conservation Officer of the Monterey Bay Aquarium; Assemblywoman Anna Caballero_;_ Supervisor Jane Parker of Monterey County; Janine Chicourrat, General Manager of the Portola Hotel & Spa; Tammy Blount, President & CEO of the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau; Teresa Matsui, CEO of Matsui Nursery; and Tejal Sood, CEO of Bayside Resorts in Santa Cruz.

The Sustainable Hospitality Symposium will be held on Thursday, February 23, 2017, at the InterContinental The Clement Monterey from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. For more information, please visit: csumb.edu/green.

This article contains contributions by the Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau.