Sandra Howard is the Executive Director of Medellín Convention & Visitors Bureau. For five years she led Colombia's public policies and sustainable tourism development strategies as Vice-minister of Tourism under President Juan Manuel Santos. She served as State Secretary of Education and Culture, and also as Governor of the Colombia Island Archipelago of San Andres and Providencia, where she was born. She is an Associate of Beyond Green Travel, a sustainable tourism firm. Her commitment to the promotion of sustainable tourism as a way to address poverty alleviation, nature conservation, and protecting cultural heritage remains fundamental to her professional work. Sandra has appeared on stage at global events including UNESCO World Heritage Tourism Summit, Small Island Developing States Summit, and Caribbean States Association for Heritage Tourism, among others. In 2015, she was responsible for organizing and co-hosting the 21st UNWTO General Assembly in Colombia, attended by 170 countries. From 2016 to 2018 she also led the Sustainable Tourism Commission of the UNWTO. The International Institute for Peace through Tourism recognized her as one of the World's women empowered in tourism, during ITB Berlin 2018. Besides being a seasoned journalist, tourism administrator, and specialist in cultural management, Sandra is also the mother of Camila and Mariana and a curious traveler.

What You Will Learn:

• How the diversity of culture in her upbringing impacted Sandra’s life
• How the city of Medellin has transformed since the 80s and 90s and is becoming one of the most innovative cities in Latin American
• Why did Sandra decide to allow her daughters to go back to Colombia with their father while she stayed in the United States
• What judgments and expectations does society place on mothers, that are not placed on fathers
• What limitations are put on women in Latin America, and how have things improved for women in Colombia

How to Contact Sandra Howard

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sahowardt
• LinkedIn: https://co.linkedin.com/in/sandra-howard-45356aa2