Our Board

Cam Charlton
Appointed Director, Elected TPDD Chair

Kleinhardt Business Consultants & Business Brokers - Senior Business Advisor and Broker.

Cam Charlton is an experienced business consultant with more than 30 years as a chartered accountant and an accredited management consultant. Cam's work is focused on sustainable business growth and development with particularly strong emphases on performance enhancement and governance.

Abi Ralph
Elected Cape Tribulation Zone Director

Daintree Discovery Centre Manager

Abi Ralph has considerable experience in the tourism industry spanning more than 25 years. Today, she is the manager of the Daintree Discovery Centre, overseeing a team of 12 employees.

She has lived North of the Daintree River since 1996, and is highly motivated and passionate about the area and the tourism industry.

Rachel Brophy
Douglas Shire Council Director

Douglas Shire Council - Chief Executive Office
Rachel took on the role of Chief Executive Officer at Douglas Shire Council in February 2022.

As an experienced CEO, Rachel is an accomplished strategist and change agent, with strong political nous and a focus on people and key stakeholders. Having worked across State and Local Government and NGO’s, Rachel has a breadth of policy and service reform experience including community services, aged and disability services, youth services, disaster management, major infrastructure, asset management, tourism and economic development.

Lani Strathearn
TTNQ Director - Elected Vice-Chair

Tourism Tropical North Queensland Marketing Manager

Lani is a performance-driven marketing professional with a passion for the tourism industry.

With over 14 years of tourism marketing experience, she is skilled in developing and implementing integrated marketing campaigns and leading successful product launches, promotions, digital marketing, and strategic brand development.

Sharyn Brydon
Appointed General Director

North Queensland Airports Aviation Business Development Manager

Andrew Hearn
Elected General Director

CaPTA Group Group General Manager

Andrew has over 20 years of extensive experience in financing, building, and operating tourist attractions.

Commencing with The CaPTA Group in 2018 to provide research and development capabilities on the rejuvenation of Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas. Most recently he has been its Acting General Manager, overseeing major projects such as the redevelopment of the Rainforest Habitat, and the construction of the exciting new CrocArena, before recently being promoted to Group General Manager for The CaPTA Group.

Lisa Chambers
Elected General Director

Experience Co - Head of Sales NQ

Lisa moved to NQ from New Zealand, to join Experience Co as Head of Sales NQ. coming not only with fresh eyes, but also ideas and enthusiasm for this amazing region, she now call home. Lisa worked in NZ's tourism industry for about 18yrs and have sat on multiple different industry boards, including the RTO board for Lake Wanaka.

Jess Whitworth
Elected Port Douglas Zone Director

Accor Group - General Manager Peppers Beach Club and Area Manager Accor Apartment and Leases Port Douglas

Jess has over 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry. Jess is currently General Manager at Peppers Beach Club and also oversees the 5 other Accor Apartment and Lease properties in Port Douglas which are Mantra Aqueous, Mantra Heritage, Mantra on the Inlet, Mantra in the Village and Mantra Portsea. This equates to 160 employees and 366 keys under Accor Management.

Jess is passionate about creating a unified voice amongst the accommodation providers and businesses in town to work together for the benefit of the community and tourism industry

Rachel Hodges
Elected General Director

Mossman Gorge Centre - General Manager

Rachael has 23 years of tourism hospitality industry experience with 21 of those years in Indigenous tourism. She began her role at the Centre in 2012 as the Operations Manager before taking on the Assistant General Manager role and has been officially engaged in the General Manager role in 2021.

Jason Heffernan
Elected Mossman/Daintree Village Zone Director

Back Country Bliss – Owner

Jason Heffernan, the driving force behind Back Country Bliss Adventures, brings a unique combination of hands-on experience, innovation, and genuine commitment to the tourism scene in our region. Since moving to Port Douglas in 2016 and taking over Back Country Bliss Adventures, Jason has led the company to significant growth, always emphasising sustainable practices.

For the past 7 years, Jason has actively collaborated with a wide array of tourism experiences throughout the Douglas Shire. This approach has not only deepened his understanding of the region's offerings, but has also led to strong, lasting relationships with other business owners. This has provided Jason with a clear perspective on both the shared challenges and collective aspirations for the future of tourism in our region. Actively engaging with local and state governments, he's often at the forefront, addressing industry challenges.

His consistent involvement in both interstate and international trade events underlines his commitment to boosting our region's profile. but also provides him with insights into the evolving trends and practices of the broader industry.

Jason brings not just his business insights but also a strategic vision and genuine passion for growth and proactive collaboration.