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Staff

Evan Hall

Evan Hall

Chief Executive Officer

Evan is an economist with extensive experience in federal and state advocacy. A recognised tourism industry leader, Evan joined Tourism Council WA in May 2011 following five years at the Tourism & Transport Forum as National Policy Director.

Evan was previously an elected official with the Community & Public Sector Union, directing federal advocacy campaigns on immigration, customs and quarantine issues and in the commercial broadcasting and telecommunications sectors.

Leslee Hall

Leslee Hall

Corporate Affairs Manager

Leslee is an award-winning and experienced communications professional, specialising in media relations, writing and copy editing, and social media management. Before joining Tourism Council WA in 2014 as Communications Manager, her roles included Communications Officer for an agricultural advocacy group and journalist for a major regional newspaper. Leslee holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from UWA as well as a Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Curtin University. As Corporate Affairs Manager, Leslee is responsible for the planning and implementation of Tourism Council WA’s communications, media, public relations, event and marketing activities.

Vicki Brown

Vicki Brown

Industry Advisor Team Leader

Vicki joined Tourism Council WA in January 2020. Vicki has an extensive business background, consisting of cross-functional and multi-geographic experience, including business start-ups, systems analysis and improvement. As CEO of Itela Communications in Sydney for several years, she led strategy for Call Centre design implementation, and insourced and outsourced solutions for business. She project led and worked with Ericsson Sweden to deliver the first fully integrated Call Centre for Australia and has developed and delivered substantial Customer Lifecycle programs for customer acquisition, retention and growth strategies. Vicki spent several years with Seven West Media and News Corp and as a Group Account Director in digital solutions working locally and with teams in Cape Town, South Africa. Vicki is passionate about assisting businesses with strategy for improvement, growth and development.

Elise Reid

Elise Reid

Communications Officer

Elise joined Tourism Council WA in September 2020 after graduating with a Double Degree in Public Relations and International Relations from Curtin University and has extensive experience in strategic communication and engagement working with not-for-profits and government agencies. Elise also has a keen interest in politics and national policy and is particularly interested in regional development and advocacy.

Suzan Heatly

Office Administrator

Suzan joined the Tourism Council in April 2021 and has over 35 years' experience as an executive assistant, administrator, transcriber and other roles. Suzan worked at Sheraton Ayers Rock Hotel (now Sails in the Desert) for three years as the bookkeeper, general cashier, night auditor and was three times employee of the month.  Following that role she moved to Sheraton Alice Springs Hotel for another three years as the IT manager, bookkeeper and general cashier.  She has lived in the UK, NT and New South Wales but always returns to Perth. Suzan became a Justice of the Peace in 2011 and continues volunteering in that role.

Zoe Bevan

Zoe Bevan

Industry Advisor

Zoe joined Tourism Council in 2018 after graduating from Murdoch University with a Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Wildlife Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Tourism and Events Management. Zoe has over 8 years’ experience in customer service in hospitality and admin roles. She enjoys volunteering at various events and festivals around WA and has a keen interest in ecotourism/wildlife and marine tourism.

ben maisey

Benjamin Maisey Kyle-Little

Industry Advisor

Ben joined Tourism Council WA in March 2021 after having completed a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce, majoring in Tourism and Hospitality from Curtin University in 2016, and a Graduate Diploma of Ecotourism from The University of Western Australia in 2019. Ben is also currently undertaking a Masters thesis, researching trail towns within Australia, at The University of WA. Ben has over 5 years of experience within the tourism and hospitality industry and fell in love with the South West region when studying in Albany for 2 years where he developed his keen interest in nature-based tourism.

Tessa Purdy

Industry Advisor

Tess joined Tourism Council WA in June 2021 after completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Curtin University in 2021, majoring in Tourism and Hospitality and a minor in Management and also Indigenous Land and Environments. Tess has worked in the hospitality industry for over eight years and has a keen interest in all things Western Australian food, music, and culture.

Karen Priest

Trainer

Karen Priest’s extensive career spans 30 years in the tourism and hospitality sector in the United Kingdom, South Africa, New Zealand and Western Australia. She has served on several tourism industry boards and committees, including Tourism Council Western Australia (TCWA), and is known for developing and implementing strong growth strategies using her effective leadership, sales, marketing, communication and presentation skills.

Karen is the Principal of Smart Tourism, a boutique marketing consultancy which provides strategic solutions and advice to the tourism industry. She has an extensive hotel management background and gained significant destination marketing and management experience working in senior roles with various regional, state and national tourism agencies.

With her passion for tourism marketing and helping businesses succeed she is highly regarded by the industry as a specialist in her field.

Tracy Zhang

Trainer

Tracy Zhang is a PhD candidate and holds an MA in Education and International Relations. Her current PhD research at Edith Cowan University focusses on international education and globalized education policy. She has extensive experience in developing and delivering corporate training programs for private, government and education sectors in both Australia and China. Tracy’s working areas focus on intercultural understanding, relationship building and the impact of the international mobility on tourism. Working closely with Tourism Council WA, Tracy has developed and delivered the China Ready Workshop since 2011, assisting more than 800 WA tourism industry personnel to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and China market.

Craig Wells

Trainer

Craig Wells from WellStrategic isn’t quite your average photographer. He specialises in premium virtual tours and photography for the tourism industry. He maintains a broad list of clients from casinos, airports and remote eco resorts to luxury charter vessels and adventure companies. He has also worked in the advertising and branding industry as a Director of Strategy working directly with clients. This role was heavily engaged in TV and radio commercials, media budgets, SEO, digital campaigns, company rebrands, web development/design and more. Craig also has over 15 years of B2B Sales and Marketing experience and is a fully certified “Google Trusted Photographer”.