The Team
Executive
Daniel Gschwind
Daniel is a board member of the National Tourism Alliance (NTA) the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC) and a member of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). He represents QTIC on various tourism committees, including the Tourism Forecasting Council. He is an Adjunct Professor to the School of Tourism at the University of Queensland and is the Honorary Consul of Switzerland for Queensland.
Daniel holds an honours degree in economics from the University of Queensland and has worked as a senior economist with Queensland Treasury.
He has previously run a yacht charter operation in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean for ten years.
Business Operations
Claire Brown
Claire has been involved in tourism industry for more than 18 years.
She started her career in Perth in reservations and ticketing for Northern Gateway, the GSA for Royal Brunei Airlines. Claire progressed to Outbound Manager that included all international areas of the company - Timika Charters, operated a six times monthly service from Darwin to Timika in West Papua with Qantaslink BAe146, Borneo Holidays and Northern Gateway Holidays, one of the first holiday specialists and personalised itinerary planning services for travel to Borneo and reservations, ticketing and sales/marketing for GSA – Royal Brunei Airlines.
For the last three years, Claire has been Office Manager for the Coral Sea Charter Company – operates the Elizabeth E II charter vessel based in Mackay.
She has also been Managing Legal Assistant with Australian Government Solicitor responsible for legal assistants and services for the Litigation Practice in Canberra and Executive Director for the Tourism Industry Council (ACT & Region).
Hazel O’Sullivan
Hazel O’Sullivan has a Bachelor of Arts in Language and Cultural Studies from the University of Limerick in Ireland. Hazel is an Irish citizen but she has lived and worked in Australia since June 2010 when she first arrived as a backpacker. She joined the QTIC team in September 2011 and now works as receptionist for both QTIC and EC3 Global.
Prior to living in Australia, Hazel enjoyed travelling with friends, during which time she spent eight months in Mexico teaching English. She also studied in the Universidad de Granada in Spain for six months where she improved her Spanish skills. Hazel now enjoys travelling in Australia and exploring the countryside at the weekends! She also enjoys the social scene in Brisbane and catching up with friends!
Advocacy and Industry Development
Kim Harrington
Kim joined the QTIC team in 2006 and brought with her a background in business development, economic and skills development and strategic partnerships.
Kim has worked in various operational roles within government, private sector and her own consultancy business in the UK and Australia. She has worked across the education, engineering, retail, and finance sectors however her past eight years in the tourism industry have been the most diverse and challenging!
Kim has a specific responsibility for business development strategies, programs, policy, funding and workforce development issues. Her role internally is to assist in reviewing the operations and directions of QTIC and to ensure that our small team make the best use of opportunities and resources for our members. Kim is passionate about driving change and innovation where it is needed and enabling businesses and individuals to exceed through support, resources and encouragement.
Down time involves family, friends, juggling kids’ commitments, and trying to fit in as many opportunities as possible to experience first- hand the diversity of our great sector.
Amanda Rohan
Amanda has been part of the QTIC team since June 2011 as Senior Research and Policy Officer. Prior to this Amanda worked at Tourism Queensland in the Strategy and Government Relations team as Senior Research Analyst.
Before entering the tourism industry, Amanda developed professional skills covering a range of business areas including Quality Systems Manager, Financial Controller and Service Coordinator during her eight years in the Queensland marine and Superyacht industry. Amanda worked with the peak national body representing the Superyacht industry in Australia, Superyacht Australia and Superyacht Base Brisbane, holding the positions of Director and Treasurer/Secretary respectively. She built relationships and worked in partnership with members and stakeholders to drive industry initiatives both here and internationally.
Jayde O'Brien
Jayde started her Traineeship in Business Administration with QTIC in August 2012. She has worked in a variety of jobs, starting out in hospitality. Jayde worked as a Receptionist and Promotions Assistant for Hot FM and Sea FM radio stations in Mackay, as well as Southern Cross Ten. Jayde is originally from Mackay and moved to Brisbane to challenge herself. Jayde sees this traineeship as a great opportunity to further her telephone, communication and business administration skills.
In her spare time, Jayde enjoys listening to music, cooking, reading and dining at the fantastic restaurants here in Brisbane.
Catherine Pham
Catherine joined the QTIC team in November 2012 and brings expertise in urban and regional planning, development assessment, strategic land use and transport planning. Catherine completed her Bachelor degree in Town Planning at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. She then continued her studies in Germany and completed a Master in Urban Development.
Catherine’s involvement and understanding of the industry grew from planning at a local level, to managing development on an international scale. She has applied these skills in various roles for private consultancies located in Brisbane and regional Queensland, and previously within state government as a network planner.
Catherine has a passion for travelling, learning about different cultures and enjoys participating in team sports.
Kate Leeds
Kate's journey with QTIC began during high school work experience and she has since been employed casually to assist with various projects. Her other professional experiences include working at major stadiums and venues in Brisbane, as well as assisting with a variety of events throughout South-East Queensland.
She is currently studying a Bachelor of International Hotel and Tourism Management (Events) and a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) at the University of Queensland, and hopes to continue working within the tourism industry.
Carmen Smith
Carmen has worked in the tourism industry for more than 13 years after completing her Bachelor Degree in Tourism at James Cook University, Townsville. During this time she has undertaken roles in both the public and private sector throughout northern Queensland and Brisbane.
Prior to joining QTIC, Carmen worked across a broad spectrum of industry issues in positions at Tourism Queensland for the Policy and Industry Innovation Teams, including areas such as skills and training, accreditation, business innovation and development, crisis management and sustainability.
In 2010, Carmen completed a Masters in Community Development focusing on the role of tourism within communities.
Carmen loves travelling and enjoying the outdoors and has a passion for cooking, primarily for family and friends.
Rhonda Appo
Rhonda joins the QTIC team with an education and training background in the private and public sector. She has responsibility for the coordination of the QTIC Indigenous Employer Champions Network to ensure Indigenous people are active participants in the Queensland tourism industry.
The nature and diversity of work undertaken by Rhonda over the past decade has given her an extensive knowledge and understanding of employment and training issues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Her links with Indigenous communities throughout Australia has given Rhonda the opportunity to actively drive change and innovation through the use of e-learning and emerging technologies for life-long learning.
Rhonda is passionate about securing positive outcomes for Indigenous people to become empowered and be active participants in the economy. In her spare time, she enjoys being with family and friends and planning for the next big trip.
