Who we are

Meet the Team

Andrea Gardi Head Shot

Andrea Gardi
Executive Director

My three favourite things to do in the RTO4 region:

  1. Attending the Wiener Dog Races at Grand River Raceway
  2. Visiting the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
  3. Trying new sour beers at craft breweries.

Andrea Gardi joined RTO4 as a Project Manager, and is thrilled to be putting to good use her undergraduate degree in Honours Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business and a Master’s degree in Tourism Policy and Planning from the University of Waterloo.  Her professional background includes positions with economic development and destination marketing organizations across Ontario.  Using strong organizational and analytical skills, she has a passion for growing the tourism industry in the region she was born and raised in.

Selected as one of Destination International’s 30 under 30 in 2017, she also received the AACB Scholarship to represent the group in Hobart, Tasmania.

Marie Zimmerman
Interim Executive Director

My three favourite things to do in the RTO4 region:

  1. Swimming in Lake Huron
  2. Attending Festivals
  3. Cycling the G2G Trail

Marie Zimmerman has worked for five Canadian arts festivals in music, dance, jazz, film, and literature, acting as Artistic Director, publicist, HR consultant, emergency plan architect, strategic planner, Treasurer, and Executive Director.  She is one of the founding members of the Guelph Fab 5, a collective of local arts festivals.  She has managed carbon measurement and reduction projects, helped festivals achieve net carbon zero and thus win national and international sustainability awards, spearheaded community engagement projects, award-winning tourism initiatives, robust risk-management strategies, and powerful creative partnerships among businesses, not-for-profits, and government bodies.  She has a passion for the tourism industry as well as for sustainability, education, and arts and culture, which she brings to her new role as Interim Executive Director with RTO4.

Karen Mitchell

Karen Mitchell
Senior Project Manager, and Destination Manager for Wellington County

My three favourite things to do in the RTO4 region:

  1. River Bugging the rushing waters of the Grand River.
  2. Glass Blowing in the winter in Fergus.
  3. Rappelling the Elora Gorge.

Since 2012, Karen has worked at Ontario’s Regional Tourism Organization #4; a tourism destination development incubator with a key focus on growing travel destinations. Karen has been instrumental in the launch, training and operations of the RTO4 wide Regional Reservation System. 

In her role as Destination Project Manager, Karen works closely with tourism stakeholders and uses her skills to enhance the tourism destination by implementing projects that foster collaboration, build relationships, improve the tourism product, expand the network and market the destination.

Adventure travel, baking and doting on her toddler are three of her favourite things.

Charlotte Moore Headshot

Charlotte Moore
Senior Manager of Digital Innovation

My three favourite things to do in the RTO4 region:

  1. Attending Hillside Festival every summer in Guelph
  2. Hiking the beautiful Elora Gorge with my dog
  3. Shopping for antiques in St. Jacobs

Charlotte is passionate about creating innovative ways to move the needle on improving digital as a whole within her home region of RTO4. She is a firm believer that you can make a lot with a little in the continually advancing digital world. Previous to joining the RTO4 team, Charlotte gained invaluable experience working in digital marketing at Guelph Tourism for 4 years. Her post-secondary background in Music as well as Non-Profit Management allows her to have a unique set of skills, combining creative thinking and project management expertise. Charlotte believes in empowering others to take control of their own digital path to success and working with Destinations to cultivate a new way forward in Tourism through digital hygiene, design and development. She is a lifelong learner, creative thinker, connected storyteller and cultivator of ideas while continually asking ‘why’.

Leigh Cove

Leigh Cove
Destination Project Manager for Perth and Huron County

My three favourite things to do in the RTO4 region:

  1. Indulging in a full course farm to table meal from local Restaurants
  2. Spending a day out on the trails walking and taking in the rural Scenery
  3. Making a “chocolate pitstop” while doing some Christmas shopping in Downtown Stratford

A Huron County native, Leigh became a member of the RTO4 team in 2019 brining with her a diverse skill set. Leigh’s education and work experience has taken her through multiple internships with different sport organizations before finding a home as manager of a rural based YMCA facility where she spent the last three and a half years serving the local community.

 As a part of the RTO4 team Leigh is excited to support regional tourism initiatives with her problem solving abilities and operational management skills, with her ultimate goal being the delivery of quality experiences and solutions to the partners RTO4 serves.

Tristin Vogel
Destination Project Manager for Waterloo Region and the Grand River

My three favourite things to do in the RTO4 region:

  1. Heading to Stratford for milkshakes/ice cream and strolling along the river
  2. Cheering on local teams at various semi-pro and varsity sporting events! Go Hawks!
  3. Driving the countryside to pick up produce and baked goods at farm stands along the way

Growing up in Collingwood, Ontario Tristin watched her hometown develop into a tourism hot spot and recognized early the need for sustainable practices in the tourism industry and the importance of community engagement. Years later as a varsity athlete and coach at Wilfrid Laurier University, she saw first-hand the unifying power of sport, and began working to ensure that Canadian sport organizations could be safe and inclusive for everyone. She completed her Masters in Recreation and Leisure with a tourism focus from the University of Waterloo and has since been working closely with LGBTQI2S+ sport inclusion organizations, mentoring athletes and individuals, training organizations, and writing policy that promotes inclusion in sport. Tristin is excited to merge her passions for community-based sustainable tourism and inclusion and diversity to help create new and exciting initiatives within RTO4.

Brenda Greydanus Head Shot

Brenda Greydanus
Accounting Manager

My three favourite things to do in the RTO4 region:

  1. Driving through country roads in Perth by motorbike
  2. Ordering a handmade pizza in Downtown Stratford
  3. Finding the perfect pumpkin on a farm visit in Huron County

Brenda joined the team in 2015 and quickly endeared herself to colleagues and clients alike. Her nonjudgmental and fun-loving personality makes her easily approachable by anyone. Her dedication and attention to detail supports both clients and colleagues.

Brenda has a strong background in bookkeeping with a diploma in accounting & small business management, experience from many years in agri-business having owned & operated dairy & poultry farms with her husband and bookkeeping experience from a variety of businesses.

A proud mother and grandmother, Brenda loves spending time with family and friends. And in the summer months touring with her husband on their motorbike.

Job Opportunities

There are currently no open opportunities. 

Board of Directors

RTO 4 is directed by an industry-led, volunteer board that consists of 9 volunteer tourism leaders from across the region. Directors were selected for their tourism and professional knowledge, experience and skills and have been appointed to represent the interests of the region’s tourism sectors and stakeholders.

Members of the Board of Directors are:

  • Sean Billing – Brace Hospitality Consulting (At Large)
  • Melinda Croft – Fieldstone Barn (Wellington)
  • James Eddington – Eddington’s of Exeter, Exeter – (Huron)
  • Natasha Fritzley – Cowbell Brewing (Huron)
  • Robert Harris – Chicopee Tube Park, Kitchener – (Waterloo) – Co-Chair
  • Megan Malcolmson – St. Jacobs Farmers Market (Waterloo)
  • Rob Russell – MacLeods Scottish Shop, Stratford (Perth)
  • Peter Smith – Blyth Arts & Culture Initiative 14/19 Inc., Blyth (At Large)
  • Naheed Somji – Digital Marketing Consultant (At Large)
  • Trevor Wynne-Jones – Conestoga College, Kitchener (Waterloo) – Co-Chair