CAUTHE2026

Invited Speakers

Oliver Hunter

Disability advocate/comedian/consultant

Living with cerebral palsy and using a wheelchair, Oliver’s has a different view of the world around him (literally- he’s lower) Performing stand up comedy- although he’s never actually stood up- Oliver has been cracking jokes about disability for over 10 years. Entertaining crowds from all major cities in Australia to Dallas, Seattle and L.A in the United States. While not wearing his comedian hat. Oliver is a disability awareness consultant and advocate, keynote speaker and podcast host. Always aiming to breakdown barriers and improve the lives of all people living with a disability. In other words: “the guy you get when you can’t afford Dylan Alcott”.

Shea Calvin

Associate Lecturer of Marketing, Newcastle Business School

Shea Calvin is a proud Birpai and Worimi woman from so-called Australia, and an Associate Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Newcastle.

Shea’s journey into tourism research began with a deep curiosity and a drive to see the world, but it was while travelling that she fell in love with home. The further she ventured, the more she found herself speaking about home, and realising the ways it had been misrepresented through a constructed lens. For many, her home was reduced to a romanticised backdrop, and their ideas of Aboriginality narrowed by static, outdated stereotypes. These encounters sparked the central question that drives her work: What happens when we - as Indigenous peoples - tell our own stories of place?

Her recently submitted PhD, Hear Our Voices: An Indigenist Approach to Tourism, introduced a Stories-Led Research Framework that privileges storytelling, yarning, and creative methods as tools to amplify Indigenous voices and reshape how places, peoples and their stories are represented.

Her work examines how First Nations peoples reclaim agency over how their Country and cultures are shared with visitors – challenging the extractive logics and colonial gazes that underpin tourism branding.

Shea’s research engages deeply with questions of connection, sovereignty and representation, and recognises storytelling as not just a method, but a form of governance, relationality and place-making. Her work contributes to more inclusive, community-led futures in tourism, while empowering communities to embrace, tell, and protect their stories on their own terms.

Andrea Comastri

CEO and Co-founder, Hotel Etico Australia

Andrea is Co-founder and CEO of Hotel Etico, the first award-winning not for profit social enterprise hotel in Australia, employing and training young people with disability, challenging the wider community to see both the human and economic value of an inclusive society and partnering with the Australian tourism and hospitality industry to make it the most inclusive in the world.

A strong believer in the transformative power of social enterprises to create sustainable impact, Andrea is an expert changemaker with over 25 years’ experience in the not-for-profit sector.

He held executive, director and advisory roles in charities and philanthropy in areas including disability, youth unemployment, homelessness, domestic violence, addiction, aged care and education.

Andrea is an Honorary Industry Fellow at the UTS Business School, 2022 AMP Tomorrow Maker and 2024 Westpac Scholar Social Change Fellow.

Dan Cockerell

Former Vice-President of the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida, CEO Torrens Global Education, CEO Strategic Education, Inc. (SEI) ANZ

Dan is the CEO of Torrens Global Education. He previously served as Vice-President of the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida. Dan graduated from Boston University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and earned his MBA in 2001 from the Crummer School of Business at Rollins College.

Dan's career began at Disney’s Epcot Center and included various management roles at Disneyland Paris. He held executive positions at Walt Disney World Resort, including Vice President of Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the Magic Kingdom. Dan was also a keynote speaker for the Disney Institute for 18 years.

After a fulfilling and exciting 26-year career with the Walt Disney Company, Dan and his wife Valerie made the decision to set out on a new venture and start their own consulting and speaking business for five and a half years, traveling around the world and sharing their experience and insight.

In December 2023, Dan moved to Sydney and joined Torrens University Australia as Co-CEO. He was later appointed CEO of Torrens Global Education, commencing January 1st 2025.

In June 2024, Dan was named an honorary Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce Australia (AmCham) in NSW.

Valerie Cockerell

Former Facilitator, Disney Institute

Born and raised in France, Valerie has perfected leadership and customer service excellence while rising through the ranks of the Disney organization both in Europe and the US. She later taught these very principles to a variety of organizations and leaders at the world renown Disney Institute. As a consultant and keynote speaker, she shares her approach based on common sense principles that are simple, effective, and easy to implement.

Using her corporate and family experiences, Valerie shares real life stories and strategies that illustrate how leaders can leverage "the wisdom of mom" and enhance their leadership style.