Develop your own profile, network, career, and/or business by joining us at The Arts and Culture Network as a full member.
It's just £10 per month. Cancel any time.
Benefits are here. This profile is just one of them.
Meet Jacquie Chandler (Destination steward) and discover her fantasy cultural year.
Early Career and Introduction to Geotourism
Jacquie Chandler began her professional journey as a Corporate Story Coach for a local sales messaging company. During this time, she attended a tourism conference in South Lake Tahoe, where she was deeply inspired by success stories of destinations that had successfully adopted geotourism principles. This pivotal experience led to her appointment as the Geotourism Liaison for the Lake Tahoe Basin by the National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations (NGCSD) in 2007.
Founding of Sustainable Tahoe
In 2010, leveraging her new role and passion for sustainable tourism, Jacquie Chandler founded Sustainable Tahoe, a Nevada-based nonprofit organisation dedicated to promoting geotourism in the Tahoe Truckee watershed.
The organization’s mission is to inspire, enable, and showcase the emergence of geotourism as a sustainable economic driver for the region. Under her leadership,
Sustainable Tahoe has facilitated alliances and collaboration models that promote responsible tourism. Jacquie Chandler’s efforts have brought together local businesses, agencies, and indigenous communities, ensuring that members of the Washo and Paiute tribes actively participate in every public event hosted by Sustainable Tahoe.
Milestones and Contributions
From 2010 to 2014, Jacquie Chandler and a dedicated group of volunteers produced the first Tahoe Stewardship Congress. This initiative was followed by four years of the Tahoe Expo, a weekend of guided ‘fun, meaningful, low-impact’ visitor activities that promote stewardship and sustainable prosperity. These efforts also led to the development of a geotourism curriculum for Sierra Nevada College, which educated students on the importance of destination stewardship.
Between 2015 and 2022, Jacquie Chandler continued her work by co-creating a line of Gratitude Products featuring messages of stewardship, launching self-guided Earth Walk adventures, and hosting student events.
She also developed a sustainable tourism implementation framework centered around an online and field course, which she presented at various local and state travel, business, and naturalist conferences.
Ongoing Initiatives and Advocacy
Beyond her administrative and advocacy roles, Jacquie Chandler actively engages in educational initiatives promoting nature-based wellness practices. Her involvement in discussions about rewilding oneself in the EarthGym exemplifies her commitment to holistic environmental stewardship.
Sustainable Tahoe continues to expand its outreach through original books, songs, talks, and a forthcoming children’s TV series.
Jacquie Chandler remains dedicated to fostering a geotourism economy that aligns with the principles of sustainability, conservation, and cultural heritage preservation. Through Sustainable Tahoe, she continues to lead the charge in redefining how tourism can serve as a tool for ecological and economic prosperity.
Chronological Timeline:
2007 – Appointed by NGCSD as the Geotourism Liaison for the Lake Tahoe Basin.
2009 – Partnered with Penelope Curtis to form Geo-Sierra, winning the RFP to create a Geotourism Asset Map for El Dorado County.
2010 – Founded Sustainable Tahoe with local volunteers to facilitate the adoption of a geotourism economy for the Tahoe Truckee watershed.
2010–2014 – Organized the first Tahoe Stewardship Congress and the Tahoe Expo, promoting sustainable, low-impact tourism.
2015–2022 – Co-created stewardship-focused Gratitude Products, launched Earth Walk adventures, developed an online and field course for sustainable tourism, and presented at travel and business conferences.
Through her leadership and dedication, Jacquie Chandler continues to inspire a sustainable future for the Lake Tahoe Basin, ensuring that responsible tourism remains at the heart of the region’s economic and environmental strategies.
Jacquie Chandler on TEDx:
Jacquie Chandler's fantasy cultural year.
Guided by founder of the Arts and Culture Network, Jacquie Chandler embarked on an imaginative exploration of her passions—geotourism, destination stewardship, and cultural immersion. A former fashion designer turned National Geographic geotourism liaison, Jacquie has spent 18 years championing sustainable tourism in the Tahoe watershed. Now, she is writing a book on the subject and working on a "millennial forest of consciousness" to reconnect humanity with nature. With a TEDx talk under her belt, she also plans to expand her speaking career.
A Global Study in Destination Stewardship
Mark proposed an ambitious, fictitious foundation-funded journey for Jacquie: a worldwide study on destination stewardship, ranking countries on their environmental and tourism policies.
This project would lead to a TED Talk, a book, a TV series, and a university lecture tour. Jacquie agreed to begin in South Africa’s Earth Lodge before traveling to Chile, Norway, Australia, and beyond, exploring sustainable lodging and the effects of climate change. As part of this journey, she accepted an experimental challenge—to immerse herself exclusively in African music for a year.
Cultural Exploration & Time Travel Adventures
Their conversation turned playful as they designed Jacquie’s "fantasy cultural year," with Mark wielding a magic wand and time machine. She envisioned experiencing the pagan dances of Orkney Island’s Stennis stones, delving into the Vatican catacombs in search of the original Eucharist recipe, and dining on Ethiopian cuisine. She selected Venice for a digitally enhanced art gallery visit and shared her love for dance as a sport.
In London, Mark and Jacquie planned a week of cultural indulgence: a Rolling Stones concert, avant-garde theatre akin to "Liquid Theatre," a Broadway-style musical, the ballet "The Rite of Spring," and a classic film screening, for which Jacquie recommended My Cousin Vinny. Their time-traveling itinerary included witnessing the opening nights of Fiddler on the Roof and West Side Story.
Art, Music, and Social Change
A thought-provoking discussion on the power of disruptive art and music followed. Jacquie drew parallels between Jesus and Malcolm X, reflecting on the role of art in challenging societal norms. She shared her experience as a Bank of America Scholar and emphasised the need for artistic activism. Mark, captivated by her insights, committed to publishing and promoting their conversation.
Through this imaginative exercise, Jacquie’s fantasy cultural year emerged as a deeply personal, intellectually stimulating, and adventure-filled journey—bridging geotourism, the arts, and human consciousness.
Would you like to be interviewed and promoted in this way?
This is just one of several benefits of full membership at just £10 per month (€12/$12) and you may cancel any time.
Join us here.
Mark Walmsley FRSA FCIM AGSM
Chief Culture Vulture
Arts & Culture Network
Join us as a full member for "done for you" profile, network, career, and/or business development support for just £10 per month. Cancel any time.
Here are some of our full member testimonials:
"Had to write and say a huge thank you for the networking sessions you are running. Met some great people today, thank you so much."
"Great speed networking session today - I really enjoyed it and got some really relevant and valuable connections!"
"I've just joined!! £10 a month for a 1:1 business growth session, free networking, and access to all the events (on top of everything else!)?! This is INSANE value for money Mark and I'm so grateful for everything you've done to build such a supportive network of likeminded creative professionals."
Mark Walmsley FRSA AGSM
Chief Culture Vulture
Arts & Culture Network
This was great fun.