Antonio Santos del Valle

Antonio Santos del Valle is the President of the Tourism and Society Think Tank (TSTT) and a renowned international consultant and advisor with a solid track record across the public, private, and academic sectors. He has held key executive positions within the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), serving on its Board of Affiliate Members and its Panel of Experts. Furthermore, he coordinated the World Shopping Tourism Network and has advised on major international summits and strategic global initiatives.

He possesses extensive experience in international cooperation and territorial development, actively participating in bilateral and multilateral programs across Latin America, Europe, and Africa. He has advised various ministries and local governments on drafting strategic plans for tourism, culture, and heritage. Additionally, he stands out as a university lecturer, international speaker, and author of numerous specialized publications focusing on innovation, sustainability, governance, and tourist spending behavior.

Anamaria Patiño Salgado

Anamaria Patiño Salgado is a Colombian political scientist specializing in international cooperation and development project management. She holds a diploma in Development Projects and brings over ten years of professional experience in formulating, monitoring, funding, and closing social, economic, and environmental programs across municipal, regional, and national levels.

Her professional career includes leading strategic programs at the FEDECACAO Foundation and the National Federation of Cacao Growers, managing field initiatives for cocoa-farming families. She has worked closely with Colombia's Ministry of Agriculture, the Territory Renewal Agency (ART), and the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA). Her work stands out for negotiating strategic partnerships with donor agencies, implementing gender and inclusion policies, and driving environmental sustainability.

José Jiménez Puerta

José Jiménez studied Political Science at the University of Granada and holds master’s degrees in Geopolitics, Migration Studies and Economics. He also holds a teaching qualification.

He has lived in Côte d’Ivoire since 2019, where he spent four years working in development cooperation on projects supporting the social reintegration of young people at risk of exclusion through agriculture and access to employment and education. During this time, he also worked as a Spanish teacher.

He currently serves as an economist at the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), where he is also responsible for relations with Spanish-speaking countries.

Mileidys Nieves Mora

Mileidys Nieves Mora is a Venezuelan industrial process engineer, holder of a Master's degree in Food Innovation and Development, and a certified expert in chocolate and food risk control. She is the founder and technical consultant of Versado en Chocolate, a specialized platform dedicated to strategic advisory, knowledge transfer, and the deployment of hard technologies across the cacao value chain.

She boasts over a decade of international experience in R&D, quality management, and the valorization of single-origin cacaos across the Americas and Europe. She sits on the Board of the World Cacao Tourism Network, representing Venezuela and Colombia. As Head of the Training, Certification, and Quality Coordination team, she designs standardization, contaminant mitigation, and monitoring tools to guarantee competitiveness and excellence in agritourism.

Viviana Alexandra Carvajal Salazar

Viviana Alexandra Carvajal Salazar holds a Ph.D. in Sciences in Agro-Industrial Economic Problems and is an accomplished specialist in agriculture and agricultural economics. She has extensive international experience converting agricultural resources into high-value tourist experiences through the design of agritourism circuits, products with Protected Designations of Origin and Geographical Indications, and the integration of agro-food supply chains.

Her work bridges spatial planning, circular economy principles, sustainability certifications, and omnichannel marketing strategies. She has advised local governments and international organizations on rural development policies, economic diversification, and decent job creation. Working alongside TSTT through participatory governance models, she drives joint proposals for multilateral cooperation projects that directly benefit rural cooperatives and destinations.

Percy Manuel Ac Pangan

Percy Manuel Ac Pangan is a Guatemalan professional currently serving as the Technical Secretary of the World Cacao Tourism Network. He holds an academic background in agronomy, hotel and restaurant management, foreign trade management, and an Executive Master’s Degree in Business Administration. His duties encompass operational coordination, agreement monitoring, key performance indicator tracking, and inter-institutional alignment across the cacao value chain.

He has a distinguished record in international cooperation working with the European Union, Italy, Belgium, and Spain, executing development projects across Latin America and the Caribbean. He has led capacity-building initiatives for smallholder producers, private estates, and processing MSMEs. Through BEPS International and the Nuyaak brand, he promotes economic sustainability, quality control, traceability, gastronomic agritourism, and multi-stakeholder strategic alliances.

Carlos Dragonné

Carlos Dragonné is a Mexican journalist, filmmaker, and communications strategist with over twenty years of professional experience in gastronomy, culture, and tourism. Formally trained in filmmaking with a specialized postgraduate diploma in the History of Mexican Gastronomy, he serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Sabores de México y el Mundo. He is also the co-author and coordinator of El Recetario de la Abuela, a book archived in specialized academic collections at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

He acts as the official spokesperson for Visit El Paso in Mexico and heads the agency Sabores Comunicación, crafting brand strategies for the hospitality sector. His background includes working as a political analyst, film critic, and contributor to major regional media outlets. Furthermore, he has directed and produced over fifty high-profile commercials and contributed as an aerial cinematographer to recognized films and documentary series.

José Manuel Gutiérrez Rodríguez

José Manuel Gutiérrez Rodríguez is a Spanish travel journalist and editorial photographer with twenty-five years of professional experience. Holding a degree in Journalism and certified as a Senior Camera Operator, he directs the bimonthly bilingual magazine GO Travel, which targets high-net-worth travelers and reaches an international audience across more than 85 countries.

He is the founder and director of the tourism content production company Cardinalia, which houses an extensive photo archive containing over five million images from all five continents. Throughout his career, he has published over 200 travel guides registered with the National Library of Spain and written roughly two thousand travel and cultural feature stories for prestigious global publications such as National Geographic.