“Lightening Talks” Speakers
Gail Scott
“Traveling the Bio-Region”
Community Economic Development Specialist, CEDP.BC
Gail’s career has spanned all aspects of urban and rural community economic development practices within the private and public sectors throughout British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan over the past 30+ years.
She has held the position of Community Economic Development Officer with the District of Sooke on Vancouver Island since 2022 following her fourth attempt to retire.
Gail specializes in Destination Marketing Development in support of responsible, respectful, and regenerative tourism and visitor economy planning and strategizing in addition to collaborating with a broad range of network partnerships that address local and regional economic development services gaps focused on entrepreneurial business supports, business opportunity identification, investment attraction, and community organizational sustainability through recovery and resiliency practices.
Alexis Arrabito
“Beyond the Park: Arts, Culture, and Year-Round Placemaking on the Olympic Peninsula”
Alexis Arrabito is a community organizer, arts advocate, and founder of the Quimper Events Collective, a regional network supporting event, hospitality, and creative professionals across the Olympic Peninsula. She currently serves as Chair of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, where she works on public art initiatives and policies that strengthen the city’s creative economy.
Through her work, Alexis focuses on the intersection of arts, tourism, and local economic development. She believes that vibrant cultural ecosystems are essential to both community identity and sustainable visitor experiences, and she is passionate about highlighting the artists, makers, and creative spaces that define the Olympic Peninsula year-round.