Home > CREST Staff - Washington, DC Office
Martha Honey, co-founder and Co-Director of CREST, heads the Washington, DC office. She has written and lectured widely on ecotourism, Travelers' Philanthropy, and certification issues. Her books include Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise? (Island Press, 1999 and 2008) and Ecotourism and Certification: Setting Standards in Practice (Island Press, 2002). She worked for 20 years as a journalist based in East Africa and Central America and holds a Ph.D. in African history. She was Executive Director of The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) from 2003 to 2006.
Email: mhoney@responsibletravel.org
David Krantz is CREST’s Washington Coordinator and is facilitating a variety of the center’s projects. David’s background includes work as an international trade paralegal, in hospitality management at a DC hotel, and over two years of experience in adventure and ecotourism in the developing world as he backpacked through South America, Eastern Europe, and Southern Africa. Prior to joining CREST, David coordinated environmental conservation initiatives in the tourism industry with Conservation International’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business. He holds a Masters of Tourism Administration from the George Washington University, where he focused on sustainable destination development.
Email: dkrantz@responsibletravel.org
Fred Nelson M.S., is a CREST consultant based in Tanzania, where he directs the Maliasili Initiatives, a research firm in Arusha. For over a year, Fred served as the local coordinator, organizing and promoting the 2008 Travelers’ Philanthropy Conference. He also carried out field research and updated the chapters on Tanzania and Kenya for the 2008 edition of Honey’s book Who Owns Paradise? He researched and wrote the East African case study for CREST’s Global Trends in Coastal Tourism. Fred has worked on community-based natural resource management in eastern Africa since 1998. He holds a Masters in Science in environmental studies from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in history from Cornell University.
Email: fnelson@habari.co.tz
Erick Vargas is an environmental consultant and professional speaker on biodiversity conservation, ecotourism, good environmental practices, product design and sustainable development. He holds a M.Sc. in Ecological Tourism at San José-based Latin American University for Science and Technology, ULACIT. From 1997-2005, he worked at Costa Rica’s National Biodiversity Institute, INBIO, as the Training and Consulting Unit Coordinator, organizing courses, workshops, seminars, field trips, and in-service training in subjects including biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, protected areas, ecotourism, guiding and interpretation, environmental services, bioprospecting, and intellectual property rights. Between 2004 and 2009 he was on the Board of Directors of the National Ecotourism Chamber of Costa Rica (CANAECO). In 2006, he was appointed by President Arias as a member of the National Biodiversity Committee of Costa Rica, which is an Ad Honorem position
Email: Erick16@ice.co.cr