Darlene was appointed Executive Director of Tourism Nova Scotia in May 2022, after filling the role of Acting Executive Director along with maintaining her role as Director of Sector Development for the year prior.
As Executive Director, Darlene is focused on establishing strong relationships with industry stakeholders, understanding global best practices, making research-based decisions, and leveraging national, regional and local partnership opportunities to support Nova Scotia's tourism industry recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Tourism Nova Scotia’s Director of Sector Development, Darlene was responsible for tourism experience development and sector development initiatives aimed at improving Nova Scotia’s competitiveness as a tourism destination.
With over two decades of tourism experience, Darlene has extensive experience working with organizations, businesses and communities to ensure the growth, market-readiness and sustainability of Nova Scotia’s tourism products and experiences.
Darlene began her career with Industry Canada in the regional tourism office responsible for implementing federal–provincial tourism development agreements and leading sector development initiatives. In 1995, she joined the provincial tourism department as a tourism development officer and later advanced her career by working in other branches of government with a focus on tourism product development. Darlene has a degree in Science from Dalhousie University (1988), and a degree in Tourism & Hospitality Management (1992) from Mount Saint Vincent University.