Where are you based?
Traditionally, I am in New York City, but I will be in LA this winter and spring!
What topics and places do you cover?
I focus on experiential, luxury travel that is also culturally immersive. “Bucket-list trips” feels like an overplayed term, but really, I like to write about the experiences that truly feel life-changing—the more remote, the better. So, polar bear safaris in the sub-Arctic, hiking in the Himalayas, fly camping in East Africa, or sailing the Mekong Delta.
I'm very interested in understanding the culture and history of a destination, meeting people, and learning more about their stories—travel truly is about other people. I really value culturally sustainable travel: does it benefit the local communities, is it locally owned, or does it give back to the surrounding region, etc? It's very easy to greenwash these days, and I think it's as important to treat people well, not just the environment. (And usually what's beneficial for one helps the other, i.e., the poachers-turned-conservationists protecting the gorillas in Rwanda).
From a destination perspective, I've been covering a lot of Africa the past two years—safaris and cultural experiences in southern and east Africa, in particular—and that's a continent I'd like to explore more. I also have so-called Polar Fever and love to freeze in the Arctic (and Antarctica, too, an actual bucket-list trip). I've traveled to 24 islands in the Caribbean, and love to spotlight the culture and identity of each island, beyond just the beach (which is reductive, in my opinion).
Domestically, New England and the Mountain West are my specialties (plus Alaska and Hawaii). I love to ski, so that's a big focus every winter, and I'm a major believer that summer on the East Coast rivals anywhere else in the world—so, Nantucket, Newport, Maine, the Vineyard, etc.
What outlets do you usually pitch (and write for)?
I contribute to a variety of print and digital publications, including Observer, Global Traveler, Business Insider, National Geographic, Matador, Hotels Above Par, and more.
Are you in-house or freelance (or both)?
I am freelance.
What is your approach to press trips?
I never say yes to a trip unless I know I'm able to cover it (hopefully in multiple places), and prioritize destinations I've never visited before, as that's usually the most inspiring and exciting for my stories. I like to plan my travel a bit further in advance and focus on one big trip a quarter to maintain a less chaotic work/life balance. (Though, when I was starting, I was on a plane pretty much nonstop for two years—wise, in hindsight, as the pandemic was on the horizon).
I feel so fortunate to have had these professional experiences that have taken me around the world in pursuit of such fascinating stories (and usually accompanied by equally fascinating people). I do individual as well as group press trips and have made some of my closest friends (and trusted professional colleagues) on the latter.
What are your professional pet peeves?
Rudeness! I feel very lucky to be in this industry—even when I'm struggling on a deadline—and don't understand excessive complaining or hostility towards our hosts on a trip. But overall, I've found people in the travel industry are so kind, fun, and interesting—you have to be, when your job is to be professionally curious. I'm grateful for the advice and mentorship from colleagues and peers.
In your past professional life, you were …
Working in advertising! (A veritable F. Scott Fitzgerald-type wanting to be a writer instead, except less successful and less glamorous).
Where would you like to return to?
Well, I recently returned to Kenya and to Tanzania twice in a calendar year and would love to go back again. I'm excited to visit China again this spring. And I spent a summer in high school living in Japan, and it's been my dream to return as an adult, so that's at the top of my list.
What's on your bucket list?
The list is always evolving—I find that the more you see of the world, the more you realize how much more there is to see. But Romania would be number one for me—I am descended from Dracula (seriously), and 50% Transylvanian, so there's already a story there. I also really want to visit Mongolia, Bhutan, and Madagascar. Egypt was top of my list forever, but I am hopefully visiting this fall!
Where do you travel for fun?
I bop around a lot in New England in the summer, and I often travel to Jackson Hole with my family. And I'm currently in wedding season (have been for over a decade), and that takes up a lot of personal travel time, but thankfully, they're usually someplace fun. And the Caribbean, though I haven't been there in nearly a year, and am suffering from this polar vortex.
Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is …
Too many to count! Maybe traveling to Jamaica without a passport (ill-advised and years before I was in the industry), singing a Bruce Springsteen song to represent my culture to my Māori hosts in New Zealand (I'm from New Jersey, they were entertained), or being swindled in Beijing on the way back to the hotel to catch my return flight (I thought I had time to visit the Forbidden City, but didn't factor in my yen being swapped out for Monopoly Money).
What advice would you give your younger professional self?
My advice would be to keep pursuing your passions—I always wanted to be a writer, and loved to travel, but never imagined my career would combine the two. I think you can't fake enthusiasm, and that passion and curiosity will take you far.
What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on?
I've written a lot (characteristically). Still, I'll share two of my favorite quotations: “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries,” Aldous Huxley, and “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign,” Robert Louis Stevenson.
How best should people contact you?
See my TravMedia profile here.
