Teaming Up for Success

Stephanie is a member of the destination optimization team, where she mostly gathers and analyzes data to help local businesses, as well as other tasks involving spreadsheets or the occasional VBA macro. Outside of work, she enjoys tabletop RPGs, indie video games, sewing and piano.

Favorite Travel Memory

I spent an entire day walking around Stanley Park in Vancouver. It was magical to know that we were in a major city but still felt like we were in the middle of deep woods.

A performance coordinator on the hospitality team, Jessica manages and optimizes paid social, paid search and programmatic campaigns to align with client goals. She is continually educating herself on the ever-changing marketing landscape through the digital-marketing masters program at Wake Forest University.

Favorite Travel Memory

I took an amazing trip to Costa Rica. Surfing, riding ATVs and deep-sea fishing were the highlights of the unforgettable adventure.

Kiki is a seasoned professional based in the greater New Orleans area who's known for creating exceptionally effective ad campaigns for members of New Orleans and Company. She's a foodie and travel lover who enjoys exploring the city's vibrant restaurant scene, attending local festivals, and supporting the New Orleans Saints and LSU Tigers.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite travel memory is climbing up the steps in the rare snow at Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone. Before my grandmother, Anita Kelly Mannear, passed away, she said that her one regret in life was not kissing the stone while in Ireland. I was honored to kiss the stone on her behalf.

As part of the Brand USA team, Angie thrives on strategizing and creating engaging international marketing plans for partners in the Southeast region. When she’s not traveling, she’s outside gardening, working on a home-improvement project, hiking in the Pacific Northwest or enjoying live music. She cohabitates with her two lovely cats, Barry and Nelly, outside of Seattle.

Favorite Travel Memory

In the Dutch countryside, we visited a dairy farm famous for its Gouda. We met the farmer, cows and the cheesemakers, who demonstrated the process from fresh milk to the final product. We also toured iconic windmills. Going inside a working windmill, it was super interesting to observe the mechanics, living quarters, and how they control the flooding and waterways.

Lori is a paid search analyst on the hospitality team. She specializes in building and managing data-driven, results-focused paid search campaigns that deliver measurable success. Outside of work, Lori is deeply committed to animal rescue and usually has at least one foster dog or cat bringing joy (and sometimes chaos) to her home. She also loves to travel and explore all the beautiful sights the Pacific Northwest has to offer with her two dogs, Ripley and Lita.

Charity thrives on collaborating with clients to craft marketing strategies that showcase a destination’s distinct story. Away from work, she looks forward to being near the water, checking off her concert bucket list and finding new places to explore with her husband and dog, Nyota.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite travel memories are a mix of unplanned moments like our sea turtle encounter while snorkeling in Hawaii, stumbling upon a quirky Don Quixote museum in Spain, and bonding with locals at Munich's Marineplatz.

Hanna is an account manager who uses her skills to keep projects and client requests running smoothly. After graduating from Ole Miss, she moved out West and found a new passion for working in the travel and tourism industry. In her free time, you can catch her reading a good book, painting or exploring the outdoors of Colorado.

Jamie is a results-driven, Chicago-born metalhead turned Minneapolis transplant. She guides complex digital projects with a fusion of creativity, technical prowess and strategic insight. Outside launching disruptive products, she finds solace in novel rereads and considers documentaries, happy hours and crocheting her essential self-care routine.

Favorite Travel Memory

Getting booted off a Southwest flight for a "hilarious" middle-seat-saving plan. Bachelorette bash turned into a middle-seat fiasco, all thanks to my loud friend faking a cold. I even thought we were getting an upgrade. Lesson learned: no upgrades on Southwest!

Mike is a travel, culture and people enthusiast. By day, he navigates the digital realm as a project manager, weaving website experiences into the vibrant spectrums of travel. Beyond his professional duties, you'll find him strumming melodies, experimenting in the kitchen and planning his next solo mission into uncharted territories.

Favorite Travel Memory

Finding gratitude in small moments, gaining new insights and savoring those first few bites of food in unfamiliar places.

Henry is part of the destination optimization team and helps organize and implement the education side of the programs, including leading seminars and hosting office hours. In Henry's spare time, you can find him exploring new places by land or by sea with wife and two pups.

Favorite Travel Memory

Easily the opportunity to drive up and down and across the state of Wyoming to host seminars and help promote those destinations with organic digital marketing.

Chris is a designer whose work spans multiple clients and teams. He creates for print, web, html5 and logos, among many other things. When he's not head-down focused on design, you'll find him with his pug Mabel, in the kitchen, playing his bass or out frolicking in nature.

Favorite Travel Memory

I was in Norway for a celebration of my grandfather — his sculpture of Lincoln in Oslo stands as the only one by an artist other than Gustav Vigeland in Frogner Park. My best memory was a midnight row across one of the widest points of the widest fjord in Norway, the Geirangerfjord. Sunlight bathed the mountain peaks as we tried to outrace a gigantic oil tanker. We lived.

Aimee is a content manager on the Brand USA team. She loves learning and writing about vibrant destinations. When she's not crafting copy or chasing her two awesome kids, she spends time at her local library.

Favorite Travel Memory

Summer vacations in Bethany Beach, Delaware.

Taryn is a senior art director who is both analytical and creative, executing on ideas thoughtfully and strategically from concept through production. When she’s not solving creative problems, she’s planning her next adventure or hanging out with her husband, baby and cats.

Favorite Travel Memory

Going on a three-week adventure in Japan and Thailand with my now-husband. We went to Japan to ski, then shipped our ski stuff back to the United States before heading south to Thailand for warmer weather.

Jeff leads brand strategy initiatives for multiple Miles teams working with new and existing destination clients. His purview is the coherence, clarity and effectiveness of client messaging across all media and in-market consumer touch points. He is also often tapped for his persuasive and evocative copywriting style.

Favorite Travel Memory

Dinner at the flat of a friendly carpet vendor and his family from the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

Blending a creative eye with a drive for results, Emily loves developing strategies that deliver. Her passion lies in supporting businesses and local communities to help them thrive. When not working, Emily is often traveling across Virginia and beyond! 

Favorite Travel Memory

In 2023, I visited Belize and was absolutely stunned by just how beautiful it is. From the beaches to the rainforest, there were so many things to discover. We stayed at a local AirBnB and spent the evenings chatting with the host, learning about Belizean culture and history—and trying local produce right from his farm!

Janet is a content strategist whose focus is on concepting and creating content for clients such as St. Pete/Clearwater, Virginia Beach, Fort Myers and Miami. Her favorite vacations are in wild places where you can hear the wind and the birds, and her hobbies in St. Pete include gardening (yardening?), singing in a community chorus and obsessing about paint colors.

Favorite Travel Memory

One of my favorite travel memories is hiking in the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico with my husband Tim and our intrepid guide, Juan. At points, we were ankle-deep in red mud. But we also had a refreshing swim in a beautiful natural pool underneath a waterfall and ate fresh mangos off a banana leaf while perched on a rock.

Hayley is an account supervisor working on web, print and media projects for amazing destinations like Chicago, Myrtle Beach, Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Ocala, Galveston and Waco. She enjoys playing soccer, event planning and cheering on the Oregon Ducks. She lives in Eugene and has her degree in marketing and advertising from Grand Canyon University.

Favorite Travel Memory

My sister and I went on a cruise once, and there was a mega pod of dolphins surrounding the ship — hundreds and hundreds of dolphins swimming alongside us for hours. It was a really incredible experience.

Claire’s work combines creative and production logistics for video and photography projects to ensure the best possible media is delivered for our clients. When she is not figuring out the next production strategy, you will likely find her enjoying travel, yoga and all Michigan has to offer with her husband and her two rescue dogs, Red and Sultan.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite travel memory is filming a series in Qatar and getting to sleep under the stars in the desert with a Bedouin tribe.

Kristin Carlson was with Tahiti Tourisme North American for nearly 13 years and continues representing The Islands of Tahiti in her new role at Miles Partnership. Kristin draws on her decades of experience in marketing, advertising and strategic partnership building to cultivate relationships with internal teams and external stakeholders. While Southern California is her home base, travel remains a passion, as does time with friends/family, cooking and staying active.

Favorite Travel Memory

I traveled to Tahiti to celebrate my 50th birthday with a group of family and friends. We booked a day of snorkeling with rays and sharks, and enjoyed a gourmet local lunch on a private motu. 

As head of research and insights, Chris is also our "head of curiosity" for understanding major trends, opportunities and challenges in travel and tourism. When not involved in research, education or other projects at Miles, Chris is an avid traveler — always off to far-flung destinations with his friends, daughters and other family.

Favorite Travel Memory

Those special moments while traveling when you round a corner or top a hill and see a special, completely different view of the world. Unique sights, sounds, smells and feel. You are in a completely new moment in a completely new place. I’ve been lucky enough to have many of these from AlUla to Zanzibar and the Amazon to Tokyo.

Leading all things content for Brand USA programs, Liz loves to explore too. You might find her in the Willamette Valley, Brooklyn or Puerto Rico. The Florida State grad’s passions include reading novels and poetry, listening to music, cooking, sipping craft beer and spending time with her partner, baby daughter and French bulldog.

Favorite Travel Memory

Ziplining in the rain in a rainforest in Costa Rica, then stopping afterward at the local watering hole for extra-refreshing beers.

As the performance director for the hospitality division, Nancy utilizes data, research and collaboration to develop and implement owned and paid strategies and plans that drive results. When she is not diving into analytics and spreadsheets, she can be found enjoying the best of Colorado — live music, great outdoors, craft beer and making memories with friends and family.

Favorite Travel Memory

Traveling to Italy with 40 of my closest friends!

Craig leads the web developers on the client web support team. With 15-plus years of experience in web development and 9-plus years at Miles, he takes coding challenges head on. You'll always find him traveling with his family, whether it's a staycation in Colorado or visiting extended family.

A data wizard turning dusty numbers into sparkling insights — from spreadsheets to coffee cups, Vicky brews data-driven magic for DMO and hospitality clients. Part detective, part storyteller, all data! Are you more interested in her pie charts or apple pie? Insights say her bakes are still more popular than any graph she could build.

Favorite Travel Memory

We went to the rainforest for a small hike in Puerto Rico. When we got to the stream at the bottom of the hike, it started raining. It rained and rained, but that didn't stop my 3-year-old. We went swimming in the stream while it was raining. A new experience for him and so much fun!

Angela is a content manager on the hospitality team who leverages SEO and storytelling to build narratives that resonate, inspire and drive results for clients. Outside of work, she is a foodie who loves exploring new restaurants, getting lost in a good book, puppy yoga and all things event planning.

Favorite Travel Memory

Staying in a hotel right next to the Eiffel Tower and getting to see it every time I stepped outside!

Debbie works with our client services team supporting DMOs and their teams across the country. She's the mom to three adult children and loves hiking, music, watching football and, of course, traveling.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite, outside of those with my family, would be in Brussels one December during their holiday markets. I spent every night in the square for hours just listening to music and watching the lights and people — it was magical!

Dana’s work combines creative and data-driven thinking to implement well-rounded media plans for our clients. When she's not cooking up the next best campaign strategy, you'll likely find her enjoying all that her hometown of Denver has to offer with her husband and two dogs, Kermit and Cookie.

In managing Brand USA and VISIT FLORIDA (Vacation Guide) across the entire state, I apply a marketing/customer service approach with partners to drive revenue for the client and for Miles, while positively affecting destination awareness and visitation. An avid college sports fan, you can hear Irish swear quite a bit when discussing his alma mater, the University of Florida.

Favorite Travel Memory

I have favorite travel memories from everywhere I visited.