Teaming Up for Success

Melissa leads the company's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consulting practice to serve clients, implement internal DEI strategies and best practices, and drive thought leadership to advance the evolution of equitable and inclusive marketing strategies across the travel and tourism industry. She resides just outside of Atlanta, has a deep passion for the arts and loves to cook.

Favorite Travel Memory

Zurich, Switzerland

Introducing Dennis: Your go-to travel media sales and marketing executive. Proudly based in Brooklyn, he spearheads remarkable campaigns for Destination DC. Dennis' passion for food takes him on flavorful journeys, whether he's exploring Maine's coastline or savoring European cuisines with his husband and kid. Their next stop? The exciting land of Japan.

Favorite Travel Memory

At Acadia National Park in Maine, my 3-year-old daughter's energy and infectious spirit led us on a hike. Her enthusiasm was a force of nature itself, reminding my husband and me of the joy of the outdoors. At the summit, surrounded by stunning vistas, her curiosity intertwined with the beauty of nature etched a heartwarming memory of family and exploration.

Lee is part of the SEO team and develops SEO strategies for his clients to generate organic website traffic and appear at the top of search engines results pages for their specific destinations. When he is not working, Lee enjoys spending time with his wife discovering great new restaurants.

Favorite Travel Memory

Overlooking the Pacific Ocean from a cliff on the west side of Kauai.

Emily provides creative and strategic solutions to achieve stakeholders' objectives for accounts such as Travel South USA, Visit Lake Charles, Visit North Carolina and Southern Delaware. When she is not watching her son play travel baseball, you can find her traveling, hiking, dining at new restaurants, painting and relaxing at home with her many pets — including five goats.

Favorite Travel Memory

My family and I used to rent an RV every summer and camp for a month in Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Idaho. For me, nothing beats the scent of fresh mountain air and wildflowers mixed with unspoiled vistas of places like these.

Missy is the video production manager for Brand USA. By day, she is making sure all the ah-mazing video projects are set up for success. By early freaking morning, she is on the water rowing with her teammates to prepare for the next USRowing Masters National Championships.

Favorite Travel Memory

My husband and I thought it would be easy to climb the 250-foot dune at the beach in Pacific City, Oregon. Expert travel tip: It was not. But when we got to the top, we saw a whale jumping out of the water. It became one of my favorite travel memories. Nearby, we took a ton of selfies at Haystack Rock, which was featured in "The Goonies."

Luke is an account coordinator and works mainly with St. Pete/Clearwater. His attention to detail and ability to multitask helps the team deliver exceptional value to each client. Outside of work, he can be found throwing the ball for his dog Fisher, cooking spicy food or biking with his wife.

Favorite Travel Memory

A favorite travel memory is getting to travel to Germany with my dad in 2014. We were able to travel by train and visit Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin, Frankfurt and many other small towns. The highlight of the trip was getting to go to a football (soccer) match and experience the amazing atmosphere.

Andrew works in our human resources department and handles payroll and benefits. Andrew is an avid Notre Dame football fan, enjoys going to as many concerts as he can, and enjoys kayaking, hiking and spending time with his spouse and dog Zeke.

Favorite Travel Memory

First trip to Key West, Florida.

Enriqueta is a dedicated project manager who works on a variety of projects from visitor guides to websites. In her free time, you can find her crafting, watching movies or playing with her dalmatian Ollie.

Favorite Travel Memory

Having my first white Christmas in Knoxville in 2020: I made snow angels, threw snowballs, ate white snow and sledded down a hill!

Ashlyn is part of our VISIT FLORIDA team. As a Jacksonville native, she loves to travel anywhere there is a beach. In her free time she enjoys hanging out with friends and family, trying new restaurants or exploring the outdoors in south Georgia where she currently lives.

J.T. is a content manager, writing and editing out of our Memphis office. When he's not writing about various destinations, the die-hard Memphis Tigers fan, Stephen King buff and "Star Wars" expert can likely be found at the movies or a Tigers game with his wife Christine.

Favorite Travel Memory

My wife and I went to Europe for the first time — was the trip of a lifetime! We took a cruise around the Mediterranean to Spain, France and Italy. The food was phenomenal. We even got to explore my great-grandparents' hometown, Lucca, Italy. I cannot wait to go back.

Carla is dedicated to all DEI projects internally and externally. When she is not working with people to develop great projects, she is traveling to see friends or working out. She is a proud Mexican that loves to share her culture. During her free time she loves to go out to dance, rollerskate or read.

Favorite Travel Memory

In the Galapagos Islands, I visited a farm focused capturing nitrogen and creating oxygen using a species of aquatic ferns. They showed students and local communities the importance of the growth of this plant and how it could be used in the tourism industry. I would love to see its use in a hotel or destination in need of reducing chemicals in the atmosphere.

Rebekah manages SEO sorcery and/or word nerdiness for Colorado, Capital Region USA, Maryland and Greeley. When her head's not buried in a website or print guide, it's wearing a hat for running trail races in which she will undoubtedly scrape a knee and meet a medic.

Favorite Travel Memory

It's a three-way tie between getting scoped by a shark while paddleboarding in Florida, hiking a questionable ledge to see puffins in Iceland and patting elephants on Singapore Zoo's Night Safari. Probably the elephants win because patting was involved.

Juliana Contreras is a multilingual senior art director, guitar strummer, culinary maestro and garden enthusiast. Her art bridges cultures, while her heart embraces family and pets. She's a sailing aficionada with an aquatic irony: can't swim, yet conquers the sea.

Favorite Travel Memory

Costa Rica: Being awakened by waves and a serenade of birds was such an amazing experience. I can't wait to go back.

As an email marketing manager in our hospitality division, Hadley loves making our clients' CRM dreams come true. When the work day ends, you may find her in the pool with her 1-year-old son, cooking dinner with her husband or binging "The Crown" and "Peaky Blinders" for the 300th time.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite travel memory was about 10 years ago in Maui, snorkeling just off the coast. It was early spring so the whales were in their migration season, and the water was chock full of friendly sea life. We were in water about 10 feet deep, and I looked up to see a sea turtle swimming directly above me just as we heard the whales singing about 100 yards away.

Amy is an advertising account manager for team Brand USA. She and her husband are Connecticut natives (a split Patriots/Giants household, but both die-hard Red Sox fans). Some of her favorite hobbies are camping on Gulf Coast beaches, biking around Dunedin, Florida, and traveling to the mountains for skiing.

Michael is a creative director with extensive agency experience developing high-performing tourism campaigns and collaborating with clients. When Michael isn't thinking about creative strategy, you will find him on the tennis, paddle or pickleball court. Based out of Milwaukee, he enjoys time with his wife and three boys along with his Spanish water dog.

Laura is a content manager who has developed everything from state visitor guides to brand voice guidelines. She also serves on Miles' DEI Committee to establish best practices for inclusive content strategy. In her free time, this Austinite can be found kayaking, hiking and birding.

Favorite Travel Memory

Celebrating New Year's Eve in Chiang Mai with chanting Buddhist monks as the night sky filled with illuminated paper lanterns.

As a media supervisor, tourism has been a mainstay in Ivy’s career since day one. With her extensive knowledge across offline and digital media, she puts together cohesive and effective media plans for her clients. When she's not doing media math, she can be found spending time with her family, reading a good book (fiction only please) or watching Formula 1.

Favorite Travel Memory

Our family's annual fall trip has quickly become one of my favorite of the year — getting to experience destinations with our daughter for the first time has been very special.

Victoria is an Account Supervisor based in Los Angeles. A Fijian American with a South Pacific destination marketing background, Victoria is dedicated to promoting island destinations and works with clients, including Tahiti Tourisme and Bermuda Tourism Authority. Outside of work, Victoria enjoys traveling, concerts, Tahitian dance, and exploring all that Los Angeles has to offer.

When Summer isn’t busy tracking and reporting on the performance of media campaigns for the hospitality performance team, she’s hunting down the latest trends and opportunities for improvement. A passionate traveler, she loves to explore new places, spend time with her German shepherd, Gunner, and spend time outdoors.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite travel memory was visiting Asia with my family. We saw the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors, and rode an elephant in Thailand. It was an unforgettable experience to be surrounded by so much history and culture and to share it with my family.

Ant is part of the digital products team as a UX/UI designer. Ant is not just about pixels and interfaces — he's all about crafting seamless and delightful experiences for our clients. When not perfecting user journeys, he can be found all over Florida skateboarding, taking and developing photos, as well as tinkering on cars and motorcycles.

Favorite Travel Memory

Taking the train from the airport into Tokyo, I thought I could manage without using my phone for navigation. When the train headed north instead of toward Tokyo, I eventually gave into temptation. I discovered the train would eventually turn back toward Tokyo, which taught me that I can navigate without technology if a country is as organized as Japan.

Andraya monitors and manages the production of print products from start to finish for Brand USA, SEE, and many DMO clients. When she is not juggling print tasks, this animal lover and cooking enthusiast can usually be found event or vacation planning, helping others, spending quality time with loved ones, or making memories with her husband, son, cat, and two dogs.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite travel memory is anytime I explore this big world with my husband and son. Those adventures and experiences together being fully present are priceless.

Emilie was a founding member of Miles' first video team, producing content for VISIT FLORIDA. Hundreds of videos and thousands of miles later, she's since dreamed up videos for many more destinations, including San Francisco, Louisiana and Maryland. She's never bored and can be found enjoying life at home with her husband and daughter in Maine.

Favorite Travel Memory

I was a 16-year-old on spring break in Giverny, France — and like most, completely directionless. College was in my future, but then what? While filling up at least two rolls of film capturing their famous garden in its spring splendor, it dawned on me: Wouldn't this be a glorious life? Eight years later the opportunity came calling and the rest is history.

Adam is part of the Odyssey Studios team, and is responsible for curating and cataloging the team's video and photographic assets to increase ROI for clients. Adam is a bookworm and video gamer who enjoys getting lost on backroads while finding new places and painting with his wife and their children.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite travel memory is when I traveled to Springfield, Ohio, for a family gathering. My wife was able to book an Airbnb stay in the home she lived in as a teenager, which she always loved but had never been able to say goodbye to as it was sold while she was away. Listening to the owner ask her about how she and her family installed features was just fantastic.

Ally combines her appreciation of details and spreadsheets to ensure that partner materials are appropriately directed in their marketing campaigns. When she isn't tracking information in spreadsheets, she can be found spending time with family on their 5-acre farmstead caring for pigs, chickens and ducks, and tending the gardens or planning her next trip.

Favorite Travel Memory

I enjoy making a new core memory each time I travel, depending on who I travel with and where I am adventuring.

Kelly handles all aspects of print procurement and circulation management, as it relates to all print projects for the company. Outside of work you will find Kelly off visit Family spread out all over the US and Ireland always including a visit to the local art museum.

Favorite Travel Memory

A shared taxi ride from Dublin to Belfast gave me an opportunity hear from the taxi driver and a local woman sharing their perspectives on the Northern Irish troubles. She shared a song and the story of the American Choctaw Indians helping the Irish, which I did not know.

With more than 35 years in advertising, Larry is the idea guy — not at all afraid of a blank piece of paper. He concepts, writes, designs, directs and shoots. A Swiss Army knife? An anomaly? Perhaps so. When Larry isn't staring at the ceiling, seeing things only he can see, you'll find him at his cabin or on his tractor tending his 100-acre woods.

Favorite Travel Memory

What started out as a business trip to China, with my wife traveling alongside, suddenly became three weeks of downtime. Hong Kong, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and so many local experiences. Truly the trip of a lifetime.

With 8-plus years of DMO marketing experience, Andrew is committed to providing value to clients and their stakeholders. When not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife, son and pup. In the fall, he is a disciple of the three Fs — family, friends and football.

Favorite Travel Memory

Being in the travel industry, work has taken me places I've never thought I'd visit. However, there's nothing like traveling with your loved ones — the memories created and cultures uncovered together seem that much more special, and there isn't a better travel memory I've had better than spending a week in Jamaica after my wedding in 2019.