Teaming Up for Success

Introducing Dennis, director of destination partnership development and your go-to for all things destination collaboration. 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.

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.

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.

Toni is a project manager who works remotely from Venice, Florida. She enjoys boating and fishing with her husband and three kids. Originally from Ohio, Toni is a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan.

Favorite Travel Memory

I enjoy exploring all of the Caribbean islands, but Aruba has been my favorite — seeing flamingos in the wild was the best!

Andie joins the hospitality team, bringing a diverse professional background spanning SEO, public relations and marketing. When she’s not strategizing, she is likely on a hike, concocting a new pasta sauce recipe or cuddled up reading a book with her corgi, Eloise.

Favorite Travel Memory

One of my closest friends of nearly a decade is from Manchester, England, and there is nothing I love more than going for a walk or having a coffee in a new little town with her, friends and family. I love to travel to destinations I've never seen, but traveling to see friends in comforting places warms the soul.

A Midwestern girl with a passion for travel and meeting people (and pets) in new places, Jennie loves a process, spreadsheets and has a knack for organization. She works as an account manager for the Georgia and Savannah/Tybee accounts. When she's not working, you can find her cooking, exercising and tending to her growing collection of ferns.

Favorite Travel Memory

Visiting China with my father, we spent three weeks traveling around Shanghai. 

Eddie is a Drupal developer for the client web support team. When he's not busy throwing together new websites or solving technical issues, he's a fan of animation, movies and TV. He's also got a passion for 3D printing and gaming. While he has resided in St. Louis for the past 10 years, he's originally from Robinson, Illinois, home of the Heath candy bar.

Favorite Travel Memory

Driving from St. Louis to Georgia just so he could have his "Clark Griswold" moment.

Alex is Odyssey Studios’ platform manager, handling linear channel scheduling and maintenance for Brand USA’s GoUSATV — file transfers, app updates and other technical sorcery. When not chained to his desk, you can usually find in him roaming the various Disney theme parks, traveling the world and taking pictures, or chained to his other desk making illustrations.

Favorite Travel Memory

In Hawaiʻi, while trying to navigate rocks at a lagoon entrance so I could swim in the Pacific for the first time, a sea turtle appeared, swam over near me and vanished underwater. His wake showed a path through the rocks to a safe, secluded place to swim as if the entire island was mine.

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.

David is responsible for the systems and process used to create and host our digital products. When not deep in the digital realm, he spends time with his wife and two kids (whenever they are home from college!). He combines baseball and travel as much as possible — if he's in your city and there is baseball game happening, you'll definitely find him at the park!

Favorite Travel Memory

Walking through EPCOT at closing time — an almost empty park with just our family but still all lit up for Christmas. Magical!

Kelli is part of account services in the hospitality division and uses her past experience in the industry to best serve her clients. Off the clock, find her chasing new adventures with her husband and yellow labs through travel, live music and lots of college football.

Favorite Travel Memory

While in Spain, we celebrated San Fermin, staying up all night to secure and guard our spot on the rails to watch the running of the bulls bright and early. We rounded the expedition out with a churro and a catnap on a park bench. ¡Gora San Fermín!

I've been on the Miles/Brand USA team since day one, working with partners in a territory that stretches from Washington, D.C. to the Northern Mariana Islands. I dive deep into every destination I represent because I love to learn about food, drinks, and activities wherever I go. My wife and I recently opened a restaurant and cottages in the lovely hamlet of Union, Washington, in 2023.

Favorite Travel Memory

In South America, 1995 (pre-cellphone era), we took a flight to La Paz, Bolivia, with $10K and no plans. We knew Machu Picchu and Patagonia were musts but had no fixed schedule. Since there was no work, our only obligations were occasional calls and postcards to friends and family. It was total freedom; we explored off-the-beaten paths and lived spontaneously.

Customer service is key for Cynthia, and her publication experience helps her effectively manage all things advertising. She is a travel enthusiast; she and her husband are always dreaming up their next family adventure. So far, she has seen waterfalls in Hawaii, taken strolls down route 66 in Oklahoma, snowboarded in New Hampshire and laid on a beach in Punta Cana, and she hopes to visit Japan someday!

Favorite Travel Memory

Spending time on the beach with my family every summer, especially if it's a new beach we get to experience.

Margo leads the account services team for our Kentucky client. A proud native, she relishes the opportunity to share all there is to see and do in the Bluegrass State — particularly if it relates to bourbon! Entertaining friends and family with home-cooked meals, chilled Manhattans (stirred, not shaken) and lots of laughs is Margo's idea of the perfect evening.

Favorite Travel Memory

Staying at a villa in Sicily and taking daily cooking lessons from a local chef.

With a strong sense of direction and a great sense of humor, Roger has led the company since its purchase in 1990, growing the business from a local Florida visitor guide network to an innovative, successful international travel marketing organization.

Julia's work focuses on client satisfaction and bringing their vision to life, while balancing the priorities of internal teams. When she's not making things happen for clients, she can be found enjoying 300 days of sunshine in Tucson.

Favorite Travel Memory

Traveling to Maui was absolutely amazing and is one of my favorite places to vacation.

Liz oversees a group of accounts, making sure we achieve strong results. Off the clock, you can find her enjoying a Cardinals game in her hometown of St. Louis, shuttling her son to his sporting events or spending time with her dog Diego.

Favorite Travel Memory

Taking my son to stay in a treehouse in the El Yunque rainforest in Puerto Rico.

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.

Using his operational, account and technology expertise, David leads the information technology team. Since 2016, he has been traveling the U.S. as a digital nomad with his wife, a travel nurse, and a rescue dog named Dallas in an RV. Their quest is to visit all 63 national parks.

Favorite Travel Memory

One of my favorite memories is hiking to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park and looking over the edge to the Yosemite Valley.

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.

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.

Melissa is an art director and visitor-guide master who works with her team to develop and execute print and digital creative assets. She is a Wisconsin native who, when not shoveling snow, can be found trying out new recipes with her husband, crafting the last thing she saw on Pinterest or spending time on the water at her cabin on the lake.

Favorite Travel Memory

One of my favorite travel memories was catching freshly made hot rolls in mid-air during dinner at Lambert's Cafe in Ozark, Missouri, with my husband and his family. We all laughed out loud as the waitstaff yelled "hot rools!" and then a bun would fly through the air over our heads into an open hand!

As digital project coordinator for the Brand USA team, Cory supports Optimized Audience Campaigns and ensures all projects are delivered on time and on budget. Originally from Colorado but now based in Houston, he enjoys traveling, enhancing his guitar chops, staying active, watching/winning on game shows and exploring new food and beverage establishments with his wife, Rachel and dog, Roma.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite travel memory is taking a train from Seattle to LA for a taping of The Price is Right, winning an all-inclusive trip to Puerto Vallarta, and then proposing to my wife on said trip.

Lindsay's work can be found at the intersection of creativity and data. When she isn't crafting content, she can be found photographing something or working her way through a new cookbook. She has a clear passion for food and beverage photography and is close to documenting her 100th wedding ceremony.

Favorite Travel Memory

Apart from time with my dog, Scout, a cup of black coffee is my favorite little mercy. When solo-traveling through Copenhagen, I made sure to stop and sit in as many coffee shops as I could, totaling 10 over the course of three days. It was lovely!

Jonathan is part of the strategy and insights team and specializes in website analytics. When he's not setting up data pipelines, you will likely find him enjoying the outdoors by a hiking trail or paddleboarding.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite travel memory is visiting Barcelona with my wife. Our highlights were visiting La Sagrada Familia and watching the show at the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc.

Based in Denver, Joe brings nearly a decade of agency account management experience in marketing and advertising. In his role, he serves as a key account and strategic lead on clients like Bermuda, West Virginia and Niagara Falls USA. Outside of work, Joe enjoys hiking, exploring Denver’s food scene and staying up-to-date on pop culture.

Favorite Travel Memory

Hiking with my husband through all five picturesque villages of Cinque Terre along the Italian Riviera coastline - stopping in each village for fresh seafood, pasta or gelato and taking in the views and local culture.

Morgan is based in Fairhope, Alabama. She brings years of experience in tourism and works with her Louisiana clients to achieve their advertising and marketing goals. When not in the office, she and her family love to share new adventures, spend time on the river, work the family farm and cheer on their favorite sports teams.

Mitch has been a developer at Miles since 2008, coding and executing responsive emails in HTML/CSS for destination and hospitality clients. When Mitch isn’t building emails, he is spending time with his family.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite travel memory was being a nomad in New Zealand for almost 2 months.