Teaming Up for Success

Yasaman works with stakeholders to blend design and technology sensibilities with strategic insights, an ability that has been honed over her previous career as an architect, where human-centric design principles were second nature. Having already explored 32 states, she's on a mission to explore more of the country's natural and cultural wonders.

As CFO, Dianne is all things financial and focused on growth and scaling the organization. When she is not working, she can be found training for a marathon or on a sailboat with her husband.

Favorite Travel Memory

Going to Vancouver, Canada, (my favorite place) with my siblings, our kids and my parents to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. My parents were both up there in years, so we rented them motorized scooters. My father, a former fighter pilot, was doing donuts on his scooter in the parking lot.

Melissa has been creating, recreating and maintaining a diverse range of website projects at Miles now for 23-plus years and has expertise in web platforms and languages, server environments and database programming. She works remotely, making her home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with her husband and two children.

Favorite Travel Memory

ATV riding in South Dakota.

Mississippi-based Joe is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and long-time Miles collaborator who joins our creative teams to create amazing, authentic destination content. When he’s not working, Joe loves the game of golf—even if it doesn't love him back—and spending time with his wife Kathryn and their two kids, Emma and Herschel.

Favorite Travel Memory

I've traveled the world for documentary film, but my favorite memories are watching our kids' horizons expand in real time. Nothing does that like travel.

Julie is part of the Brand USA team and helps partners from Kentucky to Maine strategize and market themselves internationally. Outside of work, she loves to be on, near or in the water with her husband, whether it’s at the beach, lake, or river and of course, she’s always planning another trip.

Favorite Travel Memory

We recently went to South Africa, and one perfect evening, while on a safari game drive, we followed brother and sister lion cubs playing “hide and stalk” as they trotted along after mom for about 30 minutes. It was a magical moment.

As a content manager in the hospitality division, Courtney's mind is always whirring with catch phrases, social captions and SEO keywords. If you can't find her, she's likely adding to her vocabulary with her nose in a book, chasing a ball around a soccer field or embarking on a high-altitude adventure in the Montana mountains.

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.

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!

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.

Mattie is an account director who uses her organizational skills to ensure deadlines are met and clients are happy. When she's not slinging ads, she can usually be found exploring everything Colorado has to offer. She loves all things outdoors, including fly fishing, skiing and hiking with her dog.

Favorite Travel Memory

Exploring Belize with my husband! We journeyed around multiple islands via golf cart, caught bonefish, swam with sharks and ventured deep into ancient caves to explore Mayan ritual sites.

George is part of Odyssey Studios and works both on location as a videographer/photographer or back in the office in post production. He spends his free time traveling, teaching group-fitness classes and partaking in all kinds of geeky activities.

Favorite Travel Memory

Getting married in front of Mount Kirkjufell in Iceland — a mountain featured prominently in "Game of Thrones."

Liv Falco is an Account Coordinator who loves to help her clients deliver high-quality work, remotely from California! Outside of work, Liv enjoys all the simple things in life. Whether it be a trip to a local coffee shop, or a hike around her hometown hills, you can find Liv somewhere soaking up the sun!

Lauryn values the relationships she's built with her destination clients and works with the creative teams to strategize and execute results-driven marketing programs. She enjoys exploring the great outdoors anywhere she visits. Outside of work, you’ll find her running around with her boys or at the dog beach with her husband and dog, Ranger.

Favorite Travel Memory

Kayaking in Hawai'i and then jumping into an inactive volcano, plus learning how to surf!

As part of the hospitality division, Haylea's days consist of optimizing and managing online profiles such as Google, TripAdvisor, Yelp, Bing, Yext and local CVBs. When not updating profiles, you can find her outdoors hiking, biking, reading, playing pickleball or scoping out new things to do.

Favorite Travel Memory

Traveling with my best friend is a favorite memory. Keeping in touch as adults is tough, and getting together one-on-one for a girls trip is a rarity I will always cherish.

With over 15 years of content expertise, Jason drives Places.Travel, the consumer-facing travel hub for Odyssey Studios. Known for pushing boundaries, he thrives on launching innovative content programs, from leading the charge with Apple Maps Guides to spearheading a new travel podcast. When not crafting compelling content, Jason hangs out with his trio of chihuahuas—Gizmo, Astro and Nemo—who keep him on his toes!

Dylan is part of the Kentucky team. He works with cooperative partners and internal teams to make sure things go off without a hitch. When he is not working, you will find him outside with his wife, his Springer Spaniels, Maya and Theo, and his bearded dragon. 

Favorite Travel Memory

Riding camels in the Sahara.

Jackie is an account director with 15-plus years of ad-agency and client-side experience who is passionate about serving Miles' clients. Off the clock, she’s busy collecting passport stamps (20 countries and counting!), nose deep in a book, hiking peaks, setting up camp or on a relentless quest for the best ramen.

Favorite Travel Memory

Hiking to an active Icelandic volcano stands out as a top travel memory. Being there with about 100 or so people and sharing the collective experience during every eruption was something I'll never forget.

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.

George is part of our Brand USA team and handles all things accounting. When he’s not crunching numbers, the lifetime Parrothead and avid FSU fan can be found tinkering with mechanics, enjoying his growing family, and planning his next trip — which always includes a coastline he has not visited.

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.

As Miles’ associate media director, Christine oversees the media department’s strategy and planning. She works alongside destinations such as Maine, Alaska and Sarasota County. When Christine isn’t geeking-out on media trends and technology, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, lake adventures, traveling and cuddling with her dog JoJo.

Favorite Travel Memory

Traveling to Kauai two years ago combined my love of the beaches and water with my love of the mountains and hiking — so much so that we're going back again!

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.

A serial entrepreneur, Ryan joined Miles in 2018 following the acquisition of his studio, Odyssey. With more than 20 years of digital, experiential and content-marketing experience, he oversees a portfolio of client accounts, as well as our creative and studio functions. He is an author and nationally recognized public speaker on tourism, strategy, consumer behavior, destination marketing and digital advertising.

Favorite Travel Memory

Climbing 4,000 feet into the clouds at Huayna Picchu, Peru.

Meet Jeremy, a dynamic force within our web development team. Beyond the confines of lines of code and the creation of cutting-edge features, Jeremy's spirit thrives amid the majesty of the Rocky Mountains. Whether he's writing new music, embarking on thrilling adventures or immersing himself in a book, Jeremy's journey is an eclectic symphony of passion and discovery.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite travel memory is seeing the Boston skyline, with my brother, for the first time.

Melanie is a content manager for the Brand USA team from Atlanta, Georgia. She loves jazz festivals, beach trips and overpacking. When she's not in her writing cave, Melanie enjoys going out for good food, soaking in good vibes and spending precious time with her family. 

Favorite Travel Memory

Each time I've ever stayed at an oceanfront resort, and going on family road trips to Orlando every summer for nearly a decade.

Lauren works on some of our largest DMO and hospitality accounts to traffic, optimize and report on each campaign from start to finish. When she's not digging into reporting and trafficking campaigns, you can find her behind the lens of her camera or spending time with her husband and son.

As part of the digital product team, Amy combines her eye for detail with technical knowhow to produce stunning websites. When she’s not wrangling pixels into place, she enjoys reading, dabbling in fiber arts and spending time with her husband and two children.

Favorite Travel Memory

Hiking in Haleakala National Park on Maui is not something I will soon forget. The scenery — including a bamboo forest — was amazing and the hike ended at a huge waterfall, Waimoku Falls. It felt like a completely different world.