Teaming Up for Success

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.

J.T. is a senior 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.

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

Caitlyn is part of our data science team, weaving together data analysis and digital storytelling to make informed strategic decisions. When she’s not head-down in a spreadsheet, this experienced roller derby player can be found making circles at the skating rink, hiking with her dog Mara or tending to her many houseplants.

Favorite Travel Memory

My first visit to Vermont with my grandfather, viewing the snow-covered mountains from Heaven's Bench. 

As a developer manager, August oversees the digital accessibility and quality assurance teams. He's extremely passionate about providing the highest quality digital products that are inclusive to all. August is based out of South Florida and enjoys local craft breweries, subpar cover bands and the great outdoors.

Favorite Travel Memory

Celebrating Christmas in Switzerland while backpacking Europe with my childhood best friend. We stayed in Verbier, which is a small village in the Swiss Alps. We celebrated Christmas Day by consuming our body weight in fondue and watching "Love Actually" on repeat.

Justin is the director of strategy and insights at Miles, ensuring that website activity is being properly measured, while also working to improve their presence in search engines. When he's not working, he can usually be found working on home improvement projects, snowmobiling, gardening, beekeeping, playing with his dog Miles, playing hockey, and terrorizing the neighbors on his 49cc scooter - usually not all at once.

A native Kentuckian serving as the senior media planner for our Kentucky client, Melissa uses research, promotional skills, strong negotiation tactics and industry connections to deliver successful media campaigns. When looking to travel, you will likely find Melissa putting her planning skills to work creating itineraries for her husband, daughter and French bulldog, Bea.

Favorite Travel Memory

I could pick a favorite memory from every single trip I have ever taken. To me, travel fills my soul with memories and personal connections created from new surroundings, unique adventures and incredible experiences.

David creates and automates reporting, troubleshoots data problems and maintains our internal budget/forecast planning tools. He has a degree in Physics from University of Colorado but never worked in that field—unless you count his home brewing of craft beers—and is equally at home on the beach or the ski slopes.

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."

Amy is the senior account director that leads our Brand USA team. When she is not exploring new ways to reach international travelers, investigating opportunities to better organize our data or meeting with clients, she can be found walking mountain trails, listening to a new podcast or running through life with her young (and energetic) son.

Favorite Travel Memory

My husband and I visited Switzerland for the holidays a few years ago. We were having dinner at a lodge in a small ski village on Christmas night and starting talking to the couple sitting next to us. We discovered they lived only 45 minutes away from us in Florida (small world!) and ended up enjoying delicious glögg with them at a secret bar they introduced us to.

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.

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.

Samantha brings 9 years of experience in destination marketing to Miles. When she isn’t busy supporting the Alaska and Madrid accounts, you'll find her on hiking adventures with her two dogs, Parmesan and Nelly, tending to dozens of houseplants, or paddleboarding on one of the 10,000-plus lakes in her home state of Minnesota.

Favorite Travel Memory

My favorite travel memory is learning how to whitewater kayak on the Yellowstone River in Gardiner, Montana. The power of the water is exhilarating — there is nothing quite like being at the mercy of the river, staying focused and using your own strength to float down nature’s roller coaster.

As part of the hospitality division, Susi is a master orchestrator who seamlessly brings together creative directors, designers, copywriters and clients. When she is not overseeing the production workflow from concept to delivery, she's planning a trip with her husband Peter to a music festival or winery, or to visit their three daughters who live in three different states.

Favorite Travel Memory

My daughter Meagan took me on an epic adventure searching for Tom Jones in Cardiff, Wales. Too much fun. (Never found Tom.)

As an account director, Sam connects the dots between content, creative and paid-media strategy. Originally hired as an editor at Miles in 2005, she is a crack proofer and published author who manages a content team and still volunteers to write copy from time to time. Outside of work, you'll find her running or mountain biking the trails surrounding her home in San Diego.

Favorite Travel Memory

Finding the elusive "poet's table" after a rock-scrambling, meandering hike through Custer State Park during a FAM tour with our South Dakota client!

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.

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.

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.

I am part of the Kentucky account team and I assist with project management, ensuring the client’s needs are met and communicated effectively. When I'm not working and immersing myself in all things Kentucky, I'm probably crocheting and preparing for an upcoming market day. Besides that, I love being outside with my pets, tending to my plants and baking delicious treats for friends/family.

Favorite Travel Memory

Traveling to St. John (USVI) and living like a local for a whole month on the island.

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.

A journalist by trade, Steven traded the newsroom for a much more enjoyable assignment as a food writer and travel editor. (Yeah, he gets paid to eat.) As a senior content director, Steven now cooks up effective, innovative and integrated content strategies for a host of destination clients, including Puerto Rico, Louisiana, New Orleans and Fairfax County, Virginia.

Favorite Travel Memory

There are so many! But gathering for a multi-country family reunion at a five-star farm-restaurant high atop the mountains in Slovenia is way up there. The food. The views. The connections. The memories. Priceless!

Lori has been creating websites for over 25 years, starting with her local music scene before making it a career. Born and raised in Canada, Lori later moved to Detroit, Michigan. Her hobbies are playing with technology, traveling everywhere she can and spending time with her family. She tries to pet every furry animal she meets — to mixed results.

Favorite Travel Memory

Trips to the beach in Boca Raton with my family and exploring everything weird and hip in Portland, Oregon.

Mari brings with her more than 20 years of experience working with Tahiti Tourisme. Her natural ability to be organized led her to specialize in event planning. She has traveled to The Islands of Tahiti nearly 30 times and has been fortunate to have visited 16 of the 118 islands. Mari works remotely from Huntington Beach, California, and enjoys taking her dog, Poé, to the beach and going to yoga.

A Colorado native, Andrea has over 25 years of experience working with DMOs and tourism-related businesses big and small to create an impactful presence with print and digital solutions. She loves anything outdoors, experiencing other countries and cultures, and finding the next best beach and margarita.

Favorite Travel Memory

Unexpectedly one late October, within 4 hours, I booked a flight, packed my swimsuit, flip flops and sunscreen, and was on a plane to the San Juan Islands, only to find out I was going to the islands off Washington during its rainy season, not the sunny beach in Puerto Rico.

Cathy oversees all digital content on ExploreLouisiana.com and loves promoting the unparalleled culture of her home state. When not working, you can find her wrangling her toddler twin daughters, decorating for the next holiday or planning her next family vacation or party.

Favorite Travel Memory

During my honeymoon in Italy, my husband and I had the opportunity to receive the Sposi Novelli blessing from Pope Francis himself. After his papal audience at the Vatican, we were able to talk to him for a few minutes, shake his hand and even shared a laugh together. It was an incredible moment!

Lisa's secret sauce is whipping up strategies that give businesses the best bang for their buck without skimping on impact. Plus, juggling ad budgets and performance metrics to ensure every penny works hard — it's totally her thing! When she isn't working, she's most likely planning her next dog-friendly vacation, enjoying concerts or attempting to golf.

Favorite Travel Memory

I got lost in an airport when I was 6. My mom told me earlier that day that if she would have named me, I would been Amanda — Mandy for short (my dad named me Lisa). A security guard found me crying and asked my name. I told him my name was Amanda, Mandy for short. It didn't take my parents long to figure out it was me, but by that time, I was happily eating an ice cream.

Carrie ensures that clients' big-picture visions are defined and delivered, building collaborative client relationships, as well as working with the Miles team to concept and produce innovative marketing solutions. Outside of Miles, Carrie keeps up with her two little boys, Mac and Jay, on the ski slopes or hiking trails in Winter Park and planning her next vacation.

Favorite Travel Memory

Every summer my family visited a small beach town in southwest Michigan near my grandparents' house. Now I cherish the opportunity to reunite with my siblings there year after year and see my kids enjoy the same experience.

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.