Katherine

Before Becoming an Advisor …

I worked in the imagery side of the magazine industry before staying home to raise our kids as we traveled the world in support of my husband’s military career. Frequent duty station changes allowed us to experience so many locations domestically and internationally that transitioning into a career in travel felt natural.

My Favorite Travel Experiences

Traveling in Africa taught me that every country throughout the continent is completely unique. We did a safari in Kenya and met tribes that really don’t have a lot of interaction with tourists, and then South Africa was an entirely different experience. The Arctic was spectacular, being in an environment that is so untouched and knowing there are people who will never set foot where I’ve set foot. I was there with my son, just the two of us — what a special experience to have one on one! Some of our favorite European travel experiences have happened while living in Germany, from savoring the delights at a charming farm-to-table cooking school in Italy to standing on the westernmost point in Europe only to discover it smelled like my childhood home (the San Francisco Bay Area). These adventures not only shaped my heart, but also the hearts of my children. They will tell you that home is much more than a place — it is the ability to feel connected wherever you land. Travel is the single greatest gift I have given them, and I am thrilled each time I share our love of travel with other families. 

Why I Love My Job

So many parts of this job fill me with joy: the constant research; engaging with partners throughout the world who believe that travel is impactful long after the end of the trip; forming relationships with families from all walks of life and every stage of development. The latter is my favorite part! I love bringing travel to multiple generations in the same trip, such as the one I planned for a family of 19 people all the way up to great-grandparents. And I love that I’m invited to be a family member for a short amount of time when I design a trip, because a special dynamic forms — it’s a privileged seat that I don’t ever take for granted. At the end of the day, it’s the relationships I build with each traveling family that make this job amazing.