Road trips are in my blood. Took my first trip at age seven, traveling part of the Great River Road on the way from northern Wisconsin to south Texas. The next year we drove the Pacific Coast Highway in Oregon (my Dad was hard core). My high school was on a Scenic Byway and the North Shore Scenic Drive was on the way to my grandmothers. Since then, I’ve traveled in all 50 states, taking the scenic route wherever possible. After an early career in architecture and facilities management, I realized that I could make my love of the road trip my life’s work. Since then, I’ve assisted more than 300 destination to develop itineraries, auto trails, driving travel experiences and thematic experiences that move down a route. Well skilled in the art of sequencing, timing and cohesively presenting intriguing, engaging and transforming road trips, my colleagues chuckle that I can create a driving travel experience from any set of visitor resources. While serving as Managing Director of American Driving Vacations, we sent thousands of international visitors on Scenic Byways and other scenic road trips visiting heritage, cultural and natural attractions along the way, equipped with all of the information they needed to take the trip. Our Personal Travel Portfolios – the invisible tour guide – got rave reviews from visitors who got out on the road in America and had a great time. Now that Americans can get out again, they want to take a road trip 100 miles from home. I understand that dream completely. I’m here to help any destination or Byway who wants to attract visitors to take that road trip in their area. Call 717-617-2051 or email [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you.
- Scenic Drive and Road Trip Experience Development, National Travel Center
- Working with over 300 Destination Marketing Organizations, Byway Organizations and Regional Tourism Organizations to develop auto trails, scenic driving trips, road trip experiences, thematic trails and more, complete with inspiring stories, and destination distinctive accommodations and dining in appropriately timed and sequenced experiences to deliver customers true relaxation.
- Director of Development and Marketing, National Scenic Byway Foundation
- Contracted position planning and implementation of marketing strategy, national awareness program, social media presence, and donor outreach for the organization that picked up the pieces when Federal funding for Byways was eliminated – now the only organization dedicated to supporting and promoting Byways across America.
- Managing Director, America’s Byways, Byway and Scenic Roads Marketing Initiative
- Contracted position heading up development of a comprehensive website to illustrate all Byways and scenic drives throughout the United States in conjunction with the National Scenic Byway Foundation. Team leader, scenic drive experience development, trip and travel package development, marketing plan development, customer experience planning.
- Professor, Destination Management and Marketing, Temple University
- Teaching an annual summer class of Temple’s Masters in Travel and Tourism Program, in which students develop an actual destination marketing plan, choosing a destination of interest and producing a professional level plan.
- Managing Director, American Driving Vacations
- Managing an inbound tour operator which sent thousands of Brits, Germans, Dutch, Indians, Chinese on America’s Byways and scenic drives, equipped with a Personal Travel Portfolio that included a story for every day of the trip, detailed information about things to see and so, complete driving directions, restaurant suggestions and accommodations reservations delivered in a full-color three ring binder to each traveling party. 24/7 stateside customer hotline should the unexpected occur.
- Director of Experience Development, Traveling America
- Creating the entire trip collection of one of the earliest internet travel companies, that contracted with Travelocity and American Automobile Association to sell driving travel packages, plus directing development of the website, development of an online booking system, and customer booking and service experience.
- Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Wisconsin—Superior
- Master of Arts, Emphasis on Art and Architectural History, University of Wisconsin— Superior
- Doctor of Philosophy, The Union, Environmental Planning
- MBA, Taft University, W. Edwards Deming School of Business, in progress
- Digital Marketing Certificate, University of Illinois – Champaign
- Online Teaching Certificate, Temple University, Fox School of Business
- Certified Facility Manager, Buildings Owners and Managers Association International
- Byway Leader Training, National Scenic Byway Foundation
- Former National Scenic Byway Foundation Board Member
- National Scenic Byway Foundation Byway Community Database
- Presidential Campaigns 2008 and 2012
- Blooming Glen Mennonite Church Choir
- Families with Children from China
- WOW Autism Classroom
- Creating new stories and detailed itineraries for Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways
- Primary author of an intellectual property collection of 6,000 stories covering virtually every destination and scenic road in the United States.
- Directing development of nine comprehensive travel related websites
- Directing development of one of the earliest online booking systems
- Developing coursework for the Destination Management and Marketing course
- Inventing the completely unique Personal Travel Portfolio driving travel documentation
- The Monthly Marketing Toolbox: 12 monthly units for transforming destination marketing and a destination marketing organization, National Scenic Byway Foundation website
- A Resource Guide to Marketing in the New Millennium: Hospitality, Travel, Tourism
- Published by Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, Washington, DC
- Creating Customers: Marketing to Today’s Transforming Travelers
- Published by Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, Washington, DC
- Tapping into the Billion Dollar Packaging Market, Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International Marketing Review
- Tourism Destination Marketing: Strategies to Create a Sustainable Customer Base, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
- Creating Today’s Market Driven Experiences, World Travel and Tourism Review, UK: CAB International
- The US Mature Market for Travel, Travel and Tourism Analyst, Economist Magazine
- Travel Executive Professional Development Program, New Brunswick, CAN
- Destination Next: The Future of Destination Marketing, PATT
- Painting with Words, American Association of Museums Expo, Philadelphia, PA
- From Byways to Buyers: Transforming Your Byway into a Tourism Experience and Package, Vistas Magazine
- Transforming Your Region into a Heritage Tourism Destination, North Carolina Heritage Tourism
- Taking to the Road, Texas Plains Travel Association
- Database Marketing, Travel Weekly Conference on Travel Technology
- Capturing Your Area’s Best Attributes in Packaging, Maryland DMO Association
- Delivering Experiences that Truly Tell the Stories of the Places Your Visit, AAA, Carolinas Region
- Development of a tourism initiative and destination marketing for a historic town from scratch.
- Conducting a comprehensive resource assessment of a new tourism region created by Virginia
- Convening Regional Cultural and Heritage Tourism Forums for American Association of Museum
- Developing strategic plan and 25-year projections for Little Bighorn Living History Museum scheduled to be built by Time Warner
- Developing an international tour program for Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo
- Conducting an extensive study for Days Inns of America to increase their profitability through improved customer service
- Long term consultant to The World Bank, Washington DC