We’re thrilled to share some exciting news with you! Our talented travel advisors, Nicole, Lou, Mike and Andrea have been selected to be among Conde Nast’s 2023 Top Travel Specialists List.
Every year, Conde Nast awards this prestigious recognition to spotlight top specialists in the travel world who have shown skills, extensive knowledge, and a passion for travel- and we’re happy that our travel specialists have made it on that list.
As a team, we couldn’t be prouder of our amazing staff! We’re excited to give you the chance to get to know them better, so we’ve asked them a few questions.
Andrea Mahaffey, Travel Advisor from Mountain Travel Sobek
Q: Hi Andrea! How long have you worked as a travel advisor for Mountain Travel Sobek?
Andrea: A little over a year!
Q: What’s your story?
Andrea: Well, where to start. I have a degree from Colorado State University in Natural Resource Recreation & Tourism. While I was earning my degree I became a raft guide and continued enjoying guiding for a number of years, diversifying my guide experience to include a number of rivers as well as ocean kayaking and hiking/backpacking. From there I got into logistics and operations, helping with MT Sobek’s Alaska backcountry trips when we had an office in Gustavus, AK. After that and traveling around as much as I could afford as a recent college graduate, I started in travel sales and operations and have more or less been doing that ever since!
Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?
Andrea: The constant challenge of matching a guest with the right trip components and creating itineraries that are really unique and matched to the guest’s interest, sometimes in ways they don’t expect.
Q: What’s your favorite trip to sell? Why?
Andrea: Alaska and Pacific Northwest are two of my favorite regions to build itineraries. I just love the temperate rainforests and wildness of that particular area of the globe. There’s so much to see and do and it can be challenging to fully experience it if you don’t know what you’re getting into. Much of the region is only accessible by boat or plane.
Q: What do you do in your free times? Any hobbies?
Andrea: Mountain Bike, Hike, and teach and train horses and their riders!
Q: What’s one thing people might not know about you?
Andrea: I love to bake.
Here’s one of Andrea’s baking creations!
Q: What’s a trip you want to go on in 2023? Why?
Andrea: Anywhere mountainous to hike and explore beautiful places I haven’t been to.
Check out Andea’s Condé Nast Top Travel Specialist Profile >>
Mike Augustine, Travel Advisor from Mountain Travel Sobek
Q: Hi Mike! How long have you worked as a travel advisor for Mountain Travel Sobek?
Mike: I have worked at MTS for just over one year, my work anniversary was in March!
Q: What’s your story?
Mike: I’m from a small town in Ohio called Greenville (the home of Annie Oakley), where my passion for travel grew from classic American camping trips with my family to National Parks. I loved traveling so much in my youth that I took a gap year in college to backpack through Europe on a shoestring budget, which was the best education I could ever receive. I loved doing it so much that I did a second time before graduating college, and I wrote a short travel guide as a special project with a focus on World War II battlefields.
Q: What’s your favorite trip to sell? Why?
Mike: I love to design trips to Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Parks. They are truly spectacular destinations, and you can have a really fun adventure on so many different levels. You can hike up mountains, raft down rivers, learn about American history, experience a true western trail ride, spot incredible wildlife, and see the universe in all of its glory on truly dark nights. I’m a firm believer that we can reset ourselves with quality time in these special places.
Q: What do you do in your free times? Any hobbies?
Mike: I like to travel, hike, collect vinyl, read, study World War II history, and play strategy games like RISK!
Check out Mike’s Condé Nast Top Travel Specialist Profile >
Nicole Russo, Travel Advisor from Mountain Travel Sobek
Q: Hi Nicole! How long have you worked as a travel advisor for Mountain Travel Sobek?
Nicole: I started with Mountain Travel Sobek full-time in September of 2021, but my relationship with the company goes back to 2004!
Q: What’s your story?
Nicole: The ‘Cliff Notes’ version would be something like—I have always been curious about the world and protecting natural areas. I started in adventure travel after earning a degree in Environmental Science and International Affairs. I combined the two along with my passion for education and landed in this incredible industry. I thought it would be fun to do for a few years before going back to grad school, but that never materialized and here I am a quarter-century later!
Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?
“Hands down is speaking with guests and hearing about what their safari dreams might be. I love puzzles so I look at my role as putting the pieces of the puzzle together to create the picture my travelers want to see. Turning their dreams into reality.”
— Nicole Russo, Travel Advisor
Q: What’s your favorite trip to sell? Why?
Nicole: Oooh that’s a very hard one to answer. Each safari is so very unique and each destination offers travelers something different. If pressed, I would have to say Kenya. It’s the home of my heart—the very first place I visited in Africa as a research student—a wide-eyed 21-year-old. It was the first place in my semi-nomadic life where I felt like I belonged. I didn’t want to leave when the semester was over and I made a point of finding a career that would bring me back there. The people, the wildlife, and the sheer beauty of that country changed the trajectory of my life profoundly.
Q: What do you do in your free times? Any hobbies?
Nicole: Ha! Mostly, my free time is devoted to raising my two boys with my husband. We love hitting the trails around the Bay Area, riding bikes, and playing games together. When I do get a rare moment to myself, you can find me with a good book on a blanket in the sunshine…possibly napping!
Q: What’s one thing people might not know about you?
Nicole: I have a thing for old cars…like 1930s-1940s flat bed Ford trucks. Would love to own one!
Check out Nicole’s Condé Nast Top Travel Specialist Profile >>
Lou LaGrange, Travel Advisor from Mountain Travel Sobek
Q: Hi Lou! How long have you worked as a travel advisor for Mountain Travel Sobek?
Lou: Just over one year!
Q: What’s your story?
Lou: After working in marketing for Lonely Planet and AFAR Travel for decades, I decided to share my knowledge of the world and travel planning with others so I became a Travel Advisor and now plan great trips for others.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?
Lou: I love hearing from clients after they’ve traveled, especially how much fun they had or how a trip I designed changed their lives in positive ways.
Q: What’s your favorite trip to sell? Why?
Lou: My favorite current trip to plan is a visit to all 5 of Utah’s National Parks – it’s an amazing road-trip with unrivaled beauty, and lesser known parks on the route – such as the incredible Capitol Reef – deserve to be explored and savored.
Q: What do you do in your free times? Any hobbies?
Lou: I plan my own travel.
Q: What’s one thing people might not know about you?
“I’ve been to over 150 countries and all 50 states.”
— Lou LaGrange, Travel Advisor
Check out Lou’s Condé Nast Top Travel Specialist Profile >>
Thank you, Andrea, Mike, Nicole, and Lou! Congrats again!
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