Hey, I’m Emilie. I’m wholly passionate about tourism, as both a traveler and a strategist. Ultimately, I want to make travel better for the entire tourism ecosystem.

My interest in travel peaked at some point during my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Myanmar. After exploring Southeast Asia, I set my sights on Eastern Europe, and arrived there via a Fulbright grant to Bulgaria. Between these two regions of the world, I found many similarities, many more differences, and plenty of ways I could see travel and tourism done “better.” While “better” travel probably means something different to everyone, to me, it means safe and educational opportunities for travelers, and equal opportunities, profitability, and positive, regenerative impacts for all involved stakeholders in the destination.

As part of Skift Advisory, I have the opportunity to get to work making travel better, by providing destinations and businesses with strategies and insights to set them up for success. By viewing the travel and tourism industry as an ecosystem, with each part relying on the others to succeed, the analyses and recommendations I assist in providing offer both birds-eye and in-depth guidance into tourism of today – which has morphed and developed drastically over the past few years.

To support my interest in travel, I earned a Master in Global Management with emphasis in Sustainable Tourism from Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University in 2023. Prior to that, I graduated from University of Findlay (Ohio) with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and a Bachelor of Science in Equestrian Studies in 2016. I am also certified in Sustainability and Anti-Oppression in Travel by RISE Travel Institute, where I continue to volunteer as a Student Engagement Manager.

If at all possible, I like to spend the majority of my days outdoors – hiking, camping, and finding some zen with yoga (I’m also a certified yoga teacher). If I can do these things in a place unfamiliar to me, all the better! While in those unfamiliar places, I find peace in walking until my feet ache, and eating and drinking local cuisine until my stomach can take no more.