2011 Las Vegas Event
“This was a fantastic event! It made me realize that taking a career break for long-term travel is a completely realistic goal and that I have amazing company also doing the same.”
- 2010 Attendee
If you are tired of two weeks of vacation time and want to break away from the cube to explore the world, then don’t miss out on this event!
Date: Tuesday, October 18th | Doors: 6:15pm
Spine Wellness Center | 3085 E Russell Rd - Lobby
NOTE: There are no refunds once tickets are purchased. If you wish to transfer your ticket to someone else, you will need to update your attendee information (including all survey questions). Upon registering, create an EventBrite login in order to access your account information later.
Las Vegas Panelists
Diana Edelman
In 2010, Diana decided she needed a change. She was no longer satisfied with her career in public relations, she had always dreamed of traveling the world so, on March 7, 2010, that is exactly what she did. Diana put her belongings in storage, drove her car back to Maryland and parked it in her parent's drive, strapped her backpack on, and headed over to Europe and Africa. For seven months, she backpacked solo, writing about her adventures on her blog, D Travels Round.
When she returned, she relocated to her former home, Las Vegas, and accepted a position with MCC Hospitality Group as the Director of Communications for the company's many restaurants in Las Vegas and LA. She still writes for her blog and is also a contributing travel writer for OneTravel.com.
Website: D Travels Round | Twitter: @dtravelsround
Cory Haugen
Cory is an educator living in Las Vegas. He is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, having served in Kenya, and he has also taught English as a second language in South Korea. Cory is a self-proclaimed geek and firmly believes that food is a huge part of the travel experience. His travel motto is "pack light and go with the flow."
Website: Geeks In Vegas | Twitter: @CMHaugen
Judy Irving
Master Coach Judy Irving is the president and owner of the leadership development practice, Moving On, and has been coaching for more than a decade. Judy works with her clients to choose greatness. She does this by partnering with each to clarify their vision, their potential, their skills and their strengths. Then together they strategize on how to combine these for superior results and effectiveness. Judy is also a corporate trainer and the author of Living Courageously: 101 Tips for Authentic Success; Overcoming Human Struggle and Getting Started as a Coach.
Abby Tegnelia
After eight years of working non-stop for magazines such as New York magazine, Us Weekly, Glamour, In Touch and OK!, Abby Tegnelia was laid off in October 2008. Faced with free time for the first time in years, the life-long travel junkie took off for a month in Borneo, a whale-watching trip to Mexico and a month-long backpacking through Europe. She eventually landed in a peaceful fishing village in Costa Rica for a year before returning to Las Vegas to become the editor-in-chief of Vegas magazine.
Abby has lived in Las Vegas on and off for five years, having served as editor-in-chief of Item magazine and senior managing editor of 944. She loves Vegas, and the Southwest in general. To keep travel and adventure in her life, she also serves as co-chair, with JoAnna Haugen, of the local chapter of TBEX.
Website: The Jungle Princess | Twitter: @abbytegnelia
Meet Your Host: JoAnna Haugen
JoAnna Haugen is a globe-trotting, idea-inventing, culture-collecting creativity connoisseur with big dreams and a desire to touch all seven continents. Her travel experiences started when she was two years old and could fly for free with her father on his business trips. She grew up exploring much of the United States on summer vacations but didn’t travel overseas until she was a sophomore in high school. And that’s when she fell in love with the world beyond her front door.
Since then, JoAnna has served as a health education Peace Corps volunteer in rural Kenya, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, white water rafted the Nile River, watched the sunset from Jeju Island in Korea, hiked the Inca Trail, learned to cook in Vietnam, ridden a dogsled in Jamaica, jumped off a waterfall in Mexico, rode horseback in Honduras and drank in a tumunu in the Cook Islands (among other adventures).
An award-winning freelance writer with an emphasis on travel, JoAnna is the community news editor for WorldView, the publication for the National Peace Corps Association; managing editor for Journey Beyond Travel, an online guide about travel in Morocco; and the Las Vegas travel guide writer for WhyGo Las Vegas, a branch of the independent travel network, BootsnAll. She is also the voice behind the popular travel blog Kaleidoscopic Wandering.
Websites: WhyGo Las Vegas | Kaleidoscopic Wandering | Twitter: @whygolasvegas | @joanna_haugen | Facebook: WhyGo Las Vegas | Kaleidoscopic Wandering
Leah on Mon, 6th Jun 2011 8:12 am
I really enjoyed reading your post. I am thirty-two soon and have itchy feet that are ready to try out foreign soils.
It is a fear of leaving the security of the day to day grind of paying the bills and living a safe and non-challenging way of life that has put me on hold for some time.
I hope (as it has I) your post will inspire others to go and follow their bliss – Leah 🙂
Patricia GW on Mon, 6th Jun 2011 8:54 am
Travel and experiencing a new culture really has put it into perspective, and filled that void with purpose (and joy).
In three weeks I’ll be moving to Paris myself for one month. I have the same feeling – the incredible surreal realization that I’m going to be living there…. it’s thrilling!!
Abby on Mon, 6th Jun 2011 2:11 pm
Oh, Jenny! Escargot isn’t palatable — it’s delicious! I love your writing style; it’s so fun and energetic. Can you believe how far we’ve come? Everyone, Jenny and I were in the exact same industry and have known each other online and via work emails for years and years. But we’ve only met once, many, many years ago. And one of those jobs she was sleeping next to her BlackBerry for was one I’d just left. And now she’s 33 and living abroad, just like I was last year. Kindred spirits. Jenny, you’re a true inspiration — I can’t wait to see how your adventure unfolds!
Debbie Beardsley on Mon, 6th Jun 2011 3:22 pm
Your life in Paris sounds ideal. It is nice to read about people who follow their dreams instead of wishing they had! Enjoy the rest of your journey.
Terriaw on Tue, 7th Jun 2011 1:40 pm
Wow, fabulous and well said! I love your new outlook on like. After experiencing career burnout and feeling a little lost and purposeless lately, you have encouraged me. I look forward to seeing Paris someday!
Jenny on Tue, 7th Jun 2011 6:50 pm
merci for all the sweet comments! @abby we are soooo kindred spirits! well except when it comes to our differing feelings on escargot…;) and congrats patricia on the move! thrilling indeed!
shawna on Thu, 9th Jun 2011 1:32 am
you’ve reawakened my travel bug. must. return. to. france. (someday.) eat a croissant for me!
Weekly Travel Blog Links — LandingStanding on Mon, 13th Jun 2011 6:16 am
[…] how badly I want to go to Paris… If only we could afford living there for an extended period of time during our travels! Any […]
G. Michael Schneider on Sun, 19th Jun 2011 3:36 pm
I am a firm believer in living and working overseas, just as you described. However, many of us actually like our jobs and our homes and are simply looking to renew and refresh our lives, not change it. However, you can have the same type of cultural experience without having to reach into your own wallet and without having to quit your day job–by taking what I call a “working vacation.” My wife and I have done this 15 separate times, from Australia to Zimbabwe, Turket to Tibet, Mauritius to Mongolia. I describe how to do it in my blog otherguysdime.wordpress.com and via Twitter at @otherguysdime. Learn how to have fun without having to have burn any of your bridges behind you.