Meet, Plan, Go! 2012 Hosts
Two weeks ago, we revealed which cities Meet, Plan, Go! is coming to in 2012. Now, we are excited to announce our fabulous hosts! We have many returning hosts and several new hosts. You'll be able to get to know them more over the next two months, but here is a sneak peek at who they are. And be sure to check out their websites to see why they are excited to be hosting Meet, Plan, Go! this year.
AUSTIN
Shelley Seale and Keith Hajovksy (new hosts)
ShelleySeale.com | Travel Sherpa Keith
Twitter: @shelleyseale | @SherpaKeith
Facebook: How to Travel For Free | Travel Sherpa KeithShelley has been traveling for 25 years and Keith has hit over 40 countries in his travels. Together, they wrote a book about traveling as close to free as possible and continue to center their lives on travel. Shelley is a professional writer who does about 50% travel writing, while Keith works as the director of a startup nonprofit organization and runs a tour company.
BOSTON
Lillie Marshall (returning host)
Around the World L | Teaching Traveling
Twitter:@WorldLillie
Facebook:Around the World L | Teaching TravelingAfter taking a year-long leave of absence to travel the world in 2009, Lillie returned to her teaching career with renewed energy and focus. Now, she is launching a movement to inspire and assist more teachers to travel, and more travelers to teach, thus transforming the educational experience of our world.
CHICAGO
Lisa Lubin (returning host)
LL World Tour
Twitter:@llworldtour
Facebook:LL World TourAfter working in broadcast television for more than a decade, Lisa took a career break which turned into nearly 3 years traveling and working her way around the world. A three-time Emmy® Award winning television writer, producer/director, photographer and video consultant, Lisa’s writing and photography has been published by the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, Smithsonian, Encyclopedia Brittanica and American Way Magazine.
MINNEAPOLIS
Katie Aune (new host)
Katie Going Global
Twitter: @katieaune
Facebook: Katie Going GlobalA former attorney, Katie left a job in fundraising and event planning last August to travel and volunteer in all 15 countries of the former Soviet Union. She will return home in September after a 13-month career break that included running a marathon in Estonia, teaching English in Russia and Tajikistan, volunteering with the national tourism board of Armenia, living with local families in Azerbaijan, and trying her best to speak Russian on a daily basis
NEW YORK CITY
Sherry Ott (former host and co-founder)
OttsWorld
Twitter: @ottsworld
Facebook: Ottsworld Travel and Life ExperiencesSherry is a Co-Founder of Meet Plan Go! and is a refugee from corporate IT who is now a long term traveler, blogger and photographer. Her travels include hiking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, traveling the globe house-sitting, volunteering in India and Nepal, driving 10,000 miles from London to Mongolia for the Mongol Rally and, most recently, walking 550 miles across Spain on the Camino de Santiago.
SAN DIEGO
Elaine Masters (new city and new host)
Trip Wellness
Twitter: @tripwellness
Facebook: Elaine Masters Travel WellnessElaine is a travel writer, international scuba diver, award-winning author of Drivetime Yoga and a Yoga teacher. Her podcast, The Gathering Road, airs on the WRN and she has been mentioned in Women’s Day Magazine, San Diego Living and the Huffington Post. One of her favorite memories is teaching Flytime Yoga at 30,000 feet on a flight to Fiji!
SAN FRANCISCO
Kristin Zibell (new host)
Take Your Big Trip
Twitter: @takeyourbigtrip
Facebook: Take Your Big TripIn 2008, Kristin left marriage and corporate life to spend 2 years traveling to India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Volunteering, touring, trekking, photographing and blogging along the way, she used her past professional experience to pay for her adventures by consulting between trips. She settled in San Francisco in 2010 and writes a blog to inspire others to live their travel dreams.
SEATTLE
Lori Stone (new host)
The Joy Guild
Twitter: @thejoyguild
Facebook: Art Camp for Big KidsAfter 20 years in the corporate, nonprofit and technology sectors, Lori began a research sabbatical and career break this year. She is taking time off from contract management work to explore the world around her by leading creative art retreats, traveling, writing, learning, continuing outreach as a cancer survivor-turned-advocate, building communities and – most importantly – having fun.
SOUTH FLORIDA
Jillian & Danny Tobias (new hosts)
I Should Log Off
Twitter: @ishouldlogoff
Facebook: I Should Log OffJillian and Danny traveled around the world for 21 months, traversing famous overland routes like Capetown to Cairo and the old silk road. Experts in budgeting and financing your dream, they have been featured by finance and business writers from The New York Times, Sun-Sentinel, and US News & World Report. In 2011, the couple started Doughhound, a budgeting website to help others achieve their financial goals.
TORONTO
Janice Waugh (returning host)
Solo Traveler Blog
Twitter:@solotraveler
Facebook:Solo Travel SocietyJanice has enjoyed many forms of travel at different times of life…20-something travel, family travel, and career break travel. As publisher of Solo Traveler, author of The Solo Traveler's Handbook and moderator of the Solo Travel Society on Facebook, she aims to inspire others to discover the world as they discover themselves.She has spoken at The Smithsonian on solo travel and has been quoted in many media outlets including CNN, the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, LA Times and USA Today.
Join us on October 16, 2012 for our nationwide Meet, Plan, Go! events:
Austin | Boston | Chicago | Minneapolis | New York City
San Diego | San Francisco | Seattle | South Florida | Toronto
To be the first notified when tickets go on sale this fall, sign up for our newsletter.
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.