Meet Our Team of Travel Experts
🎙️ Note for Journalists: for interview or quote requests, email [email protected]
Nate Hake
Founder, CEO, & Editor in Chief
Nate Hake is a travel writer and recovering attorney. In 2016, Nate started traveling the world full time on a backpacking trip which took him to 43 countries across six continents in a single year (see his favorite travel photos from that trip here). Nate has been a full-time world traveler ever since. His travel advice has been featured in leading publications like NBC News, CNN, Mic, Business Insider, Mashable, and Yahoo News.
Lea Rose Allbaugh
Managing Editor
Lea Rose Allbaugh is a travel writer and editor from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. She’s currently based in Chicago (except for when she’s on a traveling stint), and is obsessed with all things travel. She caught the travel bug back in 2015 during an exchange to the Netherlands, and has been traveling ever since. Through her writing, she hopes to inspire others to get up and go experience the world. Aside from travel, she loves reading, writing, and anything creative. She writes on her website Written World.
Taylor Herperger
Director of Marketing & Senior Editor
Taylor Herperger is a writer and editor from Winnipeg, Canada. A lover of Guinness and window seats, Taylor got her first taste of international travel in 2007 and has been exploring the world slow and steadily ever since. In addition to her guides at Travel Lemming, Taylor can also be found chronicling her travel at her blog Taylor on a Trip.
Abigail Bliss
Editor
Abigail Bliss is a Colorado-based writer who aspires to work from the road. An avid hiker, skier, and canyoneer, she shares a unique perspective of the American West, highlighting destinations less traveled. When she isn’t exploring the outdoors with her husband and two dogs, Abigail manages her freelance marketing business, Campsite Creative.
Elizabeth Demolat
Editor
Elizabeth Demolat is a travel and lifestyle writer in Nashville, Tennessee. Elizabeth loves exploring new destinations. Her favorite travel destinations are France, Italy, and the United States. Right now, Elizabeth is focused on finding cool local spots and taking trips through the southeastern United States.
Chelsea Booker
Editor
Chelsea Booker is a Seattle-based freelance travel writer and storyteller who loves discovering places that stimulate her imagination. Her adventures around Washington and the Pacific Northwest have inspired her to show others just how much there is to explore in their own backyards. She writes about more of what she loves – creativity, personal development, and joyful living – on her lifestyle blog, Chelsea Figures It Out.
Sky Ariella
Video Producer and Senior Travel Writer
Sky Ariella is a professional writer from New York with an insatiable craving for exploring the world. After a post-college adventure around 6 Asian countries, she dove head-first into a writing career and travel lifestyle. Sky currently lives in Mexico City with her dog Bear. When she’s not whipping up content for Travel Lemming, she writes for Booking, Zippia, and her blog.
Vanessa Ramos
Senior Travel Writer
Vanessa Ramos is a travel and lifestyle writer from Puerto Rico. Vanessa has traveled for international work exchange, backpacking, and solo traveling around three continents. When she’s not writing about the best things to do, places to visit, or where to stay on the island of Puerto Rico, she’s hunting airplane tickets for her next trip abroad.
Betty Hurd
Senior Travel Writer
Betty Hurd is a flight attendant from Tucson, Arizona with a degree in Journalism from the University of Arizona. Her love for travel led her to exciting careers in aviation and writing. She’s visited 37 countries and hopes to inspire others to see the world by chronicling her adventures in her blog, Have You Hurd.
Laura McFarland
Senior Travel Writer
Laura McFarland is a writer, second-generation Bay Area local, and an environmental justice activist. Laura fell in love with traveling and chronicling her adventures after moving with her family to London for several months and co-writing a blog at the ripe age of 12. Laura is passionate about travel, climate change mitigation, sustainable food systems, and being outdoors whenever she can. In her free time, you can find Laura chatting with farmers at a local market, going for a swim in the nearest body of water, or drinking a pale ale.
Rachel Kapelke-Dale
Senior Travel Writer
Rachel Kapelke-Dale is a travel writer and novelist originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and now a local of Paris. She moved to France in 2009. She writes about the weird side of Paris history for her newsletter, “Beneath the Cobblestones.” She has written about her early days in Paris in her memoir, Graduates in Wonderland, with Jessica Pan. She is the author of the novels The Ballerinas, The Ingenue, and The Fortune Seller.
Katie Neufeld
Senior Travel Writer
Katie Neufeld grew up in the Florida sunshine and currently lives in the Orlando area. Now Katie is on a mission to explore the state with her husband and infant son. Katie loves finding farm-to-table food and exploring an area through local cuisine and the great outdoors.
Matthew Reppond
Senior Travel Writer
Matthew Reppond is a freelance writer and history nerd from Alaska, currently residing in eastern Washington. When not road-tripping around the western United States, he’s probably enjoying some lively Irish tunes in a Dublin pub or wandering the winding streets of Old Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia.
Brooke Horrobin
Freelance Travel Writer
Brooke Horrobin is a London, UK-based freelance travel writer who originates from Ontario, Canada. She has a passion for travel, so much so that she decided to move her life to the UK in 2020 to take on new adventures. She loves giving recommendations, and her time in London so far has inspired her to share her favorite activities, places and culture with others.
Jess Levy
Freelance Travel Writer
Jess Levy is an artist, travel writer, poet, and marketer. A California native and ex-techie working in Silicon Valley by day, traveling by weekend searching for those hidden gems. She loves planning local and international trips to nourish her creative soul. She’s now back home by the beaches of Encinitas, San Diego, and loves uncovering the best dog-friendly experiences around.
Yvette Griffith
Freelance Travel Writer
Yvette Griffith is a New Jersey-based Freelance Travel Writer who loves all things travel! She takes advantage of every opportunity to get away, often with her young daughter, as they explore their state as well as the world around them. From Southern Cali, to cruises to the Caribbean, to local adventures, Yvette is always ready for her next adventure.
Alexandria Taylor
Freelance Travel Writer
Alexandria Taylor is a travel writer based in Washington, DC. Alexandria loves exploring the DC area and surrounding cities for rooftop views and unique experiences. Alexandria’s favorite places to travel are Rhode Island, Boston, and Charleston, South Carolina. When she travels, you’ll find her checking out the local yarn stores, bookstores, and dive bars.
Ethan Thoren
Freelance Travel Writer
Ethan Thoren is a freelance writer who was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. He still resides in Jacksonville with his fiancée and his four cats: Buttercup, Westley, Merry, and Pippin. Ethan enjoys traveling and sightseeing the southern United States when he has free time. Aside from exploring his home state, he loves reading and writing, and aspires to be a fiction author.
Niamh Hayes
Freelance Travel Writer
Niamh Hayes is a New York City-based freelance writer and communications associate. She grew up in upstate New York and spent many summer months in Ireland, visiting her relatives around the country. She loves to spend the weekend taking mini-day trips and finding hiking spots around New York State. Niamh’s passions include soccer, writing, art, attempting to learn Spanish, and spending time with her friends in her neighborhood of Astoria.
Claudicet Pena
Freelance Travel Writer
Claudicet Pena is a mami and creative writer based in Boston, Massachusetts. She loves to romanticize her life by exploring new destinations and hidden gems. Claudicet devotes her time to her daughter. Together they cultivate a lifestyle of art and culture. They love exploring the city of Boston and traveling abroad. Claudicet’s favorite destination and home away from home is the Dominican Republic. Claudicet is dedicating her time to experimenting new art techniques and discovering remarkable spots.
Louise Wylie
Freelance Travel Writer
Louise Wylie is a freelance writer from Glasgow, Scotland. Her love of travel led her to live in Cartagena, Spain, and enjoy the Mediterranean way of life. When not ticking off bucket items around continental Europe, Louise is attempting to explore all the highlights of Scotland and eat the best vegetarian food on offer. She never travels with fewer than two books on hand and loves to swim outdoors wherever she can.
Sarah Heath
Freelance Travel Writer
Sarah Heath is a freelance writer from East Tennessee. She now resides in Dallas, Texas with her husband and dog. Her curiosity and passion for traveling intensified while living in Chengdu, China for several years. In her free time she enjoys hiking, studying Mandarin, cooking, and searching for all the best spots in the DFW and surrounding areas.
Ruthie Walters
Freelance Travel Writer
Ruthie Walters is a freelance writer from Cardiff. She is passionate about sharing travel tips for Wales and is always excited to discover new Welsh destinations. When not exploring her home nation, she can be found in far-flung corners of Europe, or farther afield. Ruthie has a background in languages, communications and campaigning. She’s now pursuing her love of writing and writes about travel and other topics on her site Thought Bubbles.
Catherine Driver
Freelance Travel Writer
Catherine Driver is a travel writer and tour guide from Vancouver, Canada. Her first taste of travel was back in the nineties on a school trip to Europe. And she hasn’t stopped since. After a year-long stint teaching English in Madrid, Spain, Catherine is now back home in Vancouver. When she’s not planning her next adventure abroad, she can be found enjoying live music and training for her next Camino.
Contributing Writers and Alumni
Emerging Destinations Advisory Board
Rachel Davey
Guest Judge, 2023 Best Places to Travel Project
Rachel Davey is a world traveler, food lover and travel blogger from Australia. She is on an adventure to visit EVERY country in the world, along with her female counterpart, Marty. They have already visited 190/195 countries, with the finish line in sight. You can follow their travels at the blog Very Hungry Nomads.
Marty Sebova
Guest Judge, 2023 Best Places to Travel Project
Marty Sebova is a world traveler, history lover and travel blogger from Slovakia. She is on an adventure to visit EVERY country in the world, along with her female counterpart, Rach. They have already visited 190/195 countries, with the finish line in sight. You can follow their travels at the blog Very Hungry Nomads.
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