Meet Our Travel Experts

By awayblog
09/01/2008

Comments (4)

Nathan Borchelt | Gary Chandler | Kate Chandler | Karen Chen | Lisa Costantini | Douglas Gantenbein | Guest Blogger | Steve Jermanok | Karen Kefauver | Brian Kevin | Erika Lloyd | Christine Loomis | Liz Mitchell | Johnny Molloy | Jeremy Pataky | Liza Prado | Ben Sumner | Gerry Wingenbach | Alistair Wearmouth

Nathan Borchelt
Nathan Borchelt has been with Away.com for eight years, and currently serves as managing editor. He's been an active travel writer and photographer for over ten years, where he's exercised his love of both travel and activities like skiing, scuba diving, cycling, hiking, camping, and intriguing cultural pursuits. In addition to his work on The Away Network, his stories and photos have appeared in The Washington Post, Outside magazine, Backpacker, and several online publications. In spring of 2008 he co-authored the guidebook Great Destinations: Washington, DC, Alexandria, and Arlington for Countryman Press.

Gary Chandler
Gary Chandler has lived, traveled, and worked in Latin America and the Caribbean for the last decade, co-authoring more than a dozen guidebooks to the region for Fodor's, Lonely Planet, and Moon Handbooks. Gary is one of the contributing travel experts for Away.com's beach-travel guide. Click here to read more about Gary

Kate Chandler
Escaping her native Mississippi's summer heat, Kate spent ten summers in the relatively cool mountains of North Carolina. It was there, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, she cultivated her love of the outdoors, learning backpacking, rock climbing, and whitewater skills. In addition to backpacking, canoeing, and kayaking along much of the Appalachian mountain chain, Kate spent two summers exploring several ranges in Alaska and Canada on foot and on water. She also has extensive backpacking and rafting experience in the Rocky Mountains. She is also a PADI-certified diver and a decent skier (for a gal from Mississippi). Kate earned her master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, and worked for Backpacker magazine before joining Away.com as an editor in 2006.

Karen Chen
An editor at Away.com, Karen Chen is always eager for the next opportunity to see the world. Her love of experiencing new cultures, eating great food, and snapping memorable photos has taken her through China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, Canada, and throughout the U.S. Though currently based in Washington, D.C., she would split her time on the island of Ko Phi Phi in Thailand if she could.

Lisa Costantini
Lisa Costantini is a writer/editor currently traveling the world with her husband working on a project about sport and culture. More information can be found on their website at www.whysportmatters.com.

Douglas Gantenbein
Douglas Gantenbein, better known to many as Outside Online's Gear Guy, has been hiking, biking, skiing, and climbing in Washington State and the West Coast for 25 years. When Doug isn't sorting through the newest parkas and tents, he's a freelance journalist who works for publications ranging from The Economist to Popular Science to Audubon. Click here to read more about Doug

Guest Blogger
We love to hear from wanderlusting folk from around the world who have a story to tell. If you want to contribute, drop us a line at traveltips [at] away.com (or click on the Email Us graphic above) with your ideas and a little about who you are and what you do. Previous guest bloggers have included the founder of Chickable?, Debbie Dubrow of DeliciousBaby.com, and Sheila Scarborough of FamilyTravelLogue.com.

Steve Jermanok
Steve Jermanok has toured much of North America's Atlantic shoreline, writing destination pieces for The Away Network, Boston Magazine (contributing editor), The Boston Globe, Budget Travel, Health, Forbes Life, Men's Journal, Outside, Robb Report, Town & Country, and Yankee magazine. Steve is one of the contributing travel experts for Away.com's family-travel guide. Click here to read more about Steve

Karen Kefauver
Karen Kefauver is a freelance journalist based in Santa Cruz, California. Since 1996, she has specialized in writing articles about adventure travel and endurance sports with an emphasis on road biking and mountain biking tours. A former triathlete and competitive cyclist, Karen is always ready to hike, bike, kayak, skydive or riverboard in an exciting destination. She is one of the contributing travel experts for Away.com's active-adventure guide. Click here to read more about Karen

Brian Kevin
Though he cut his adventure teeth in the Wisconsin and Minnesota northwoods, Brian Kevin lives, writes, and plays in Missoula, Montana. When he's nesting, Brian skips the adventure thing altogether and writes about books and music for magazines such as Paste, Plenty, and High Country News. He is a contributing travel experts for Away.com's active-adventure and outdoors travel guides. Click here to read more about Brian

Erika Lloyd
A native New Englander, Erika Lloyd grew up by the ocean in Maine before eventually escaping those cold winters by moving west to attend the University of California, Santa Cruz, and spend time by the Pacific. A position at National Geographic took her to the slightly landlocked city of Washington, D.C., where she's now lived for over seven years. An editor at Away.com since January 2006, she loves to travel whenever possible, her recent travels having taken her to places including Costa Rica, Italy, Antigua and Barbuda, Yellowstone National Park, St. Croix, Vancouver, and all over Maine and California (of course).

Christine Loomis
Christine Loomis, whose children are now 16, 19, and 25, is the author of three family-travel guidebooks: Fodor's Family Adventures, Fodor's Around Denver with Kids, and Simplify Family Travel. She writes frequently for publications including Family Fun, AAAEncompass, Endless Vacation, Diversion, and Copley News Service, plus is a frequent contributor to Away.com's family- and beach-travel guides. Click here to read more about Christine

Liz Mitchell
Liz Mitchell, Away.com's "Beach Bytes" blogger, writes and photographs throughout coastal towns. You might find her on a beach, at a festival, or shopping and dining with the locals. Published for many years in magazines, websites, and blogs, she specializes in insider coverage with invitations to visitors. For info on her company and other services available, visit www.TheMitchellGroupInternational.com.

Johnny Molloy
Johnny Molloy is a writer and adventurer based in Johnson City, Tennessee. It all started on a backpacking foray into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That first trip, though a disaster, unleashed an innate love of the outdoors that has led to his spending more than 100 nights in the wild per year over the past 25 years while backpacking and canoe-camping through the United States. He is one of the contributing travel experts for Away.com's active-adventure and outdoors travel guides. Click here to read more about Johnny

Jeremy Pataky
Jeremy Pataky lives, writes, and works as a hiking and climbing guide in Alaska. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. He is one of the contributing travel experts for Away.com's active-adventure and outdoors travel guides. Click here to read more about Jeremy

Liza Prado
Liza Prado was working as a corporate attorney in San Francisco when she decided to take a leap of faith and try her hand at travel writing and photography instead. Five years later, she has co-authored eight guidebooks to destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Liza is one of the contributing travel experts for Away.com's beach-travel guide. Click here to read more about Liza

Ben Sumner
A Maryland native, Ben Sumner has traveled to Ethiopia, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, England, Germany, France, Belgium, and Holland. He has worked for washingtonpost.com and currently works for away.com.

Alistair Wearmouth
With two young children now in tow, Alistair Wearmouth's travel perspective has shifted from digging out the best backpacker hostel in Kathmandu to coping strategies for toddlers on a transatlantic flight. An editor at Away.com for over five years, his world travels have taken him through Europe, India, Nepal, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Canadian Rockies, Australia, and beyond. He has written for publications including Backpacker, The Washington Post, and Smithsonian.com.

Gerry Wingenbach
A Canadian living in Park City, Utah, Gerry Wingenbach has been traveling and writing about travel for a long time now, mostly for major newspapers. Come winter, he concentrates on the slopes and blogging for Away.com.

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Comments

[Stephane Pingaud]

Hi All,

In view of your expertise in travel, I'd like to introduce you to a new travel site we're launching as we speak: www.cost4travel.com

More information on the project at: www.cost4travel.com/launch.

Please let me know what you think about it.

Thanks a lot, cheers, Stephane

[Erin Cizina]

Hi All ----
You all have very interesting bios. I am between jobs at the moment and decided to try to do something more in line with my interests.

I have lots of experience living and travelling overseas and I am a writer. Do any of you have any advice on how I can break in to travel writing? Or any other travel related field?

I would appreciate any feedback you could give.
Thanks!

[Sujan P (Australia)]

Thanks to all the contributors. I am from Sydney, Australia.

[Brian Whelan]

Hi from Dublin / Ireland.
It's great to put a face to all the helpful contributors.
For any Dublin visitors there's a helpful site called Hidden Dublin http://www.hidden-dublin.com
Keep up the great work!