Launch Team
A year in the making, the History Of Black Travel was created by the Black Travel Alliance in partnership with Tourism RESET. The launch team who spent hundred of hours developing the project includes seven members of the Black Travel Alliance Research Committee and two co-Directors from Tourism RESET. They include: Ursula Petula Barzey, Gabby Beckford, Stefanie Benjamin Ph.D., Donna-Kay Delahaye, Alana Dillette Ph.D., Patricia King, Martinique Lewis, Kerwin Mckenzie and Davida Wulff-Vanderpuije. Below are their profiles.
Team
Ursula Petula Barzey
Ursula Petula Barzey is the founder of Moxee Marketing, a London-based digital marketing agency that works with travel and lifestyle brands to develop and implement their content marketing and social media strategy to increase their website traffic and ultimately leads/sales.
She is also the founder of the award-winning digital platform and blog Caribbean & Co. It features the best cultural and food adventures, places to stay, and live/work opportunities in the Caribbean region. Established in 2014, Caribbean & Co. has won five travel media awards!
Last summer (June 2020), she became a Co-Founder, Board Member, and Research Committee Chair of the Black Travel Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for meaningful representation of Black voices across the travel industry. Research projects include the Black Travel Alliance Industry Scorecard aka #PullUpForTravel Campaign, The Black Traveler study with MMGY Global and the History Of Black Travel with Tourism RESET.
Kerwin McKenzie
Kerwin McKenzie is an ex-airline employee (Delta, ATA, Continental, and United) who travels on average over 200,000 miles a year. He writes up-to-date airport, destination, and ground transportation guides plus airline flight and hotel reviews with a mission to motivate airline employees to use their travel benefits at Passrider.com. He’s flown 180 airlines and visited 125 countries and teaches travelers how to be loyal to travel brands at www.Cruisinaltitude.com. He recently launched a new website, www.UnfamiliarDestinations.com and DiscoveringHouston.net.
Donna-Kay Delahaye
Donna-Kay Delahaye is a solo travel blogger, YouTuber, and photographer. Her blog, Hues of Delahaye, inspires people to travel more even with a 9 to 5 while providing tips and hacks on how to utilize your annual leave, as you don’t have to quit your job to see the world. She’s been featured in publications such as Blogosphere, Jamaicans.com and shortlisted for the Post Office Travel & Food Blogger of the year.
Martinique Lewis
Martinique Lewis is an award-winning diversity in travel consultant, creative lead for Nomadness Travel Tribe, President of the Black Travel Alliance and now you can add creator of The ABC Travel Greenbook, the number one resource connecting travelers to the African Diaspora Globally. Trusted amongst her peers as a ‘’connector’’, she is always connecting the dots to ensure the travel industry is mindful of diversity, not just as a “buzz word’’ but an action that produces results.
Alana Dillette Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, San Diego State University & Co-Director of Tourism RESET
Alana Dillette, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management where she advises the National Society for Minorities in Hospitality and serves as the Co-Director for Tourism RESET, an initiative focused on race, ethnicity and social equity in tourism. With Tourism RESET, Dr. Dillette works with an international group of scholars and industry partners to conduct real world, applicable research. Dr. Dillette also serves as a liaison for diversity initiatives in the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts. Originally from the islands of The Bahamas, Dr. Dillette conducts research that explores the intersection between tourism, race, gender & ethnicity. More specifically, she is working on research to gain a better understanding of the Black travel experience in addition to the challenges faced by Black hospitality and tourism professionals. As an educator, Dr. Dillette is equity-minded and dedicated to guiding her students to critically think and problem solve.
- Website – www.tourismreset.com
- Social – Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
Stephanie Benjamin Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management, University of Tennessee, Knoxville & Co-Director of Tourism RESET
Stefanie Benjamin, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in Tourism Studies at the University of Tennessee. Her research agenda lies within the nexus of social equity and critical tourism scholarship exploring marginalized populations’ lived experiences and counter-narratives. She is interested in producing and promoting social advocacy while amplifying underrepresented voices within the tourism landscape through practice, research, and education. As a certified qualitative researcher, she designs research studies using collective storytelling, visual methodologies, social media analysis, and (auto/duo) ethnography to try and understand how race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and White supremacy influence the travel experience and landscape. This research falls under the umbrella of Tourism RESET where she serves as the Co-Director and Research Fellow.
- Website – www.tourismreset.com
- Social – Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
Patricia King
Patricia King is a content creator and micro-influencer. Her site, Savvy Traveling, is a travel and lifestyle blog for adults over 50, empty nesters, and active baby boomers. Travel has been her passion since she took her first solo flight at the age of 13. She uses Savvy Traveling and her social media platforms to inspire and motivate people to experience the wonders of travel, regardless of age and economic situation.
- Website – www.savvytraveling.com
- Social – Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter
Gabby Beckford
Gabby Beckford is a TEDx speaker, Opportunity Expert, and Gen Z Travel Expert at Packs Light. In college, she was awarded more than $75,000 in scholarships which allowed her to study for one year in Dubai, UAE at no personal cost. Since then she has visited her 31st country, delivered a TEDx talk, and helped young women see the world via her Packs Light Funded Travel Opps. She’s been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Good Morning America, CNN, and Travel+Leisure. Her mission is to empower people to seek risk, seize the opportunity, and see the world.
Davida Wulff-Vanderpuije
Content Creator & Audio Storyteller at WondersOfWanders.com
Davida Wulff-Vanderpuije is a destination marketer and freelance travel writer based in London. She has 10+ years’ experience in the leisure, travel, and tourism space, including implementing traditional and digital marketing activities for destinations, cruise lines, luxury resorts, and escorted tour operators while working in marketing at the UK’s largest staff travel club for the travel trade. Her blog and podcast, Wonders of Wanders, is a creative travel, food, and culture platform that uses the power of storytelling to captivate audiences, inspire wanderlust, and prompt action – all with a generous helping of heart and humor.
Contributors:
In addition to the project launch team above, four additional members of Tourism RESET each provided several entries toward the History Of Black Travel.
They include:
- Dr. Matthew Cook, Research Fellow, Tourism RESET & Associate Professor of Cultural Geography and Historic Preservation, Eastern Michigan University
- Dr. Kang Jae “Jerry” Lee, Research Affiliate, Tourism RESET & Assistant Professor, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University
- Dr. Rasul Mowatt, Research Affiliate, Tourism RESET & Professor, American Studies & Geography, Indiana University
- Lydia Warren, Research Fellow, Tourism RESET & PhD Student, McIntire Department of Music, University of Virginia
Since launching (July 2021), we have had a number of submissions by members of the public. You can view a listing of these persons via the public contributors page.
We thank all for their contribution and look forward to others submitting entries as we build out the History Of Black Travel.