Speakers for 2022

Princess François-Estévez and Andy Estévez are passionate educators who love to travel every chance they get. Over the course of their five-year relationship, they have traveled together to 7 countries, 10 states, and countless cities. Outside the classroom, Princess uses her blog and Instagram, Franny the Traveler, to inspire micro-cations, educate on ALL things travel, and amplify underrepresented voices. Andy is an integral part of her blog behind the scenes, serving as both photographer and editor. They are truly #baecationgoals!

Jessica grew up in the suburbs of San Diego and has always had a curiosity for other people and their stories. She specifically created The Wine & Chisme Podcast to amplify voices across communities of color and share their stories on career, love, life and more. All while sipping on a glass of wine. She launched the VERY FIRST directory of Latiné owned wine brands based in the United States and has since expanded into hosting virtual wine tastings that specifically focus on these vintner. She believes that people need to know that our community not only works the land, but owns the brands.

Johanna B. Voss is a talent manager, trusted by social media influencers who want clarity on how to build their brands, grow their businesses, earn their worth and plan strategically for the future. On behalf of her clients, she’s closed over $3.5M dollars of brand deals, partnerships and speaking engagements. Johanna is a world traveler, has lived in Spain three times, can often be found cycling Colorado’s mountain ranges, or asking the question “What if you…?”

Vanessa Fondeur-Adams is a fierce and adventurous Dominican Jefa. As a NYC educator with insatiable wanderlust, she wanted her hugely underrepresented high school students to experience the world beyond the textbooks and become more global-minded so Vanessa began leading students on educational tours to countries such as China, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, and Spain. Now as founder of Latino World Travelers – a global community for Latinos, she looks to expand on her passion for travel one Latino/x at a time, one passport stamp at a time. Her mission is to empower Latinos to experience the world, and diversify the face of travel. In her fight to have Latinos represented in the travel industry, this past March, she launched the first-ever Latino Travel Fest with over 50 speakers in 16 different panels and 5 culturally immersive experiences. The goals are to educate the Latino/x community about how they can make travel part of their lifestyle, and provide a platform to spotlight travel creators, bloggers, and thought- leaders.

Jen Ruiz is a lawyer turned full-time travel blogger and author. She is a 5-time Amazon bestselling author, 3-time TEDx speaker and multi award-winning travel journalist. She has been featured by The Washington Post, Forbes and ABC News and is the solo female traveler behind Jen on a Jet Plane.

For more than 15 years, Ralph Velasco has been a full time professional travel photographer and international tour organizer. Over that period he’s organized and led more than 100 international small group tours around the world with over 1,000 clients under his Alla Campagna Experiences and PhotoEnrichment Adventures brands. Ralph is a published author, international public speaker, and creator of The Continental DRIFTER YouTube channel where he shares travel and photography tips for Baby Boomers and Gen X travelers.

I am a First-Generation Mexican America, First-Generation College Graduate, First-Generation Business Owner, and a Global Citizen. I’m from rural Chicago and grew up visiting Mexico, which I give credit to my endless curiosity to explore as well as interest in people from everywhere I land. I’ve traveled through 25 different countries before graduating college and have not stopped since. I want you to experience what I have yet to enjoy and more!

By training, Cindy Y. Rodriguez is a writer, producer and storyteller who has worked in media for over 15 years but after feeling disconnected from herself and her roots in 2017, she took on a new role. She created a spiritual hiking and journaling community for women of color to help them reclaim themselves. In short, creating the thing she wished existed when she needed it.

Cindy was born and raised in New Jersey by her immigrant Peruvian parents and identifies as indigenous.

Grupo Folklorico de Bendiciones is an award-winning Folklorio dance group from San Antonio, Texas. This professional dance group was discovered by performing at numerous charity events around Texas and established in 2015 by Anthony Salazar. Their mission is to continue to share their talent and culture in the community.

We are a Caribbean couple that have been married for 13 years. Together we have visited 25 countries. We love to experience other cultures food and the locals day to day activities. Our goal is to visit the Modern 7 Wonders of the World which we have visited 6 so far.

Born and raised in Panama, retired financial planner after 20 years and have visited 39 countries using points and miles.

Alyssa Ramos is a highly established travel blogger, influencer, and entrepreneur who has turned her passion for solo travel into a six figure business. She has made huge strides and impacts on the travel industry, and inspired thousands of wanderlusters to get out there and travel, even if they want to wear a dress while doing it! She was also the first travel blogger to start hosting group trips, and remains one of the most successful ones doing it. Alyssa has been to 115 countries, all 7 continents (Antarctica twice and a third time this November with another of her group trips), and is currently relaxing in Europe with her dog, Oscar before heading to another 20 countries this year!

Dominicana living between Boston and DR. Accountant from 9-5 and Money Coach 24/7. Laura helps Latina immigrants to live the best life by teaching them how to manage their money in the US.

Richard Cantave is a tourism expert with a vivid entrepreneurial spirit. Having traveled to more than 70 countries; he has founded the Haitian Nomad Brand through which he curates high end cultural experiences around the world. Born and raised in Haiti, one of the major focuses of Haitian Nomad is to connect the Haitian Diaspora to their motherland—This has earned Richard several awards including Nomadness Travel Tribe’s “Man of The Year” 2017 and The Association of Haitian Professional’s “Diaspora Engagement Awards” 2018.

Featured on several well-respected media outlets such as Essence Magazine, Loop, Griot Republic, L’Union Suite, Ticket magazine, Haitian Nomad now hosts close to 20 exciting destinations throughout the year to places like Egypt, Maldives, Thailand, the French Riviera, Kenya, Morocco, Haiti and even Antarctica. Every year, the Haitian Nomad brand continues to grow and offers more and more destinations for rich cultural experiences.

David and Anette are a Latino couple that traded in their life in Los Angeles for a life on the road as full-time RVers…even though they had zero RV experience! Since buying their RV in 2020, they drove cross country, visited over 25 states, explored 16 National Parks, and hiked the highest peak in the contingent United States. Thy post their adventures, travel tips and lessons on their instagram account @outdoingstuff

Lola is a widely-published Uruguayan-American journalist writing about travel, sustainability, social justice, Latine issues, queer stories, health, veganism, and more. Her work has been published in many print and digital publications including CNN, ELLE, Food+Wine, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Architectural Digest, Refinery29, and more. After calling New York City home for seven years, Lola became a full-time globe trotter in 2015. During her travels, she’s visited 65 countries. Lola seeks ethical tourism experiences that benefit local communities. In addition, she’s queer, a dedicated sustainability advocate, 200-hour trained Hatha yoga teacher, practices mindfulness, lives with minimal waste, and has been plant-based for 15 years.

Danny Guerrero, founder of The Culturist Group is a 20+ year travel industry veteran is a trailblazer and force for good in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries. Danny is a frequent guest speaker at travel and tourism industry conferences where he advocates for underrepresented travelers and illuminates how shifting demographics, travel sentiment, and culture represents opportunities for the travel industry.

Vianessa Castaños is an all-around creative with a love for culture and travel writing. Her journalism has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar, Fodor’s, The Miami New Times, and Passion Passport, and she also serves as the deputy editor of Girl Gone International magazine. While she’s spent many years bouncing around the globe, her home base is in Madrid, Spain, where she owns a television and film production company focused on diversifying on-screen representation in Spanish media.

I’m Ana, an Online Biz Owner, Travel Writer & Family Travel Coach. I help mamas reconnect with travel by showing them how to see the world with their kids. I love yoga, banana bread and all things handmade. My favorite city in the whole world (so far) is Dubrovnik!

Hola! I’m Raquel, travel blogger and enthusiast. I am originally from LA and currently living in San Francisco. I love inspiring others to see the world, seek risk, and seize opportunities; through storytelling and with my ability to connect with others to create lasting connections.

Female solo budget traveler who has been blogging for 8 years at traveleira.com. One of her passions as a traveler is exploring off the beaten path destinations. Besides traveling, Brenda is the CEO of Eventurera Ediciones, a publisher house focused on printed travel resources and also works as an SEO consultant and Languages teacher.

I am the co-founder of Slice of Culture, an online media platform that highlights different cultures within our community and around the world. Traveling and meeting new people is what inspires my passion for journalism and the arts. I believe half of the fun is in creating and the other half is in sharing my work with the world

I am an adventure loving Latina Mamá who mostly spends my days surviving the hood—madrehood. I have three peques under 5 and I am always looking for ways to help them see the world around them differently and explore más.

Rosa is a Latina content creator who runs The Traveling Roses blog along with her teenage daughter. Whether it’s hopping on a plane to a far away destination or jumping in the car for a quick getaway; the journey is just as fun as the destination. Working alongside with Tourism Boards, Hotels & tourist attractions they have built a brand and portfolio where they share travel adventures and help bring awareness to mother/daughter travel across their platforms.

Alex Temblador is an award-winning travel writer with publications in National Geographic, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Lonely Planet among many others. The Dallas-based travel writer is best known for her coverage of diversity, equity, and inclusion in travel and tourism and was the recipient of the 2021 Bessie Award for “Most Impactful Piece of Writing.”

Tinabeth Piña is an EMMY® award winning multi media journalist who has worked on air and behind the scenes for ABC, FOX, PBS, A&E, The History Channel & Oxygen to name a few! She is currently the managing editor at CUNY-TV – The City University of New York’s EMMY® award winning television station as well as the creator, show runner and host of LATiNAS – the channel’s monthly magazine show that celebrates the women of the Latinx community.

Tinabeth is also the creator, executive producer and host of GLOBE SCHOLARS™ – an award winning travel show about studying abroad airing nationally on local PBS stations.

And as if that’s not enough, Tinabeth also vlogs about travel on her website TinabethTravels.com. Follow her @tinabethpina

Nina Zadeh is the co-founder and Director of Partnerships at Sidewalker Daily, a marketing consulting agency who works on both sides of the influencer equation. On one hand, she works with her brand clients their influencer marketing initiatives and social media strategy. On the other hand, Nina works with influencers and Creators to help them create sustainable businesses online, most notably via her signature Pitching To Brands Mastercourse.

Somos Latinos With Passports, a travel-hacking Latin@ couple building generation wealth y viajando por todo el mundo! Danny is from Miami while Laurie is from Seattle. We are first-generation Colombian and Mexican-Americans, married for the past two years and calling the DC area nuestro hogar.

Jenny is a wife and mama to three wild ones. Along with her family, she has been traveling the US full-time in their casita on wheels for over four years. Jenny is passionate about photography, homeschooling, simple living, and exploring the outdoors with her familia. You can follow their adventures over on Instagram @livinglavidawild

Taína Benítez is founder and CEO of Teach With Love Global, an inclusive teacher and educator travel community on a mission to impact the education industry with global-minded educators while giving back to the Edu Community. All proceeds go to providing free programs and trips for underserved students + teachers.

With a background in business, communications, education + community building, Taina has spoken at over 20+ conferences giving workshops that have been featured in many media outlets, including a feature on MSNBC Latino. A wife and mother of three really cool sons, when not working, you will find her with her family of five who have been traveling since 1995!

Angel was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Family migrated when he was 1 years old to Philadelphia. Always had a love and fasciation for airplanes and travel. Wanted to be a Pilot or Flight attendant but once he saw the sacrifice needed for that life, he decided to just sit on the back of the plane stress free and enjoy the experience to wherever he wanted to go. He sees himself as a Proud Wild and free spirited Latino traveler that just wants to enjoy all the beauty and richness the world has to offer.

Nikki Vargas is the Founding Editor of Unearth Women, an Editor for Fodor’s Travel, and a published author. Her new book, Wanderess, was published by Penguin Random House in February and is now on-sale in bookstores across the United States and UK. Nikki’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Vogue Spain, CNN, Good Morning America, Fortune, and more; while her bylines have been published in Cosmopolitan, Food & Wine, Zagat, and Vice.

My name is Eric, I go by the name @thetravelpapi on IG. I am a first generation Puerto Rican born and Raised in Philadelphia, PA. My mission is to inspire urban inner city youth to live, educate and experience life through travel by embracing cultures around the world. While teaching how travel is not only for the rich but for all to experience.

@jetsetjose is a registered nurse based out of New York. Traveling is one of his passions. He enjoys diving into the local culture and finding the hidden gems during his trips.

Puerto Rican Travel Blogger and Content Creator. Moved back to PR after 20 years and currently enjoying sun and beach.

Iliah Grant Altoro is an Afro-Spanish writer, speaker, activist and traveler. She’s also the homeschooling mamá of three half-Boricua critical thinkers. Iliah founded Negra Bohemian, a blog devoted to revolutionary mothering, intentional travel, decolonized faith and raising conscious global learners. She’s spent over 20 years traveling, 13 of those with her children. Together, they’ve visited over 30 countries on five continents. In 2012, Iliah received the “Globetrotting Mom” award, and was a speaker at the 2019 Women In Travel Summit. She’s been featured on Alicia Key’s Keys Soulcare, Travel Latina, Brown Families Traveling, Wandering Moms, Black Travel Journey and many more.

Jeanine Romo is a travel blogger, content creator, and podcaster who loves outdoor adventure. Her blog features destination guides and helpful tips that serve as inspiration for those who want to travel more adventurously. When she’s not traveling around the world she’s exploring her home state of California and neighboring states. You can often catch her roadtripping to national parks, state parks, and other off-the-beaten-path destinations.