About Us

Dayne Ford

Dayne was born in South Africa and spent the early years of his life there before moving to Sarasota, Florida. He founded Strive Media, the parent company of Trips To Discover in 2008. He has a lifelong passion for entrepreneurship and eats, sleeps and breathes all things digital. Most of his time at the office is spent furthering the impact of our brand and finding awesome, talented people to join us in our mission.

Shanna Bell Ellis

Mark Jaquith

Mark has been building things on the web since the mid-1990s. He oversees all development, architecture, and technology within our company. Fun fact — he passionately hates all code that he wrote more than three months ago.

Maribeth Snyder

Maribeth is a true Florida Native. While she calls the Gulf Coast home, she's not afraid to go where the wind takes her. Receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing from the University of Central Florida, Maribeth joined the Trips to Discover team in 2017. She is responsible for our content marketing and enjoys interacting with followers across the country and even across the globe.

Lauren Strickland

Lauren joined the Trips to Discover Team in 2016. She earned her degree in Design from Illinois State University, and has since lived in some of the most beautiful areas in the U.S. before settling down in Florida. She is responsible for the overall design and user experience of Trips To Discover, and enjoys incorporating the styles she's encountered from her travels into her design elements.

Charity De Souza

Born and raised in Orlando, Florida, Charity been traveling with her battered backpack full-time for over a decade. Exploring close to 60 countries, her favorite travel memories include skydiving in Switzerland, getting lost in Japan, road tripping through Iceland, snorkeling with turtles in Indonesia and watching a sunset in the Sahara Desert. She currently resides in Porto, Portugal with her husband.

Noah Holtgraves

Born in the Midwestern countryside of Indiana, Noah Holtgrave's upbringing was rustic. Open space and privacy fostered creativity and independent thought. In 2017, Noah moved to Denver after completing a bachelor's in economics from Ball State University. He is currently finishing a master's in journalism entrepreneurship at The University of Colorado Boulder and freelances data journalism. Noah is passionate about local news, U.S. culture and sociopolitics.

Olivia Herlyn

Olivia is a Connecticut native living in the beautiful wine region of Mendoza, Argentina. Before moving to Argentina, she earned a degree in International Business at the College of Charleston and moved to Colorado to be a ski instructor. As the daughter of a flight attendant, she knew from a young age that travel would be a big part of her life. She is thrilled to work for a company that is as passionate about travel as she is.

Sarah Tidwell

Sarah lives in Mississippi and completed her degree in theatre at the University of Southern Mississippi. She joined the Trips to Discover team in 2017 and is responsible for email outreach. As an avid traveler, both domestic and international, she enjoys her position at Trips to Discover as it allows her to learn about so many interesting places and events around the world.

Cassandra Martucci

Born and raised in the Adirondack Park of upstate New York, Cassie has a special appreciation for all things nature. She graduated from Siena College in 2020 with a degree in English and joined Trips to Discover in 2021. In her free time, Cassie enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with her Rat Terrier, Marlow.

K.C. Dermody

K.C. Dermody is the author of 'Best Travel Guide for First Time Visitors to Ireland' and hundreds of travel articles published online and in print. She's traveled the world, currently living in Baja, Mexico. When she's not writing, she might be found swimming with sea lions in the Sea of Cortez, paddling among icebergs in Newfoundland, or hiking to the top of a volcanic crater in Iceland.

Alyssa Ochs

Alyssa spent several years living the nomadic life as a full-time RVer and writing about her favorite places from the road. With a passion for nature and the outdoors, you can often find her hiking, climbing, kayaking, and exploring amazing new destinations with her husband, son, and highly energetic dog. These days, she calls New Mexico her home base.

Madison Dragna

Madison is a freelance writer and small business owner living in Fort Collins, CO. When she's not writing about the best places in Colorado to visit, she's hiking, biking, doing yoga and traveling the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram @inanydirection_

Karyn Wofford

Karyn Wofford is a lifestyle writer, avid traveler and Georgia native. She grew up exploring everything from the mountains to the ocean and continues to find new and unique things to do in the places she travels.

Marcea Cazel

Marcea loves writing about Florida and knows many unique things to do and places to explore in the Sunshine State. A graduate from the University of Central Florida, she is attempting to visit all 175 of Florida’s state parks and enjoys kayaking, visiting museums and reading as many books as she can. Keep up with Marcea’s adventures on her travel blog, My Cornacopia, and be sure to follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Georgie Darling

Georgie is a freelance travel writer and copywriter from London, UK who currently lives in Indonesia. Her work has been published in YAHOO!, Culture Trip, Fodor's and VICE among others. When she's not writing or exploring a new country, Georgie spends a lot of time SCUBA diving, cooking up new recipes and plotting her next adventures. Keep up with Georgie at www.georgierdarling.com

Pavlo Fedykovych

Pavlo Fedykovych is an experienced travel writer published by CNN Travel, BBC Travel, Lonely Planet, The Independent Travel, The Guardian Travel and Fodor's. He is passionate about food, history and culture. Pavlo has been to more than 30 countries worldwide. Also, he's a singer-songwriter producing his own music.

Tarah Chieffi

Tarah Chieffi is a theme park and family travel journalist who uses her words to help travelers plan fun-filled family vacations. When she isn’t eating theme park food and riding roller coasters, she can be found cycling wherever her bike will take her, tucked under the covers with a good book, or planning her next adventure with her husband and three young sons.