Paul Rubio Award-winning travel writer and economist Paul Rubio has traveled to 125 countries in the past two decades in the name of work and exploration. Paul is a Harvard graduate, who worked in the field of wildlife conservation before embracing his writing talents full-time in 2008. He specializes in adventure and luxury travel and contributes to a number of top-tier international, national, and regional publications including Condé Nast Traveler, Departures, LUXURY, Fodors.com, Palm Beach Illustrated, Private Clubs, and Robb Report.

David Gould David Gould is a writer, editor and consultant with expertise in travel and the transportation industry. He is the former executive editor of Travel + Leisure Golf and the author of several books on golf history and course architecture. He is a Boston native and lives in Massachusetts.

Gary Walther Gary Walther has been a travel journalist for 40 years. He has been editor-in-chief of Departures, Expedia Travels, Luxury SpaFinder, and Forbes Life magazines, and for the past five years a freelancer with a column on Forbes.com called The Hotel Detective. He has passport stamps from 61 countries and is a million-miler on American Airlines. He writes for the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, and Departures Europe among other publications.

Laura Begley Bloom Laura Begley Bloom is a New York-based editor, writer, and content strategist who covers travel and lifestyle for publications such as Food & Wine,Forbes, and the New York Post. She also works on content strategy with brands like The Shops at Columbus Circle and the Lincoln Motor Company. Previously, Laura was the editor-in-chief of Yahoo Travel and the deputy editor of Travel + Leisure. Journalism is part of Laura’s heritage. Her great great grandfather was a Civil War correspondent for the Chicago Tribune.

Kathleen Pierce Kathleen Pierce is a journalist by trade and temperament. She has covered travel, tech, business, food, arts, and culture for the Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, Taste of the Seacoast, and most recently the Bangor Daily News. She lives south of Portland, Maine on an artfarm.