Best Of Travel Awards

Erica has been with Visit Savannah since 1999 where she currently serves as the Director of Public Relations and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy.

Julie Roller Weeks is a proud ruby sneaker-wearing tourism professional with more than 15 years in the Kansas tourism industry. She currently serves as the Past President of the Travel Industry Association of Kansas. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the Midwest and pursuing her quest of finding mini-Statues of Liberty.

Janice Waugh is founder, publisher, and contributor to Solo Traveler, an online publication founded in 2009. Solo Traveler’s mission is to inspire, inform, and advocate for those who travel alone. With over a quarter million active members of the Solo Travel Society on Facebook, Solo Traveler serves a large, diverse, and engaged community. Weekly newsletters provide over 57,000 subscribers with additional content, including 100+ solo travel tours and cruises with no or low single supplements from a wide array of travel operators.

Kevin Murphy is a professor at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. He has been a chef, traveler, and educator since his early twenties. He has a passion for international destinations, having visited over 30 countries across six continents. He has also traveled to all but six U.S. states and counting.

Phil Selleck divides his time between the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and Falls Church, Virginia. He began his 30-year career with the National Park Service patrolling the parks as a law enforcement
park ranger. He rose through the ranks, leaving his position as Chief Ranger at Delaware Water Gap to work at NPS headquarters, Washington D.C. He finished his career as an associate regional director supporting park operations in the National Capital Region. Phil also held positions with the US Forest Service and US Bureau of Land Management as a wildland firefighter.

Phil’s been working for National Park Trust since leaving the NPS in 2016, supporting the acquisition of land critical for transfer to and protection of national parks.

Phil has been a national park visitor for almost 50 years, camping and hiking in units of the National Park System from coast to coast including Hawaii and the Caribbean.

He graduated from Michigan State University with a B.S. in zoology in 1973. He grew up playing and vacationing in the woods, fields and lakes of Michigan, which led him to his study of and dedication to conservation in the national parks. He is a life member of the Association of National Park Rangers.

Christy Karsten is an airline pilot who loves to travel and explore the globe. When she’s not exploring the world on a jet, she’s adventuring the road less traveled, shopping, and enjoying local foods. She has been to five continents; with each trip, her bucket list continues to overflow while her list of destinations continues to expand. At her home in Southern California, she spends her time working out, hiking, and researching her next global journey. Depending on the day, this wife and mother is either an international airline pilot or a travel-hungry globetrotter.