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Joel: Co-Founder and Chief Travel Officer. Joel graduated
from law school in Chicago and practiced for over 10 years before
starting Zoom Vacations. He has been passionate about travel since
he was a small boy and remembers going to New York City with his
mother when he was eight years old, watching his native Puerto Rico
shrink in the distance. Since then, Joel's travel log includes adventure
trekking to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in
Africa, and exotic trips to the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, Egypt,
Guatemala, Mexico, and Tunisia. Joel appreciates the education he
receives while traveling, as well as the opportunity to visit and
experience the things he enjoys in his every day life back in the
states: authentic Thai food, orchids growing naturally in the jungle,
French vineyards, or historic castles and architectural masterpieces. He is also somewhat of an airline and flight guru and spends almost as much time in the air as he does on ground, scouting the best destinations and venues for gay travelers. |
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Bryan: Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer. Bryan has been a high school
English teacher, personal trainer, model, freelance writer, and
a hotel marketing and events sales manager. He grew up in the Willamette
Valley in Oregon, known today as Oregon's premier wine country,
and his childhood was filled with outdoors adventure. His roots
in the outdoors, coupled with his inquisitive teacher's mind and
his appreciation for health and fitness (as well as for fabulous
hotels and resorts) have led him to adventures in every continent
but Antarctica. He has toured the ancient catacombs of Rome, swam
with horses where Australia's rainforest meets the reef, haggled
with Hong Kong merchants, danced the Samba in Brazil, and has even studied ecology and group dynamics in a Scottish commune. In addition to his duties at Zoom Vacations, Bryan is also on the Board of the Directors of the IGLTA (International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association). He was one of nine travel experts featured on the Travel Chanel's hit show, "Vacation Challenge" and he is the gay travel expert for several gay online and print publications. |
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Lori: Travel Coordinator. Lori has worked in the Travel Industry for several years both in Hotel Management and as a Reservations Sales Manager. At one point she was the travel liaison to the White House for IHC Hotels setting up hotel stays for the President, First Lady and Executive Staff. As a customer service trainer for hotel reservations, Lori had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the United States. Customer service is paramount in the travel industry, and especially to Zoom Vacations. Lori brings her "guest first" mentality to everything she does at Zoom Vacations. One of Lori's most memorable International trips was a vacation to Mexico where she made it her goal to find the best Tequila in the country. She succeeded. Lori loves exploring international cuisine and recreating back home the dishes she has sampled.
Lori's industry background and attention to detail has made her a great new addition to our Zoom
Vacations Team. |
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Lemuel: Sales Manager. Lemuel grew up in Chicago, and moved to
NYC at age 22 to pursue a career in the music industry. He has deejayed
at some of the hottest New York venues, including Moomba, Global
33, Jeffrey NY, and Bungalow 9, as well as at several Miramax premier
parties; Amelie, Serendipity, and Calle 54. His love of diverse
cultures has inspired his music, which contains African, Brazilian,
Cuban, Indian, and French elements, mixed with a city vibe. His
passion for music and culture have led him to several international
destinations, and he has placed India, Australia, and Cuba at the
top of his "to go" list. He has promised to explore these
places with his favorite travel partner, his daughter Maia |
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Zoom Concierges |
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On every Zoom Vacations group tour, you will have at least one dedicated concierge who is there to help you have an incredible vacation, and make sure that your trip is as seemless as possible. They are experts in the destinations you are visiting, and they are experts in customer service.
In addition to these concierges, Zoom Co-Founders Joel Cabrera and Bryan Herb accompany many of the tours and make up part of the Zoom Concierge Staff, Team Zoom. |
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Dany: Rio de Janeiro Concierge. Dany is native from Peru, grew up in Argentina and moved to Rio de Janeiro at age 20 to study Social Communications at the University of Rio. He is an Illustrator, model and singer, works that had made him travel many places in the World. He loves to have a balance life, enough time for work, enough time to be with friends and enjoy life. He is fascinated with Latin America, and he loves to learn and show his culture and roots to everyone who wants to hear. He is friendly and always in a good mood. |
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Tim: Cape Town and Winelands Concierge. Tim was born in the UK and qualified as an attorney. He worked in the family law firm for seven years and could stand it no longer, and then moved to Hong Kong tow work as a Prosecuting Counsel for Seven years. He came to Cape Town on holiday in 1983 and fell in love with it; came back in 1984 and fell in love with a Capetonian. Tim has lived in South Africa since 1986 and has been a tour guide for six years as well as a model for TV commercials. His interests are sports, theatre (musicals especially), reading and politics. He has always been interested in History, reads widely, and devours all sorts of information. None of his friends will play Trivial Pursuit with him. |
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Eddy: Costa Rica Concierge. Eddy is native from Costa Rica, and has been in the tourism industry for 20 years. He speaks English with almost no accent whatsoever. He is well-versed in the history, culture, and eco-tourism of Costa Rica as well as gay nightlife in San Jose and Manuel Antonio! Eddy has an infectious laugh and a fun-loving spirit that puts a smile on the faces of those around him. In addition to being a Zoom Concierge, Eddy has also been a fellow Zoom Traveler (Zoom Rio New Years, 2005/2006). Besides Brazil with Zoom, his personal travels have taken him to Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico, US, Canada, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Argentina, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Greece. In the future, he hopes to continue traveling around the world, next trip: Eastern Europe. He also has a passion for art and expects to have an exhibit this year with a collection of 25 pastels. He loves the outdoors, mountain biking, jogging, and spending time at the beach. Note: Also pictured is Zoom's other Costa Rica Concierge, Teresa. |
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Alex: Guatemala Concierge. Alex was Born in Guatemala City in 1975. He moved to Ventura, California at the age of five and
lived there for five years. He moved back to Guatemala and traveled back and forth to USA on exchanges to learn more about its culture and Language. Because of these trips he developed a joy for traveling which has led him on adventures through Europe, the United States, and Central and South America. Of course, he has traveled extensivley through his beautiful country of Guatemala, which he adores and loves to share everytime he can. In addition to his travels, Alex attended law school at the Universidad Rafael Landivar. He loves fine food, wine, art, and music, and he has a terrific sense-of-humor. |
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Richard: Amsterdam Concierge. Richard was born in Amsterdam and has a tremendous knowledge of the history, culture and architecture of Amsterdam and of The Netherlands in general. One of his biggest passions is showing people from abroad his town and country. His incredible sense of humor and wit keeps our groups laughing and learning, and enjoying everything Dutch. Richard guides groups from all over the world in various languages, and says that one of my favorite groups is our Zoom Vacations group every year for Amsterdam Gay Pride. He especially loves leading our bike rides through the countryside, because as he says, “It’s great fun because you will feel like a Dutchman passing the bicyclists, looking at the incredible landscape and passing windmills and even stopping by a traditional wooden shoe factory. Of course, nothing compares to the Pride Parade itself. See you in August!” |
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