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Article: Meet the Team

UrbanUndercover Team

Meet the Team

Hey! This is Sairey. I am more than thrilled to introduce our team. We are small, but mighty, and I am so proud to work alongside these women. We have our roles, but everyone helps each other out when needed. The support within is amazing. I was told once long ago when hiring, that "you can teach people to do a job, but you can't teach them to care." So I consider myself the most lucky person, as I have an entire team of people who care....they care about each other, they care about our brand, they care about our products and our customers, they care about our impact on the environment and they care about being good. Everyone shares the intense passion for traveling the world to see, learn and do, to become better people and promote positivity, to be opened up to other cultures and ways of life. We believe that traveling makes us better humans, more compassionate and more understanding. So here we are in a short-n-sweet version. We answered the five questions below. Hope you enjoy!
  • What is your favorite destination?
  • What is your dream destination?
  • What is your best travel advice?
  • What do you never travel without?
  • What is a silver lining of this pandemic?


SAIREY GERNES, FOUNDER & IDEA GENERATOR:

  • A Favorite Destination: South Africa & Cuba
  • A Dream Destination: Croatia and Turkey
  • Best Travel Advice: Travel Light! And immerse yourself in the experience, meet the people from the area, eat at non touristy destinations, soak it all in. Sometimes the best is just sitting in a cafe, observing and chatting with the locals.
  • Never Travel Without: My UrbanUndercover Everyday Travel Wrap
  • Pandemic Silver Lining: We had time to redo our website and give it some of the love it needs! Plus, it's been nice to see people connect because life slowed a bit that we could enjoy each other.

KIM CANNEY, TEAM SUPPORT & SALES:

  • Favorite Destinations: Cuba and Croatia
  • Dream Destinationr(s): Iceland and New Zealand
  • Best Travel Advice: (happens to be one of my favorite travel quotes) “If you ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” ~James Albert Michener
  • Never Travel Without: my UU underwear!!!
  • Pandemic Silver Lining: I’ve learned that you don’t need a passport to see amazing things. Our country is beautiful!

KRISTIN KOLLER, TEAM SUPPORT & SALES:

  • A Favorite Destination: Lofoten, Norway
  • A Dream Destination - Vietnam
  • Best Travel Advice - Say YES.
  • Never Travel Without - An open mind and heart.
  • Pandemic Silver Lining: Being reminded that you don’t have to cross oceans to see and experience beautiful things.

AMBER GIMBLE, TEAM SUPPORT & SALES:

  • A Favorite Destination:  All of New Zealand
  • A Dream Destination:  (aside from NZ)..... Stavanger Norway, where my GreatGrandfather (mother’s side)is from.
  • Best Travel Advice:  Trust your intuition.
  • Never travel without:  Your Travel Journal.  Document your journeys in WORDS, save ticket stubs, remember names of places and people and write down how things smelled and felt ( hot, cold, humid, electric, soft ) etc.
  • Pandemic Silver Lining:  Empathy.  Every person on this planet has been impacted.

LIZANNE DOONER, MARKETING, SOCIAL, TEAM SUPPORT & SALES

  • Favorite Destination: Maui, Hawaii! I have family there and even though I've been several times, I still think it's the most magical place on earth!
  • Dream Destination: Mykonos
  • Best Travel Advice: Book the trip and figure out the rest along the way ;) I've seen so many friends worry about too many things about booking vacations that they never actually book the trip!
  • Never Travel without: Airpods! I don't love tuning out the world, but I like having the option to, ha! And music whether on the airplane or in the car is a MUST!
  • Pandemic Silver Lining: Appreciating the travel I was able to experience already but also getting creative with exploring our own backyard! And a new appreciation for road tripping!

TERI MASCOTTI, TEAM SUPPORT & SALES:

  • Favorite destination: Palm Springs
  • Dream Destination: Italy
  • Best Travel Advice: Find where the locals go and get off the tourist path.
  • Never Travel without: A friend
  • Pandemic Silver Lining: Being available to stay a month with my daughter’s family while my grandson was born.

KRISTINE WEBER, STRATEGY & LOGISTICS:

  • Favorite Destination:  Santorini, Greece
  • Dream Destination:  Bora Bora
  • Best Travel Advice:  Give yourself enough time to enjoy each destination so you can live like a local.
  • Never Travel Without:  Water and lip balm…boring, but essential.
  • Pandemic Silver Lining: Rediscovering my love of nature with frequent family hikes…something we never would have done otherwise because the schedule is just too busy!

RACHEL WHITE, TEAM SUPPORT & SALES, PRODUCTION:

  • A favorite destination: Antigua, Guatemala was a lovely hidden gem I never knew I needed. I spent a whole day looking in shops, sneaking a peak at restaurant courtyards and all sorts of historic buildings dating back to the Spanish Colonial times. Fresh food (the VERY BEST guac), and peaceful open air bars late into the night, laughing with new friends. I am the most present version of myself sitting around a dinner table with no cellphone reception and a mountain in the background, or in this case a few volcanoes. What is it about some string lights, live acoustic music and cross-over conversations that quiets the anxious mind, for just a few minutes?
  • A dream destination: Banff! I am craving mountains upon mountains and a giant fireplace. I don't ski but sledding or a crisp winter hike is right up my alley. Did you know Lake Louise freezes crystal clear and if you catch it on just the right day it's also snow free, looks a bit like a fairytale.
  • Best Travel Advice: Talk to your travel partners about expectations BEFORE you get on the plane. Make sure you both agree on a general plan, budgets and sleeping arrangements. You don't want to be caught in a far off land sleeping in a hostel when you meant hotel. 
  • Never travel without: A sense of adventure and a willingness to get off the beaten path. And maybe tums and a TowelTopper.
  • Pandemic Silver Lining: I've really learned to love the steadiness I get from staying put for a minute. A sort of time-out to frame the photos from trips and hang up treasures from my travels.

KRISTINA BERGSTAD, CFO & STRATEGY:

  • Fav destination: Anywhere there’s sun, beach and good food!
  • Dream destination: Currently it is Armacao dos Buzios
  • Best travel advice: You won’t regret the trips you take but you may regret the trips you don’t - so travel! “Take the trip!” as Sairey would say 
  • Never travel without: A solar powered charger
  • Pandemic silver lining: We have been forced to adapt, be flexible and get out of our routines. All those meetings/appointments/scheduled events that we couldn’t miss before can now be re-framed. Many of us have realized what is more important in life and we can better appreciate all the small things!

 

 

 

 

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