Dear NextTriber,

Jeannie Ralston and I have been besties since our college days, not so long ago. Some might say we’re a couple of old dogs, but we never stop learning new tricks, and like NextTribers everywhere, we’re endlessly curious and always ready for the next adventure.

That’s why when she asked me to start leading more trips I said, I’m all in! As we grow, we’re going to need more trip leaders, so that’s part of my remit, too. I’ll be looking for more fun women with local knowledge who can start taking groups to new destinations. 

Jeannie Edmunds and I are working on all of the back-end stuff like our trip leader policies and procedures, training and development, all the things we need to do to make every trip a memorable one for every traveler.

I’m passing the TribeSocial baton to our beloved team member, Jennifer Miller. Jennifer has been hanging out in sponsorships and paid advertising, but her real skills are in improv and standup comedy. Who knew? She can’t wait to hop on the keyboard and start some fun conversations with ya’ll, and I’m sure you’re going to love her.

In addition, another fun-loving team member, Marcellina, is being promoted to Manager, Local Communities. She has done a kick-ass job bringing women together in Austin for the last eight years, and now more women are stepping up and asking for help connecting with NextTribers where they live. “Mars” is excited to make that happen, starting with Houston, Phoenix/Scottsdale, NYC, and LA. A resident of Smithville, Texas, she helps put on the yarn bomb festival every year!

Mars and the team are sifting through the locations you sent us, and we’ll put some pins on the map: she’ll be visiting new places this summer. Maybe she’ll pull up in her yarn coach!

I look forward to traveling with ya’ll very soon!

Bye for now….

Ellesor Holder

Manager, Trip Leaders