bryanherb

Co-Founder of Zoom Vacations. Bryan grew up in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, known today as Oregon's premier wine country, and his childhood was filled with outdoor adventure. He attended Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington and majored in English Writing and Public Relations. During his last semester, he studied ecology and group dynamics in a Scottish commune for five months and then backpacked through Europe. It was one of best times of his life. After college, he was accepted into Teach for America, and taught inner-city high school English for two years in Houston, Texas, and then three years in New York City. While living in New York, he also worked as a personal trainer, model, actor, and freelance writer. He then moved to Chicago and took a job as a marketing and special events manager for Hotel 71. The tragedy of September 11th affected him as it did all of us, and it gave him the impetus he needed to start a truly fulfilling career. He wanted to do something that focused on his biggest passion in life (travel) and that would give him the opportunity to give back to the community. He quit his job at Hotel 71 and risked everything he had to start Zoom Vacations with his business partners, Joel Cabrera and Bill Gudenau. In the ten years it has been in business, Zoom Vacations has given Bryan the opportunity to explore much more of the world, and it has given him some of his best friendships he has ever had. Through Zoom, he has made significant differences in the lives of hundreds of people. In addition to his marketing and operations duties at Zoom Vacations, he was also the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the IGLTA (International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association). He was one of nine travel experts featured on the Travel Channel's hit show, "Vacation Challenge" and was the South America Gay Travel Expert for four episodes on Logo’s Gay Travel show, Bump. He was also the host for two gay travel shorts for Comcast. He is the gay travel expert for several gay online and print publications, including Orbitz, away.com,chicagopride.com, newyorkqnews.com, and more.

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