TAMAR, CEO
Tamar has led Access Culinary Trips for the past 10 years. Prior to that she managed marketing and e-commerce for travel industry leaders such as Lonely Planet, Travelocity and American Airlines. She grew up jetting between the Middle East, USA, and West Africa. That laid the groundwork for a lifelong desire to explore that has taken her to over 60 countries. Among her favorite places are Tibet, which is possibly the most stunning place on earth, and Vietnam, where she fell in love. Tamar holds a BS from the University of Maryland and an MBA from Berkeley Haas. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband and two children. Her favorite "culture through cuisine" experience is eating at Vietnamese food stalls with the locals.
THOMAS, FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
Thomas brings 20 years of building businesses to lead our internal operations. His passion is to drive the business growth with focus on an outstanding customer experience like that of Access Culinary Trips. He has traveled to more than 50 countries. Thomas earned a BS in Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from Berkeley Haas.
VICTORIA, CO-FOUNDER & ADVISOR
A sports enthusiast with a love of snowboarding, rock climbing, surfing and mountain biking, Victoria has a passion for traveling. She has traveled extensively in South America, Europe, North America and Australasia. A native of New Zealand, she moved to the United States when she was 17 to attend the United World College, an international school in New Mexico. She then went on to complete her university studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, USA. Upon graduation, Victoria was accepted for a financial analyst position in the media group of New York investment bank, Morgan Stanley, where she worked until deciding to co-found Access Trips. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and also has a BA degree in psychology. Victoria speaks Spanish and Portuguese, and has worked and volunteered extensively with teenagers during her summers.
ALAIN, CO-FOUNDER & ADVISOR
Growing up in the Swiss Alps, it`s no wonder Alain developed a passion for snowboarding. All the hours he put into becoming a world-ranked, widely-published and sponsored snowboarder didn’t stop him from pursuing other interests, however. Nor did it cause him to shirk on his studies. After finishing high school in Switzerland, Alain was accepted to Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, USA, where he earned his Bachelors degree in economics. He then went on to win a financial analyst position with New York investment bank, Salomon Smith Barney, where he spent two years as a financial analyst. During his time in New York, he managed to qualify for the US National Halfpipe Snowboarding Championships and made plans to co-found Access Trips. Alain has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, is an avid traveler and has extensive experience with instructional trips.