Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

Today I am living my dream of taking Speaking of Travel live with three amazing world- changing guests at the LEAF Global Arts Retreat.

LEAF Global Arts plays a significant role in fostering community and over the years has become an essential role of this community and provides opportunities for people to come together and celebrate their shared customs, beliefs, and values.

My guests on this special live show, Masankho Banda, Amanda Lucidon and Chase Pickering, are leaders and visionaries ready to stand up and make a difference.

Amanda is an award-winning photographer, filmmaker, and New York Times best-selling author. She served as an Official White House photographer responsible for documenting President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama from 2013 to 2017 and she is one of only a few female White House photographers in history.

Her two highly-recommended books, Chasing Light: Michelle Obama Through the Lens of a White House Photographer, featuring beautiful photographs of the First Lady, and Reach Higher, her book adapted for young readers, is a beautiful celebration, and powerful reminder, of the impact of a remarkable First Lady.

Today, Amanda is helping bring awareness to adverse childhood experiences with creativity, mindfulness, education, and collaboration to address trauma through her organization, Grounded.

Masankho is a multidisciplinary Performing Artist, InterPlay Leader, Spiritual Healer, and Peace Builder from Malawi, Central Africa. He’s been a part of LEAF for the past 20+ years as a performer, lecturer, and adviser.

Using performing arts, he motivates and inspires people of all ages to work together to bring about peace, social justice, and cultural understanding.

Chase is the great-great-grandson of Biltmore's founder George Vanderbilt. He serves as Vice President of the Biltmore House guest experience and operations. He’s also an incredible photographer!

In high school, Chase met Jane Goodall and formed a student group to work with her Roots and Shoots program. He later became a youth leadership fellow and board member with the Jane Goodall Institute.

Travel is not just a movement. It can act as a portal, much like a photographer. It has the ability to encapsulate a moment or memory to allow us to transcend space and time.

On this special live Speaking of Travel, discover life lessons from those who have had the honor to be connected with people they highly admire and how they use these lessons every day.

A must listen! Only on Speaking of Travel!

Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

There is always a proud sense of community that you find in small towns and communities in our country. And in the North Carolina Mountains, you can add to that something downright magical. Great people, incredible food, and Southern Hospitality to make you all feel like you’re home. People here love to roll out the welcome mat.

Meet Summer Stipe, Founder and Lead Planner​ of Juniper and Crafted by Juniper. Summer offers customized and personalized itineraries for people traveling to Western North Carolina and for locals looking to freshen up their date nights or adventures.

Summer shares why helping people build deeper connections with the people in their lives and to the places where they land, either temporarily or permanently, as well as supporting businesses who are recruiting candidates to the area, provides a rewarding, and proud business model.

And Tina Kinsey from the Asheville Regional Airport shares how the future could look for this fast-growing airport and what the summer season is shaping up to look like.

Tina invites you to sign up for the new quarterly e-newsletter, INSIGHT: AVL Forward, to access more information about the airport's growth with in-depth articles, photos and videos. The newsletter provides a look into airport strategy, challenges, problem-solving, and questions and engagement.

And so much more! A must listen. Only on Speaking of Travel.

Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Vanessa K. Harper runs Travel Cuba With Us, a tour company specializing in ethical traveler tours and yoga retreats to directly support the Cuban people. Vanessa is also a founder of a nonprofit organization, Support The Cuban People, prioritizing food and medicine aid to individuals in need, apolitical academic engagement, and micro-grant support for independent artists and entrepreneurs.

Vanessa has practiced yoga since 1997 and became a certified yoga teacher practicing a variety of styles of yoga, including Bikram, Ashtanga, Baptiste, Kundalini, and Mixed-Level Power Vinyasa. She and her husband, Alejandro Berroa, also offer their signature Cuba Yoga Retreats program, an immersion experience that physically, spiritually, and culturally engages guests both on and off the mat.

Vanessa knows Cuba and so can you. Her team offers unique perspectives and intimate insights into Cuba and provide personalized cultural immersion experiences to support the local economy. Their designed custom itineraries for solo travelers and guide group trips specialize in history, culture, artist’s studio visits, photography workshops and rural farm adventures. You really must go!

So tune in! Only on Speaking of Travel.

Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.