As a woman, it’s natural to enjoy the finer things in life. And that includes luxury travel and adventurous trips.
With a travel bag in one and an agenda full of meetings and money-making opportunities, these seven female CEOs are filling their passports with stamps one excursion at a time.
1. CaSay Vaughn
A Baltimore native, Dr. CaSay Vaughn loves traveling with her fiancé and enjoys merging leisure with networking. As a celebrity publicist and creator of Franchise Entertainment Group, she sees traveling as a great way to build the foundation for potential relationships.
Some of her favorite places to travel include Israel, the Dominican Republic, and Rome and while traveling she prefers a luxury experience, opting to reside at MGM properties over other brands. With having such a busy schedule, traveling is a must for Vaughn, and she believes that, in order to grow, one must experience life outside their backyard.
2. Lynique Browning
A feeling of gratification washes over travel and hospitality professional Lynique Browning every time she hops on a plane to head out of town. For her, travel is therapy, and it allows her to expand her network and build bridges to better connections.
While traveling, her favorite hotel brand is the W, and she prefers luxury travel so that she can experience that destination on a whole new level. Browning encourages everyone to get their passport, so they can see the world through their own eyes.
She also enjoys group travel and having the opportunity to build relationships with other travelers visiting the destination.
3. Breenae Washington
For St. Louis engineer Breenae Washington, traveling is the key that unlocks her creativity. Her education brand, The STEAM Queens, an organization dedicated to bridging the gender and diversity gap in STEM, keeps her busy a lot of the time. But in her free moments, Washington enjoys seeing the world; admiring the art and fashions of Paris, and taking solo adventures through the cliffs of Moher in Ireland.
When the world shut down due to COVID-19, Washington realized how much she took traveling for granted. Now she uses traveling as an opportunity to explore new places while learning about the trends and products people love around the world.
4. Valaurie Bridges-Lee
IT and Health and Wellness professional Valaurie B. Lee is no stranger to using travel as a time to refresh and relax. In addition to using travel as a way to build business rapport, Lee says it also is a great way to reduce miscommunication, stating that face-to-face meetings beat hopping on a Zoom call any day.
Although she has traveled as far as Africa and Europe, Lee’s favorite place to visit remains southern California, where the sunshine ignites her creativity and fills her with a renewed sense of purpose.
Lee’s favorite hotel brand is Marriott, however she sometimes ventures away to check out luxury boutique hotel brands. After traveling for business and leisure for over 20 years, she believes traveling to new places stretches the mind and provides new dimensions of knowledge.
5. Teresa Morcho
Originally from Cameroon, West Africa, traveler and influencer Teresa Morcho has had a love for traveling the world since she was a child.
Her mother worked for Cameroonian Airlines and her dad worked for the American Embassy, so by the time she was 10-years-old she had filled nearly three passports.
As an adult, she wants to honor her parents by continuing the custom of exploring the world and enjoys traveling with her partner.
Morcho enjoys traveling on what she describes as a “luxury budget” where she can merge experiencing the local life while still being spoiled on vacation. Some of her favorite adventures include watching acres of sunflower fields greet the sun in the morning in Spain and hiking the lush trails of Oahu, Hawaii.
6. Mekhat Moore
The owner of one of the first natural hair salons in St. Louis— NAPPS— and clothing boutique Afro Blu, Mekhat Moore makes sure to break away from running her businesses to explore different perspectives and cultures.
Although she prefers luxury travel, she also knows how to tap into budget travel opportunities. Moore prefers to travel alone and enjoys visiting places like Amsterdam, Jamaica, and Mexico when she’s not ruling over her beauty and retail empires. Incorporating travel into her business allows her to not only relax, but also source clothing and items for her retail shop, allowing her to knock out two birds with one stone.
Her shop Afro Blu specializes in international items, and every vacation is another opportunity to find the next best-selling piece.
7. Dinasty Brown
Business coach Dinasty Brown makes it a priority to travel and believes the knowledge she absorbs while abroad is priceless. Always looking to gain a new cultural experience, Brown finds the simple enjoyments in life through traveling and enjoys visiting places like Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America.
Preferring solo adventures over traveling with a group, Brown gained immense clarity from being alone in a foreign land and makes it a priority to take two solo trips a year.
8. Porsha Key
Originally from Ann Arbor, MI, La Femme Rebelle Clothing boutique owner Porsha Key, 36, believes travel allows her to unplug from the world and reminds her that, deep down inside, everyone is the same.
When she’s not curating content for her boutique or managing the STL Collective, a social safe place for Black women entrepreneurs and creatives, Key enjoys traveling to Italy and taking in the architecture, food, and culture of the city. Shangri-La is her favorite hotel and, although she does enjoy group travel, Key likes to limit her companions to no more than five to ensure she gets the most from her travel experience.
When it comes to travel, Key says travel lets her live beyond her circle and comfort zone, and that it forces her to be vulnerable in a way home never could.
