FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS PREMIUM PUBLICATION DIRECTOR Jeanette Barrett-Stokes jbstokes@usatoday.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jerald Council jcouncil@usatoday.com
▶ MATT ALDERTON Alderton is a freelance writer specializing in business, design, food, travel and technology. A graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, he’s written about everything from Beanie Babies and mega bridges to robots and chicken sandwiches. He lives in Chicago with his partner and their Boston terrier, Roxy. He’ll help you find your way through Europe (page 44), discover non-skiing adventures in Colorado (page 102) and guide you through the only rain forest in the U.S. (page 130). Twitter: @AldertonWrites
▶ LISA DAVIS Ever curious, Chicago-based travel journalist Davis loves scouting the best vacation experiences, whether they are offbeat and quirky or hidden gems in popular tourist stops. In this issue, she explores Detroit’s comeback as a top travel destination (page 90) and she discovers a surprising place that claims to be the Cherry Blossom Capital of the World, and it’s not Washington, D.C, in her roundup of spring flower tours and festivals (page 26). Davis’ travel discoveries also appear in the Chicago Tribune, Forbes Travel, Robb Report and American Way. Twitter and Instagram: @lisadavismedia
MANAGING EDITOR Michelle Washington mjwashington@usatoday.com EDITORS Elizabeth Neus Hannah Prince Lori Santos Sara Schwartz Tracy L. Scott DESIGNERS Miranda Pellicano Gina Toole Saunders Ashleigh Webb Lisa M. Zilka CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Matt Alderton, Karen Asp, Diane Bair, Brian Barth, Mary Helen Berg, Amanda Castleman, Lisa Davis, Ashley Day, Hollie Deese, Allison Entrekin, Jennifer Bradley Franklin, Alexis Korman, Jennifer Mabry, Lisa Meyers McClintick, Nancy Mills, Nancy Monson, Katie Morell, Sarah Sekula, Annette Thompson, Matt Villano, Pamela Wright, Stacey Zable CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Flash Parker
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FINANCE
COURTESY OF THE CONTRIBUTORS
▶ ALEXIS KORMAN Korman works as a wine and travel writer, and co-founded an artisanal kombucha company, Big Easy Bucha, which gives back to charities in New Orleans. Juggling a jam-packed schedule, Korman usually sticks close to home for the holidays. “But since there’s no snow in Louisiana, I’m perpetually dreaming of that perfect white Christmas,” she says. Last year, she hit the road with her husband and uncovered some Christmas-crazy towns that looked like snow globes come to life (page 30). “If you want to fill up on that festive vibe, sometimes you have to leave your ZIP code in the dust.” Twitter: @lexisips; Instagram: @lexk75
▶ NANCY MILLS Mills got her first taste of international travel in high school as an exchange student in Greece. She has lived in New York City, London and Los Angeles, and has traveled to many world capitals and hamlets following the film stars she writes about. Follow her through Europe during the off-season (page 40). Her work has appeared in USA TODAY, The New York Times Syndicate, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times and Cosmopolitan, among others. She has written four cookbooks, including the popular HELP! My Apartment Has a Kitchen, and writes a food blog, MomsCookingHelp.blogspot.com. Twitter: @momscookinghelp
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