In honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we asked the editors of Recommend—Laurel Herman, Paloma Villaverde de Rico, Lydia Gregory, Regina Baraban, Barbara Scofidio and Lisa Simundson—what personal or professional goals they have set for themselves in 2024.
Laurel Herman, Publisher/Editorial Director, Recommend
As the publisher/editorial director of Recommend and the leader of its parent company, Worth International Media Group, Laurel’s love of travel began in college with a month of backpacking through Europe, which led to joining Worth and expanding the advertising base for Recommend in order to launch it as a global travel brand. That transitition to worldwide coverage begin in 1985. She launched the Prevue brand in 2009.
Laurel’s goal for 2024? “My goal for this year is to continue with my dream of creating content for the leisure and meeting industries that stimulate travel and encourage the sharing of ideas and lessons from different cultures that will ultimately bring peace and safety to all of mankind,” she says.
Paloma Villaverde de Rico, Executive Editor, Worth International Media
This is the year I will see more of the United States, or at least I hope to. As a travel writer, I visit far-off lands almost monthly, but sometimes I don’t see enough of my own backyard. Yes, Santorini and Naples, which I’ll be visiting this month, are beautiful but Milwaukee and Montana, both of which I’ll be traveling to later this year, are loudly calling my name.
Another U.S. city that is calling my name? Pittsburgh, where my husband and I hope to move to in late-2024/early-2025. That is the biggest goal for us now that we’ve become empty nesters. Most empty nesters move south but having lived in Miami our whole lives and devoured its many delights, we want to venture north, to new lands, where we’ll be itching to explore what’s right around the corner.
And, of course, as a mother, the main goal for me each year is doing my part in making sure my two daughters, ages 18 and 23, slay their own goals.
And one other thing on my goals to-do list—skipping through life singing at the top of my lungs…because, well, being a kid at heart is every adult’s ultimate goal, isn’t it?
Lydia Gregory, Managing Editor, Recommend
My personal and professional goals both revolve around writing (shocker, I know). On the personal level, I’m working on separating at least 30 minutes a day to either journal or meditate. It’s easy to become untethered with our busy lives. I feel the need to not only ground myself in a more consistent manner, but also give myself the grace of some time focused solely in the now, without feeling rushed or thinking of my to-do list.
Professionally, I’m working on dedicating at least one hour a week on my own writing projects, namely my blog, TravelinSpanglish. (Don’t look for it, it’s not published yet!)
Regina Baraban, Sr. Contributing Editor, Recommend
The goal I set for myself this year was to plan a solo trip for my birthday week in November that would stretch my mind and open my eyes to a place I haven’t visited before. I signed up for a small group photo tour of Cuba, 7 people max, with an award-winning photographer/guide who has been taking groups to Cuba for more than 30 years. We’ll be going off the tourist map in Havana, Vinales and Trinidad. Part 2 of my goal is to dust off and practice photography with my “real” camera. Part 3 is to spend time on Duolingo every day to practice Spanish.
Barbara Scofidio, Contributing Editor, Recommend
I am on a personal health journey as well as a journey to help meeting planners with their health.
There’s no question that planning meetings is a high-stress job—I know firsthand because I run Prevue’s Visionary Summits. Managing that stress is essential, as is staying in balance when you’re traveling and on site. I plan for Prevue to continue sharing strategies for doing so, and we also have transformed our annual Meet Well Summit to be part education and part retreat for the attendees. We include activities such as beach yoga, fitness walks and massages, and most recently we added personal coaching sessions.
All this dovetails with my own health journey. I’ve always been active—a regular runner and then walker—but I hadn’t joined a gym since my 20’s. Last January I did! I go after work with a group of friends, and we don’t even necessarily work out together, but we drive there together and we keep each other on track. When I’m traveling for work, I plan to seek out the gym in every hotel I visit in 2024!
Lisa Simundson, Associate Editor, Worth International Media
My goal for 2024 is pretty much the same as 2023: To improve. Be a better friend, spouse, mother, sister and daughter (hi, mom!). Try not to procrastinate—although in my defense, I’ve heard this plagues a lot of writers. And I’ve gotten better over the years… mostly because I’m too old now to pull all-nighters.
I’m also trying to do more of my own writing, because though I dearly love writing about all things travel-related, I’ve neglected some personal projects. I also can do a better job of keeping the house clean. That last one is just a joke.
