Our Team

As the president and owner of Absolute Travel, it is Ken Fish’s personal and professional goal to make clients’ most fantastic travel dreams a reality. He is a highly regarded spokesperson for the travel industry and is regularly featured in trade and consumer publications. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Ken has dedicated a good portion of his life to travel. From 1983 through 1987, he worked for an Australian travel company and traveled throughout Australia and Southeast Asia. He founded Absolute Travel upon his return to New York City. In addition to steering the direction of the company, he travels extensively and has taken more than 100 trips overseas trips since 1983. When not traveling, Ken unpacks his suitcase in New York, where he lives with his wife and two children.

Leslie Overton is the General Manager as well as the Family Travel Specialist at Absolute Travel (with over a dozen family adventures to Asia, South America, and the Middle East with her kids in tow, Leslie is an expert!). Her passion for travel began at the age of six when her family moved to Amsterdam and from that base, they spent weekends exploring European countries. After graduating from NYU with a degree in Art History, Leslie managed to parlay her passion into a career with a job in Australian tourism. Now Leslie travels almost exclusively with her husband and three children, Ruby, Lola, and Fergus because she loves seeing the world through their eyes. Leslie also enjoys incorporating her other interests, such as yoga and cooking, into her travels.

Family vacations ranging from chateau touring in France to rafting down the Zambezi sowed the seeds of wanderlust in Sasha’s life. In school, she seized opportunities to learn outside of the classroom, including a high school semester in Switzerland and a deep-sea archeology trip to the Black Sea. After receiving a degree in art history, Sasha worked as the Manager of Guest Relations at a safari lodge in Nepal’s Chitwan National Park. For the first time, she found herself on the service side of tourism, where her extensive travel experience was a great help in understanding the needs of her guests. Since returning from Nepal, she has been the Operations Manager at Absolute Travel.

Brooke’s passion for travel began with a college semester at the University of Melbourne in Australia. After graduating from the University of Richmond in 2003 with a B.A. in Marketing and Studio Art, she decided to spend a year indulging her wanderlust — during that time, she worked at a scuba shop in Thailand, volunteered at an elephant nature park, backpacked through Southeast Asia and worked as a dive-master in Honduras. In addition to traveling, Brooke loves adventure sports, painting, photography, and cooking.

Tony is the child of trailblazing parents who started a boutique travel agency over fifty years ago. Early life family adventures behind the Iron Curtain ignited a lifelong desire to go to new places, so instead of summer camp, he headed to places like Sri Lanka and India. This tradition continued after graduating from Lewis & Clark College with an extensive solo trip around the world. After several careers he found himself getting back to his roots by working in travel. These days his focus is providing innovative and imaginative travel services for discerning clients all over the world. He has been listed twice by Travel + Leisure as an expert in “Off the Grid” travel—including promoting tourism to space with fledgling space line Virgin Galactic!

A lifelong wildlife enthusiast, Katie loves to explore the world’s most far-flung corners and hopes to inspire others to live out their wildest adventures through her words and images. After a career in the non-profit world, Katie joined the Absolute Travel team in 2007 and now heads the marketing department. She is most proud of spearheading Absolute Awareness, Absolute’s philanthropic arm. This initiative weaves together global philanthropic efforts and compelling firsthand experiences in hopes to protect the places we love by inspiring others to care about them.

Born and raised in Italy, passion runs through Daniela’s blood! Her curiosity to see the world brought her to New York City in 1989, her home for 19 wonderful years. But after an Absolute Travel journey to Botswana, she knew that one day Africa must be home. In 2008, her African daydreams became a reality with a move to the Sabi Sand Game Reserve in South Africa – a far cry from her big city days! After cherishing her experience in the bush (and hundreds of game drives later) Daniela and her husband are now based in the heart of Cape Town with their adorable daughter, Vesper. Daniela stays on the cutting edge of all things Africa-–from the chicest coffee shops in Cape Town to the perfect spot to take in the African sunset with your Gin & Tonic. Learn more about Daniela on her Africa Insider page.

Lisa, Absolute Travel’s senior China expert, first went to China in 1986 to spend a year as an exchange student. She fell so deeply in love with the country that she stayed for 8 years to study and work, and used Beijing as a home base for extensive solo travels. Her trips took her to the farthest reaches of China as well as most of Asia, and she developed a strong destination knowledge that has been a major asset in her work at Absolute Travel since 1997. Among her favorite destinations are China, Mongolia, Tibet and the Silk Road.

Holly whet her appetite for travel while studying abroad in London. Taking advantage of the strategic location, she spent her weekends visiting different European cities. After college, she spent the summer in the French Alps, volunteering with Solidarités Jeunesses on a project to create an eco-friendly youth meeting center. While at Boston University earning a master’s degree in International Relations, she wrote her thesis on sustainable tourism development. Holly’s first job in New York was with PCI-Media Impact, a NGO that produces educational soap-operas in developing countries. As an international event and meeting manager for non-profit organizations, her work took her around the world. Holly’s commitment to responsible tourism prompted her to become a member of the International Ecotourism Society and a consultant for Ethical Traveler

Jessica’s passion for travel was ignited when she began traveling throughout Asia and Europe while performing as an NBA cheerleader. After a handful of transformative trips, she followed her heart and pursued a career in travel. Her adventures, near and far, have inspired a more holistic and exploratory approach to her journeys through practicing yoga (anywhere and everywhere) and most recently, climbing mountains! As Absolute Travel’s in-house wellness expert, Jessica enjoys reconnecting with mind, body, and soul when she travels and encourages others to, too! In 2012, she completed a training in Ayurvedic Nutrition and is currently studying to be a certified yoga instructor. Since 2007, Jessica has been a Luxury Travel Specialist and works primarily on Africa, Asia, & wellness journeys.

A born and raised New Yorker, Robyn’s aim has always been to get out of the city. She grew up in a family of “foodies” so traveling for her was often in search of a perfect meal, so much so that when she studied abroad in Spain, the number one criteria she listed for her host family was “they must be great cooks.” From camping in Maine on the hunt for the freshest blueberries and lobster, to seeking out the best Pho and street food in Thailand and Vietnam, to searching for the finest steak and wine in Argentina, she always wants to dine like a local. Most recently Robyn worked as a Culinary Advisor for a high-end concierge company and prior to that she worked as a sales representative for several boutique clothing and jewelry lines. She currently lives in Brooklyn and always looks forward to weekends upstate to take part in anything outdoors!

Born to a European mother and an American father, Matt attributes his passion for foreign cultures and languages to his initial interest in his own heritage. He caught the “travel bug” on a People to People Student Ambassador trip to Australia and New Zealand at the age of eleven. Since then, he “flies more than he walks,” as his grandmother says. After graduating from Tufts University with a B.A. in International Relations and French, Matt interned with Absolute Travel for a semester before joining the team full-time. He is fluent in French and dabbles in Polish, Italian, Bulgarian, German, Arabic and Spanish. Matt enjoys combining his travels with visiting old friends and making new friends around the globe, photography, and trying new foods.

Aaron first discovered his passion for travel upon his arrival to New Zealand after graduating Colorado State University. Coincidentally, it was the first passport he had ever owned. From that moment on he vowed to fill it with as many stamps as possible, which he did with journeys spanning New Zealand, India, Georgia, Turkey, and Southeast Asia. Whether traveling solo or with friends and family, he loves the idea of the road less traveled, always equipped with a camera and pen and pad. Not satisfied with the idea of traveling strictly for leisure he has also been employed abroad; working for an NGO in rural Southern India and most recently as an English teacher in South Korea. It seems a position with Absolute Travel was the next logical step.

Born in Guyana, Greg Chan moved to the United States at the age of 11. He has always been passionate about international travel and especially loves any destination with sunny weather and a gorgeous beach. Among his favorite places to visit are the Caribbean, Spain and Mexico, and he is a diligent researcher of the nightlife wherever he goes! Greg started at Absolute Travel as an intern in 1999 and became a full-time employee in the Operations Department the following year; he is easily the most popular employee at the company.

Kyoko was born in Kyoto and raised in Tokyo, where family, friends, and an appreciation for life defined her childhood. When her father was transferred to New York City, Kyoko started high school in the suburbs of New York, then attended universities in Boston and Madrid. Upon returning to New York City and finding a job on Wall Street, she met Ken. She says that it was after meeting him that she began to appreciate the true power of travel—a way of traveling where your experiences and discoveries become part of you. These days she appreciates the privileges of exploring the world with their teenage kids, where their philosophy is, “If you go with an open heart, the whole world is yours!” We agree.

A voracious traveler, Colin has traveled to 40 countries and plans on tackling South America and Africa next. He sees travel as an informal education, a conduit for testing one’s self and informing a more holistic understanding of the human experience. While travel has proven to be a fundamental piece of his overall education outside of the classroom, it has also influenced his academic interests in the classroom. Geopolitical dynamics became a major interest of Colin’s while studying International Relations at the University of California, San Diego. During his time at UCSD, Colin studied abroad at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark to learn state security policy beyond a United States centric paradigm. After returning to the United States Colin started his career as an entrepreneur founding and subsequently selling a sports marketing firm. Most recently Colin traversed his way through China, India and Southeast Asia, which peaked his interest in the travel and hospitality industry, thereby linking both his love for business and for travel. Now a New Yorker, Colin makes it a point to “travel within the city” by immersing himself in a multitude of ethnic enclaves that populate the 5 boroughs.

Ilene was raised on Long Island and today she lives in the same neighborhood she grew up in with her husband and their son, Luke. She loves taking advantage of the adventures the region has to offer, from skydiving and wineries on the east end to Eisenhower Park near their home. As a child, Ilene was fortunate to spend summers in Israel and Greece with her family and in her adulthood she was able to experience gorgeous Caribbean Islands on many vacations. These days she hits the road on trips so she can show her son all that the United States has to offer.

Marisa’s first of many experiences hopping around the globe began with a high school exchange program which sent her to Valencia, Spain. That was just the beginning. During her college career at the University of Michigan she studied abroad three separate times, spending semesters in South Africa, Spain and Ecuador, eventually returning to Spain after graduating to teach English in Madrid, perfect her Spanish (and polish up her Italian and Portuguese on weekend rendezvous!). Before joining the Absolute Travel team Marisa had already visited over thirty countries on her own. She spends her days dreaming about her next adventure, and joining Absolute Travel has given her the means to do so while still doing her job! She is eager to share her love of travel with others and is incredibly thankful for a career she truly loves.

Since he can remember, Neil was fascinated with globes and maps, curious to discover what lay within the funny, multi-colored shapes of faraway countries. He finally got his first chance to travel abroad in high school, hopping on a plane to Nicaragua for a volunteer trip-a formative journey that would inspire many return trips to Central America and beyond. His subsequent journeys to Eastern Europe and, most recently, Jordan, filled him with the desire to visit inspiring destinations that are too often overlooked. Neil is thrilled to join the Absolute Travel team and continue exploring the world for a career!

Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Blaine has always had an interest in new places and experiences, and doesn’t miss an opportunity to travel. During college, she spent a summer studying in Barcelona and a semester at the Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires. While in Buenos Aires, she particularly enjoyed planning and taking trips throughout Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil. Her college degree is from the University of Arizona in Latin American Studies, with a minor in Business Administration. As a new resident of New York, Blaine is excited to be part of a company that allows her to explore her passion for travel and adventure.

Christie Mealo graduated from Boston College with a double major in Marketing and Studio Art, but has passion for many things. Known in her hometown of Atlantic City as an artist and children’s book illustrator, her other major interests include writing, philosophy, kickboxing, and of course, world travel. After a month-long course in Bali Indonesia, and a semester abroad in Australia, Christie’s passion for Southeast Asia and the South Pacific grew into a love for exploration and cultural immersion. Christie has recently made the transition from intern to employee at Absolute and assists the marketing department with campaigns and creative projects.

Passion for the outdoors and adventure began with family vacations in California, whether it involved jet skis on a lake, a tent to camp at the Sequoia National Forest, or her father’s motorcycle in the Mojave Desert. Out of curiosity for new surroundings, she attended college on the east coast, at Drexel University, where she found a love for studying languages and culture, as well as practicing capoeira (a Brazilian martial art). After a semester volunteering on a refugee camp in Greece she became even more eager to travel. After graduating, she spent the summer learning Spanish and backpacking through Guatemala just before moving to Spain where she stayed two years teaching English and taking advantage of “puentes”, or long holiday weekends, to explore the beautiful country, its great festivals and neighboring countries.