Your Dream Travel Team…
Shannon in Morocco for the #TravelFlySolo19
Meet your "go-to-girls" :PARLOUR founder Shannon, ground coordinator Nakia and our superstar travel agent Jessica Denis of Travel By Design
“To say that designing this trip was a dream would be an understatement. This is a testament to how hard we go in life every day, and how much we deserve to reward ourselves for it. This is our gift to you all!”
ABOUT SHANNON
Ever since she was a little girl, PARLOUR founder and director Shannon Washington could never just do one thing. So it would make sense that the words travel entrepreneur, creative director, travel expert, and creative consultant would sum up not one lifetime, but one month in the moving target known as her reality. When she’s not dreaming up content ideas, researching travel destinations, creating partnerships, and curating the social feeds for PARLOUR which she co-founded in 2008, Shannon can be found putting her imagination to work as a groundbreaking creative director in advertising. Often on a plane.
In her 10+ year journey as a professional creative, Shannon has crafted integrated, brand, and consumer experiences for a variety of industries, from finance to beauty. Currently, Shannon is the SVP, Executive Creative Director for R/GA New York, where she leads creative for the premier office. Previous to R/GA, Shannon was a Group Creative Director at TBWA/Media Arts Lab where she focuses on branded entertainment for Apple. In her career, she has seen over 8 countries and 20 cities and logged an estimated 300+ hours worth of flights, hotel stays and solo dinners.
While originally a hobby inspired by her frequent travel, Shannon realizes that PARLOUR has become a dream fully realized which has forced Shannon to create a trove of “work, other work, life balance” tips and tricks, which she freely shares with her friends and will soon organize into a forthcoming book. This is why the #TravelFly Solo Week is so important to her, she created it for women just like her—busy women who appreciate accessible luxury, unique destinations, and most importantly a time to reconnect with themselves.
Shannon is a proud and loud graduate of Howard University and lives in New Jersey.
ABOUT NAKIA
When she’s not discovering the best ice cream in Copenhagen, getting pleasantly “lost” in a Tokyo department store, or buying olive oil from a farmer on a Croatian roadside, Nakia D. Hansen is practicing law in NYC. With over a decade of experience, first as a social media & digital strategist, then as a corporate lawyer, Nakia has represented a wide variety of clients in the entertainment, fashion, e-commerce, arts, culinary, healthcare, advertising, and beauty industries. Presently, she serves as in-house counsel for a global footwear & apparel company and advises select clients on intellectual property, contracts, and business strategy.
Nakia has been a Parlour gal from the start! She began writing articles for Parlour.com in the early 2010s, lived her best foodie life in Barbados with the Parlour team at the island’s fabulous Food, Wine & Rum Festival, then attended the first #TravelFly Solo Weekend in St. Thomas, with lots of great experiences, both local and abroad, with the Parlour crew in between. It’s always been Parlour’s blend of luxe + accessibility + authentic local connections with a healthy dose of Black Girl Magic that speaks to the busy professional and the fly Black girl in her who DESERVES to live life to the fullest.
Nakia believes that travel and the experiences we have in new locales is self-care of the highest order. When she’s deep into a complex negotiation, it’s the anticipation of the next fab girls’ trip or reminiscing about the last great meal she had abroad that sustains her. Besides travel, Nakia enjoys cuddling with her mischievous cat, Mika, watching bad (so bad they’re good) movies, and decorating her new apartment to keep the daily grind at bay.
Born and raised in Poughkeepsie, NY, Nakia earned her BA from UNC Chapel Hill (#GoHeels), her JD from Temple University, and her LL.M from Cardozo School of Law. Brooklyn is home… for now.
ABOUT JESSE
Jesse Denis, is the founder of our trip partner Travel By Design, a boutique travel agency based in New York City. She is an an award-winning Travel Agent & Wedding Coordinator. Jesse’s expertise takes the stress out of the planning process and allows her clients to focus on having an amazing and memorable adventure. Jesse is passionate about travel and ensures that her clients fulfill their dreams. Jesse circles the globe in order to provide her clients with cutting-edge destination knowledge and curates personalized, well-planned itineraries. Jesse has traveled the world including Africa, Asia, Europe, North & South America, and The Middle East for a total of 30 Countries and counting. Jesse’s specialties include luxury travel, leisure groups, corporate travel, destination weddings, family reunion, couple’s trips and more.