Meet Our Team

Mollie Fitzgerald (Frontiers Co-Owner):  Mollie is a cum-laude graduate of Duke University and literally grew up with the travel business. Her destination knowledge spans the globe and fuels her ongoing passion for travel. She is most comfortable in the wilds of the great outdoors and has a love of fly fishing, but is equally at home in the world's most sophisticated capital cities and no stranger to ultra-luxe resort destinations, so specializes in these types of sojourns as well. Mollie has traveled extensively with her daughter, Abby, so she's very attuned to the needs of the well-documented trend of increasing numbers of families traveling with children. She enjoys photography, gourmet cuisine and fine wines, and draws upon her own interests and experience when incorporating elements of fine dining and wine tasting in itineraries. Author of the On Campus Cookbook (Workman Publishing, 1984), she's studied cooking in Italy, India, France, Morocco and Thailand.

Mollie serves on the Advisory Boards of Abercrombie & Kent, Orient Express, Saveur magazine and Condé Nast Traveler magazine. She is also a Trustee of the Atlantic Salmon Federation. She has been identified by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the "128 Top Travel Specialists" in their annual August issue (since the inception of the list ten years ago). In addition, Mollie is part of Travel + Leisure's Super Agent A-List and was recognized by Virtuoso as the "Most Admired Travel Advisor -- USA/Canada, an award she was presented in 2010.

She is co-owner of Frontiers, the family-owned company founded by her parents in 1969. Mollie oversees the Elegant Journeys Division of the company, Atlantic Salmon fishing and our Air Department.

Destination Specialties: Southeast Asia and Indochina; India & The Maldives; Italy and Western Europe; Scandinavia; Morocco; Dubai, Oman.

Recommended Reading: A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth; The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason; and Wild Swans by Jung Chang.

Favorite Films: A Passage to India; Last Holiday; A Room with a View.

Favorite Meals: a.) Cheese souffle at La Goulue in Miami b.) Saturday lunch at Le Voltaire in Paris (Dover Sole or the poulet roti) and c.) outdoor lunch of fried calamari on the verandah at Grand Hotel Monaco in Venice.

Susie Fitzgerald (Frontiers Founder): Susie and her husband, Mike, founded Frontiers in 1969 and she is still very active and involved in several areas of the world. Her first real taste of travel was as an airline stewardess for an international charter airline flying Super Constellations across the Atlantic (on18 hour flights) to various points in Europe in the late 50's. Thus began a long love affair with travel. She has traveled extensively in Europe, Africa, South America, Mexico and Central America. She helped forge many of the supplier relationships still in place today and initiated many of Frontiers' sporting programs. Planning special interest itineraries for discriminating Frontiers clients is what she enjoys most. Tending her extensive gardens consumes a great deal of her free time, and she also enjoys entertaining and spending time with her family. (Susie's special brand of hospitality is world famous among clients and suppliers alike who've visited our US headquarters!)

Destination specialties: Currently, Europe, the British Isles, and South America, specifically Argentina and Chile, specializing in wine itineraries.

Favorite travel memories: Gourmet dinners at Falsled Kro, a unique and intimate Danish country inn where we have visited each autumn for 30 years; asados on the Malleo River bank in Argentina with the Lanin volcano in the background; watching an endless string of elephants tail to tail crossing the Mozambique bush at sunset and the exotic magic of Iran, a different, inviting destination 38 years ago which we hope might return one day.

Kristine Brooker: Kristine joined Frontiers in April 2004 in the South America Fishing Department, where she worked for several years, eventually managing the Tierra del Fuego fishing program. She has experienced fishing for sea-run brown trout and dorado and wing shooting for doves in Argentina. Currently, Kristine assists in the France and Barge Departments of the Elegant Journeys division and is looking forward to adding another chapter to her travel experiences. Her education accomplishments include a B.S. degree in Human Nutrition and Food Science and a B.A. degree in Business Administration.

In her spare time, Kristine loves being outdoors -- mountain biking, hiking, fishing and kayaking. Leisure time is also enjoyed at her family's cabin along the Clarion River. Indoor pursuits include reading and cooking. She spends her time with her husband John, her new son Luke, and two golden retrievers, Coda and Merlin.  

Favorite Trip: "So far, it has to be Alaska. I loved kayaking alongside glaciers and fishing for salmon. It was truly a trip of a lifetime! For my next big trip (which is also my dream trip), I would love to explore the natural wonders of the Galpagos Islands with my family."

Donald Clark: After graduating Westminster College with a B.S. in Business, Don rediscovered his passion for travel.   He joined the Africa team at Frontiers in 2011 and has extensive outdoor experience throughout the Western United States, Canada and Alaska.  His favorite activities include photography, golf, archery and personal fitness.

Favorite Travel Memory:  “A 28-day, self-guided trip in the Northern Rockies.  The trip started with 90 degree weather and a mild case of heat stroke and ended with freezing temperatures and 20 inches of snow.  A lightning-induced forest fire about half way through the trip provided excitement by forcing me to backpack into a safer, albeit completely new, area.  The sight of mountain goats, bears, and of course elk, made it all worthwhile.”

Dream Trip: A solo kayak trip around Prince of Wales Island in southeastern Alaska.

Recommended reading:  The Wheel of Life by Bunny Allen; Months of the Sun by Ian Nyschens.  These are obscure, but entertaining books about East Africa’s bygone safari era.

Growing up in the Florida Keys, Kelly is keen on sailing, snorkeling and swimming with the dolphins and sharks. From time to time she forgets that the term "please bring home dinner" does not mean to put on your scuba gear and take a dip for lobster.

Favorite Travel Memory: "Made it to the Eastern Continental Divide on the GAP, a bicycle trail she frequents on summer weekends."

Dream Trip: "I'm currently planning the honeymoon of my dreams to Italy. In addition to visiting a local friend, we cannot wait to experience the art, the music, the food and the wine!"

Judy Greene: Judy's life took a huge turn in 1986. After years of teaching history, geography and political science to high school seniors, she decided to experience what lay beyond the classroom. So, with the kiddies off to college, Judy joined Frontiers and learned the travel business. Throughout her tenure here, she experienced travel adventures beyond her wildest expectations -- a safari in Africa, a lesson in evolution in the Galapagos, the pageantry of medieval Europe (nirvana to a history teacher!), but nothing prepared her for Australia and New Zealand. It was love at first sight and her unsurpassed passion for these destinations has only increased exponentially since her first visit. From the time Judy began managing these destinations for Frontiers in 1988, she's lost count of the number of trips she's taken to this amazing part of our planet but knows it's close to thirty. 

Favorite Travel Memory: "There are so many -- trekking through Outback Australia with my daughter after her college graduation, the amazing seven weeks my husband and I spent in New Zealand in 2007, encountering two less-than-welcoming dingoes while running on Fraser Island, Australia. But the grand award goes to a flightseeing excursion over the northernmost territory of Western Australia in the early '90s. A travel agent friend from Melbourne had booked a private aircraft excursion for a client who had served in the Australian/New Zealand Army Corps and was stationed in the most remote northern wilderness regions during World War II. A vacant seat opened up and I jumped at the opportunity to join! This proved to be one of the most moving experiences I've ever had. Sharing the special memories with the other passengers, seeing the rugged terrain, and hearing stories of the Aboriginal guides who were critical to the troops' survival were rare privileges."

Suggested Reading: In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

Bethany Hunkele: After graduating summa cum laude from Westminster College with dual degrees, a B.S. in International Business and a B.A. in French, Bethany joined Frontiers in the fall of 2004. During the course of her studies, she spent a semester living in Grenoble, France, (which is completely surrounded by snow-capped mountains and was the plus-perfect setting for her first European adventure) and developed her love for not only the French language and people but also for traveling.  Bethany’s other loves include her dear husband Dave, 4 year old daughter Lilly, and newest addition, Ethan, who was just born in July 2011. 

Favorite Travel Memory: "I would have to say that while I immensely enjoyed all of my school and staff trips to France, my absolute favorite trip was my honeymoon -- which was a Caribbean cruise. Lounging poolside with Dave, tropical sun shining down on us, with piña colada in hand was one of the most relaxing times in my life!"

Dream Trip: "Tahiti with my husband to stay in an overwater bungalow, but I also would love to take my daughter to Europe, and specifically France, on a mother-daughter-only vacation."

Jill Jergel: Jill was born the youngest child and only daughter to a B-26 pilot and his war bride who thought nothing of taking her out of school for both domestic and international explorations. On the eve of her graduation from The American College in Lucerne, Switzerland, she bravely told her father she really didn't want to be a department store buyer, as was the original plan, and her father, well aware she had been designing trips for her classmates to use their Eurail passes, immediately replied "I've always thought you should be a travel agent." Thirty-one years (26 of those with Frontiers), countless international trips, two nearly adult children and a neurotic poodle later, Jill earned the Destination Specialist designation for France from The Travel Institute and is very honored to have been included on Condé Nast Traveler magazine's Top Travel Specialist list for the past 8 years with a specialty in France. 

Destination Specialties: In addition to the above-named programs, Jill is equally passionate and knowledgeable about Switzerland, Turkey, Croatia, Scotland and Indonesia. When not assisting Frontiers' travelers with their journeys, Jill is "mission control" for a chaotic household but finds time to take exercise classes and sip chardonnay daily, purely for medicinal purposes! 

Favorite Travel Memories: "Two weeks in Kauai and Maui with husband and kids was a family treasure; scuba diving in Fiji and coming nose-to-nose with a lion fish, huge sea turtle and neon-colored Christmas-tree worms that whooshed back into their rock if you got too close; and hot-air ballooning with celebrity balloonist Buddy Bombard on a sunny spring Sunday in Siena with the church bells reverberating through the hills." 

Favorite Quotes: "Imitation is the highest form of flattery," and from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Butch says "I've got vision, and the rest of the world needs bifocals."

Kristene Matelan: Kristene has always had a passion for being outdoors and loved going to new places on family holidays. However, she did not have the opportunity to travel abroad until joining Frontiers in 2005. Her jaunts have included Mexico, Europe, and Belize as well as extensive travel in the U.S. Kristene is equally comfortable taking in the sights, sounds and smells of South Beach as she is on a horse pack trip into the remote regions of Montana to fly fish for trout. Today, she plays a number of key roles within the organization and assists with clients' travels to many different areas. Outside of the office, she is accomplished in the kitchen, keeping it "simple and healthy." Kristene is an avid reader, loves fly fishing, and is a certified scuba diver. Her two teenage children also keep her very busy.

Destination Specialties: Kristene has made two comprehensive trips to the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the British Isles are her current focus at Frontiers. She is the in-house golf contact and enjoys customizing itineraries in Scotland and Ireland that include not only golf but also fly fishing and sightseeing. Diving and U.S. domestic travel are subspecialties.

Favorite Travel Memory: "Picking just one is impossible! Three that immediately come to mind are: diving with the sharks and head marine biologist at the Denver Aquarium; fly fishing on the West Fork of the Bitterroot River in Montana; and watching the sun set at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland while sipping a Guinness."

Dream Trip: "An extensive South Pacific odyssey to include diving the Great Barrier Reef, fly fishing in New Zealand, and wine tasting in Australia."

Favorite Quote: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~ Mark Twain

Meredith McNaugher: Meredith grew up with the goal to travel the world and had a "bucket list" of must-sees before it was trendy, though briefly was convinced she would accomplish this as an airline stewardess. However, upon her high school graduation, dismayed to learn she was too young to apply as a flight attendant, she instead decided to investigate the profession of travel agent. Sometimes serendipity truly has a role to play, and on her very first long-haul flight (to Hawaii), Meredith realized that she had definitely chosen the correct career path. She has remained an agent since 1978, still loves the industry, and still has a list of must-see places although the tally has grown shorter with every passing year and each new opportunity to venture to the unknown.

Destination Specialties: Though well versed in most of Western Europe, Meredith is especially familiar with Spain, a vibrant country she loves and has explored thoroughly on several occasions. Farther east, China has become a destination of expertise for her as well, and with two trips in the past two years, Meredith has experienced both the typical tourist sites and also the less-traveled realms of this vast and dynamic nation. She also has years of experience arranging travel to Italy, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Tahiti and aboard international cruises.

Favorite Travel Memory: "I loved traveling to Europe with my daughter Jessica, wandering through Italy's cobblestone streets -- and getting lost in Paris together! The memory of that experience still prevails, even now that she is grown and on her own. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to create new family travel memories with the next generation -- my grandchildren."

Cindy Smith: Cindy began her career working for a local television station in production. Seven years later, she decided to be her own boss and started a business, which she ran for over a decade. During this time, she traveled throughout the Caribbean, looking for an island to retire on (long before House Hunters International!). After selling the business, she "retired" and helped family and friends plan their vacations. Realizing quickly that she was too young to retire, Cindy turned her vacation planning hobby into a career as a full-time travel agent and has been enjoying it for the past 17 years. 

Destination Specialties: Since joining Frontiers in 2001, Cindy's focus has been the Caribbean, where she has frequented many of the islands, and Central America, where she resides in Honduras three months of the year. Cindy also specializes in international cruises, is well versed with the countries ringing the Mediterranean, and is a yacht specialist with American Safari Yacht Cruises.

Favorite Travel Memory: "A multi-course lunch with local food and wine on the patio of the Splendido Hotel in Portofino on a gorgeous summer afternoon."

Natasha holds an M.A. (Slavic Languages and Literatures) from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.A. (Foreign Language Education) from the Foreign Language University, Moscow. She has also earned the respected designation of Certified Travel Counselor from The Travel Institute and been chosen by Condé Nast Traveler magazine as one of the "Top Travel Specialists" from 2005-2010, specializing in travel to Russia and the Baltic countries.

Destination Specialties: Russia, the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Eastern Europe, Greece, Egypt, Singapore, Germany, Portugal, Spain and other countries in Western Europe and Asia. In her spare time, Natasha loves to grow roses and orchids, attend Zumba classes, swim, and dabble in interior decorating.

Favorite Travel Memories: "I loved the Volga River cruise, not only for the enchanting old towns that line the waterway but also because on this trip I met my future husband! I also especially enjoyed exploring the Dracula Castle in Transylvania and being served by Count Vlad himself, my visit to Tutankhomon's Tomb, a cup of tea at the Bedouin camp in the Wadi Rum desert, the Road to Mandalay and incredible Bagan in Myanmar, and fascinating Petra -- these are only a tiny segment of my favorite travel memories.

Recommended Reading: "You Can't Take it With You, a Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It summarizes the essence of life: people should enjoy their life and work regardless of social standing."

Cassandra Ufner:  Cassandra originally joined Frontiers in 2003 as program manager for the Atlantic salmon fishing programs. Shortly after a trip to Russia’s Ponoi River, she made it a personal goal to leave her fingerprints in as many places as possible. During a four-year hiatus from the travel industry, she quickly realized that not everybody enjoys chasing the globe like those at Frontiers. When the opportunity was presented, she happily rejoined the Frontiers team in October 2010. 

Outside of the office, Cassandra is a passionate yogi (ask her about her yoga experience on Koh Samui Island in Thailand), avid fly-fisher and (aspiring) amateur photographer.

Destination Specialties: Cassandra has managed the Atlantic salmon fishing programs overseeing fishing in Russia, Iceland and Norway; assisted with Northern India; and is currently the director of marketing and media within the Elegant Journeys department.

Favorite Travel Memory: Her cultural journey through Northern India wins top prize—personal interactions at elementary schools and lunch in local establishments (just to name a few experiences) helped connect the dots between cultures and left her wanting more. . .

Dream Trip: There is a post-it note on her desk (at work and home) titled, “To Travel”, and it includes: Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bali, Nepal, Burma, India (again!), Egypt, Morocco. Once she travels to each destination, her dream will be complete.