About Travelness.com

Paul McDougal

Senior Travel Reporter

Paul is a handsome and hilarious travel writer and travel journalist from the UK. He’s hiked, hitchhiked and laughed his way through more than fifty countries, and he’s always looking for a new place to call home. Originally from Newcastle, he’s lived all over the UK, spent more than three years in Asia, and most recently lived in Vietnam.

Alicia Durette

Travel Reporter – Outdoors Expert

Alicia is a trail runner, hiker, ultra-marathoner, and adventurer. She previously worked as a physical therapist assistant for 8 years, and now works as a travel writer while being a stay-at-home mom to her little girl. Alicia is a native Arizonan going back 4 generations and has also lived in Utah and Montana. She is happiest in the mountains with her family, running long miles on trails, and bagging peaks with her baby in tow. Alicia currently resides with her husband, baby, and chocolate lab Maggie in Mesa, Arizona.

Phil McCain

Airline Pilot & Flight Instructor – Aviation Professional

Phil McCain is an experienced U.S. airline pilot. He has accumulated over 3500 hours of flight time across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. He is also a flight instructor, industry expert, and passionate traveler. He currently lives in Detroit, Michigan. Outside of the cockpit, Phil loves to read, cook, run, and explore the world around him.

Dara Brewton

Travel Reporter – Alaska Expert

Dara is a travel writer, political news junkie, and part-time actress. Born in south, she spent her childhood hopping around the U.S., even venturing as far away as Kodiak, Alaska. When not bent over her laptop or prancing around on stage, Dara can be found binge-watching Netflix, making endless to-do lists, or reading a sci-fi book.

Fred Baker

Senior Travel Editor

Fred has been working in the publishing industry for over 15 years. He has held various positions including travel writer, editor, and content manager. Today Fred is responsible for the overall editorial direction of the site, and he works with a team of writers, editors, and photographers to produce compelling content that will inspire our readers to travel more. He also works with our partners to promote travelness and help people beyond our website.

Hannah Ballesteros

PR & Communications Specialist

Hannah has 7 years of experience in content writing, PR, and communication. Some of her favorite topics to write about include travel, lifestyle, and business. She strives to promote clear and concise communication in all her writing in order to better connect with her readers. She is also extremely fascinated with traveling and enjoys perfecting her landscape photos. Also, she dreams of being worthy enough to wield the Mjolnir!

Feross Bessadeg

Founder – Travel Reporter & Editorial Director

Feross is an avid traveler who has visited countries on 4 continents. During his trips around the world, he found out that many travel articles published online about local places are either outdated, incomplete, or even totally wrong. He founded travelness.com to provide fellow travelers with detailed, helpful, and pertinent information about the places they are visiting, written by people that actually live there or have lived there for an extended period of time. Feross also has a Ph.D. in Geography, his research expertise is in the area of Computer Sciences applied to Cartography. Besides travel, Street Photography is his other favorite hobby.