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Leadership Team

Joe Traina

Joseph Traina

Chairman & Co-Founder 

Chairman and founder Joseph Traina established InteleTravel in 1991 as the first-ever host travel agency. His visionary approach led to the creation of a new travel category and online business model that provides people with part-time opportunities and full-time careers in selling travel from their own home. Today, host agencies make up a substantial part of the distribution of travel while InteleTravel continues leading the way as the oldest and largest at-home agency with over 70,000 independent travel agents around the world. 

James Ferrara

James Ferrara

President & Co-Founder

James Ferrara is an InteleTravel founder and a recognized travel industry leader and expert. As president, Ferrara leads a talented team responsible for all areas of travel operations, travel product development, travel partner relationships, and the support, education, and nurturing of travel advisors. He serves on advisory boards for leading travel organizations, including the Cruise Lines International Association, and routinely speaks on technology and trends in travel, the home-based travel agent revolution, and the future of the travel industry. 

InteleTravel_LeadershipTeam_TaraMinson

Tara Minson 

Executive Vice President

With more than 25 years of experience as a strategic marketing and communications leader, Tara Minson guides InteleTravel's overall marketing strategy. Since joining InteleTravel in 2008, she has produced programs and events that have earned multiple Travel Weekly Magellan Awards. Minson is also a board member of Women Leading in Travel & Hospitality and a member of Apple Leisure Group Vacations' advisory board. 

David Spinelli

David Spinelli 

Senior Vice President of Industry Relations

Dave Spinelli is an accomplished leader in leisure travel sales, partner relations, and agency distribution with over 30 years of travel industry experience, including tenures at Travel Leaders Network and Vacation.com. As Vice President of Industry Relations, he has spearheaded InteleTravel's double-digit annual growth in preferred partner sales and the number of affiliated travel agents since joining in 2017. Spinelli is also on the advisory board of American Airlines Vacations. 

Dayna Jordan

Dayna Jordan 

Vice President of Operations 

Dayna Jordan is a travel operations veteran who has managed customer service call centers, 24-hour emergency support teams, and the training of highly skilled reservation agents for some of the industry’s leading brands, like ATPI, McCord Travel Management, and The Vacation Store. She is responsible for the management of InteleTravel’s international support team, the commissions department, and the development of business processes and technology solutions to support the success of the company’s advisors. 

Jessica Deverson

Jessica Deverson 

Vice President of Travel Marketing 

Jessica Deverson has been developing travel product and consumer marketing campaigns and programs for over a decade at Online Vacation Center and Expedia Cruise Ship Centers. Since joining InteleTravel, Deverson has enhanced its client database, data collection, and analysis to fuel precise travel marketing. She also developed and launched a powerful new customer relationship management tool for agents, email marketing programs, and a popular consumer-facing webinar series. Deverson’s latest initiative is the packaging of new highly competitive and exclusive cruise vacations featuring air travel, hotel stays, and other added values for travelers. 

Jessica Sitomer

Jessica Sitomer 

Vice President of Advisor Education and Success

Jessica Sitomer is a recognized coach on creating business and marketing plans, and an expert on using social media to drive branding and sales. She is responsible for the development and management of InteleTravel’s innovative training programs for agents in the U.S., U.K., and Mexico. In this role, Sitomer creates modern training solutions and resources that help InteleTravel’s independent travel advisors successfully launch and manage their own business. She also hosts the company’s Dream Maker Events and leads the training at its annual conference, InteleTravel Quest, which is attended by thousands of agents and suppliers every year. 

Tricia Handley-Hughes

Tricia Handley-Hughes 

U.K. Managing Director

With over 40 years of industry experience across travel and hospitality sectors, Tricia Handley-Hughes oversees and manages all of InteleTravel's U.K. business operations, including its commercial growth and marketing communications initiatives. Since joining in 2018, Handley-Hughes has guided InteleTravel's business to become the largest homeworker agency in the U.K. with over 10,000 independent travel advisors. 

Lori Currier

Lori Currier 

Chief Financial Officer 

Lori Currier oversees the accounting, financial planning and analysis, and business support of InteleTravel. Currier joined the company in 2014 and works closely with the senior leadership team to focus on operational efficiency for InteleTravel services. She graduated from Hofstra University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. 

Mike Putnam

Mike Putman 

Executive Director 

Mike Putman is an accomplished and recognized travel industry leader with nearly 40 years of experience. In addition to building one of the largest privately held travel agencies in the Southeast, he founded one of the first online travel websites and built it into one of the largest online sellers of complex travel. As Executive Director for InteleTravel, Putman helps shape the company's strategy with his expertise in technology and travel distribution. 

Susan Petrillo

Susan Petrillo 

Chief Information Officer

Susan Petrillo is one of the masterminds behind the technology that makes InteleTravel “work.” With over 30 years of technology and IT experience at Fortune 500 companies, she has designed, developed, and implemented the existing systems and new technology solutions that enhance InteleTravel’s existing customer experience, as well as establishing more cost-effective and efficient business operations. 

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