Personnel Bios
Topic Tour Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 90398
Austin Texas 78709
(888) 399-2580
Email
Us
Thomas Welch - General Manager
Tom has extensive business management experience in the areas
of tourism, travel data management, manufacturing,
advertising, and systems analysis. He first
began working in the travel industry as a retail
travel agent in 1972. In the years since, he
has worked with agency managers and accountants,
providing programming services, technical support,
and classroom training in data management. However,
the major part of his experience has been in
managing tour companies, and he has created
and marketed countless tour programs in many
countries.
The fundamental concepts leading to Topic Tour
Society's innovative vacations are his brain-child.
They are the result of many years spent conducting
tours and closely observing people having fun,
combined with a burning desire to provide the
ultimate vacation experience for every tour
participant. Tom speaks Spanish. He attended
the University of Texas, majoring in Economics
and English. He lives in Austin with his wife
and daughter. (Call Extension 901 or
send email).
Mark Shafer, PhD - Group Dynamics Director
Mark has been leading groups and training group leaders for
over 25 years, and has led educational retreats
both locally and internationally since 1983.
Mark received his PhD in psychology from the
University of California, specializing in areas
of personal growth and self-actualization. He
holds an M.S. in organization development from
the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T., and
degrees in engineering and social sciences,
all of which he feels has helped him relate
well with a wide cross-section of people and
interests.
He is a relationship and singles coach, and
group dynamics expert, with a special interest
in expanding new ways to help create meaningful,
rich experiences within and between people.
He has created and conducted social meeting
events for singles which have been successful
over the last decade throughout Texas and in
other states. For many years he directed training
of group facilitators for the Austin branch
of an international non-profit organization.
His most recent publication is a book on relationships,
Becoming Partners in Love. He currently consults
for corporations, conducts a variety of ongoing
group seminars and training/education programs,
and maintains a private practice in Austin for
individuals and couples.
Neal Hardin - General Counsel
Neal has maintained a successful law practice in Austin for
many years. Early in his career, Neal served
as a Marine Corps JAG Officer. He went on to
become a law professor at Pepperdine University,
and later worked for a large firm specializing
in commercial law. He's now doing what he loves
best, providing appropriate, street-smart solutions
for a variety of small businesses. Neal's broad,
realistic perspective in legal matters is essential
to the success of the Topic Tour Society. He
lives with his wife and children in Austin.
(Call Extension 905 or
send
email).
Shauna Yager - Topics Developer
Shauna has been a Meetings & Events planner
and coordinator for a broad range of companies in the United States,
including a Fortune 100 company. She has extensive experience in sales
and marketing, fundraising, freelance writing and photography, as
well as newscasting on radio and television. Shauna is certified by
the International Tour Management Institute (ITMI), and has designed
and escorted group tours to many areas throughout North America. She
holds degrees from the University of Delaware in Agriculture and the
University of Florida in Communications. (Call Extension 913
or
send
email).
Sharyn Costello – Topics Developer
As a tour operator and traveler, over the past
20 years Sharyn has seen a good portion of this planet. She also brings
years of experience as an event planner and manager and has worked
locations all over the world. Sharyn is certified by the International
Tour Management Institute (ITMI), and by now could easily be teaching
those courses. She received her Master’s in Environmental Planning
and Management from UCLA and her Bachelor’s degree in Comparative
Literature from Wayne University. Sharyn also speaks French. (Call
Extension 915 or
send
email).
Donna West – Purchasing Director
Donna West began her career as a business manager of several small
high-tech companies, organizing company events and maintaining customer
and vendor relations. She also created and implemented company policies
across almost all areas of each business. She later entered the travel
industry to become the president of a tour guide association and the
owner of her own successful travel company. Donna is also certified
by the International Tour Management Institute (ITMI), has an Associates
in travel from Foothill College, and received her B.S. in education
(with emphasis in recreation) from Northwest Missouri State University.
(Call Extension 910 or
send email).
Tom McNeill – Assistant Purchasing Director
Tom has worked as a Professional Relations
Director at Humana, working with many aspects of hospital management,
and as a Network Development Director for United Healthcare managing
many aspects of provider relations. He later founded his own company,
TexAla Enterprises, which helps many Texas-area health related
companies improve their operations and supplier networks. Tom is also
certified by the International Tour Management Institute (ITMI), and
received a B.S. in Zoology, Chemistry, and Political Science from the
University of North Alabama, and also completed MHA graduate
studies at Mercer and Rice.
(Call Extension 909 or
send email).
Margaret Bovis – Assistant Purchasing Director
Margaret has extensive experience as a tour
guide, guiding tours throughout the US as well as in Britain and
France. She has also worked in Sales and as a meeting and event
planner for companies in both the US and France. Margaret received her
certification by the International Tour Management Institute in San
Francisco. She received her Bachelor’s in French and Foreign
Relations, and completed additional studies in both areas at the
University d’Aix-Marseilles in France. Margaret is fluent in French.
(Call Extension 908 or
send email).
Jennifer Clayton - Reservations Director
Jennifer knows tours from A to Z, having been a
tour operator for many years. She is well-traveled, especially in
the United States, Europe, and throughout Latin America. Jennifer
also has extensive teaching experience at the high school and college
level, was selected for Who's Who Among American Teachers, and was
named "Outstanding High School Spanish Teacher" in 2000. She has an
Associate Degree in Travel and Tourism from Austin Community College.
Jennifer graduated magna cum laude from Pan American University with
a degree in English and Spanish, and from Southwest Texas State University,
also magna cum laude, with a Master's degree. She has completed advanced
language and tour-related programs at the University of Salamanca
(Spain), the Instituto Allende (Mexico), and at other universities
both at home and abroad. She lives in Austin, Texas. (Call Extension
907 or
send email).
Patrick Welch - Tour Management Director
Patrick is a graduate of the prestigious International Tour
Management Institute (ITMI), and has considerable
experience leading tours. In the past, he was
a successful real estate broker. He also has
many years experience in private hunting club
management, including both guest services and
natural habitat protection. Patrick speaks German,
and brings ample business and supervisory experience,
as well as a solid understanding of leisure
group services to his work at the Topic Tour
Society. He hires, trains, and supervises our
Tour Conductors and is responsible for the overall
performance of our tours. He lives near Dallas.
(Call Extension 902 or
send
email).
Kay Hereford – Association Accounts Manager
Kay started her career in sales working with
telecom companies LDDS World Com and Nextlink. She then worked
business to business sales as an Operations Manager for Future
Electronics, a global electronic components distributor, as North
American Sales Coordinator for PLX Technology, a computer components
supplier, and finally as Business Development Coordinator for
lithography systems developer Molecular Imprints. Kay received her BBA
in Marketing from Texas State University.
(Call Extension 903 or
send
email).
Matt Jezewski - Information Technology Director
Numerous private corporations and government agencies have benefited from
Matt's expertise in reporting and transactional database systems. He has
completed projects involving accounting, quality assurance, and systems
to manage inventory and vendor contracts. Matt graduated from the
University of Kansas with a degree in Atmospheric Sciences, and from
Colorado Technical University with a Masters' degree in Management and
Information Technology. He has also completed database-related
post-graduate studies in Austin.
George Vu - Developer/Programmer
George has worked as a Software Engineer for several companies, primarily
in the construction industry. He also has many years' experience as the
Chief Technology Officer of a telecommunications company, and has
managed a number of consulting projects. George brings a wide range of
valuable skills to Topic Tours, having a solid background in all aspects
of software development. He holds a degree in Computer Science from the
University of Houston.
Sathyan Karanam - Developer/Programmer
Sathyan has ten years' experience in the IT field, including system analysis and
design, web-based multi-tier application development, web-based financial
applications, and SQL Server database design. He has served in leadership roles
for large companies in the healthcare and accounting industries, as well as for
government agencies. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, a
post-graduate diploma in Quality Management, and is a Microsoft Certified
Solution Developer.
Ritu Gupta - Developer/Programmer
Ritu has experience as a web designer, working in
both India and the US on many projects ranging from redesigning public pages
to developing back-end solutions. She has also worked as a software
developer for Mastermind in India, and Pixeldust Interactive in Austin,
Texas. Ritu received her B.S. in Computer Science from Devi Ahilya Vishwa
Vidhyalaya, Indore India, and her Master’s in Computer Applications from
North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon, India.
Aman Singh Chadha - Developer/Programmer
Aman brings over 9 years of experience working in the IT industry, most
recently implementing a major financial firm’s .NET Framework strategy. Previously,
Aman worked on NexInnovations Inc’s B2B Integration with its partners with
security as the highest priority, and been a major contributor for the
global rollout of NexInnovations Inc’s Secure XML Web Services framework
using the Microsoft .NET platform. He is also a seasoned JAVA professional. Aman
received his Bachelor’s in Computer Science from York University in 2001.
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