About Us

Originally from Wisconsin, Lauren grew up in Minnesota, Texas and Pennsylvania. She holds a B.S. in Marketing and International Business from Penn State and moved to NYC after she graduated. Lauren has worked in the tourism and hospitality industry for over 15 years. Lauren also has a passion for travel of course, as well as the outdoors and the arts. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and son.

Prior to starting her business, she was Head of Marketing for Algodon Partners, a Private Equity / Venture Capital Firm with hospitality related holdings in South America. Lauren is a member of NYC & Company (NYC’s destination marketing organization), Tourism Cares and is on the Advisory Board of Reach The World, an NYC-based non profit that makes the benefits of travel accessible to classrooms, inspiring students to become curious, confident global citizens.

Lauren has spoken at many industry conferences and is a mentor in NYC & Co’s Tourism Ready initiative. The goal is to increase visitation to off-the-beaten-path neighborhoods throughout the City and help local businesses reap the monetary benefits of tourism. New York City’s travel and tourism sector generates approximately $66 billion in annual economic impact.

Lauren is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy. She also completed a certificate program in Sustainable Tourism from George Washington University and a certificate program in Sustainable Business Strategy from Harvard Business School.

Like A Local, LLC is licensed and insured. Like A Local is a registered trademark.

Connect with me on LinkedIn!

Chelsea was born and raised in Alaska, where she currently resides. She began her career in tourism as a tour guide and tour director leading tours all across North America. She received guide certification from the International Tour Management Institute in 2016 and has led tours from New England to the US Southwest to the Canadian Rockies.

After years of adventures bringing new destinations to life for guests she decided to make the transition to Operations to use her skillset to help tour companies bolster and grow their offerings and streamline their business. She is passionate about the tourism industry and excited for the future as tourism continues to evolve and grow.

Carmen Portela is a marketing and product development professional with 20+ years of experience in the travel, tourism & lifestyle industries. Carmen was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She started her career in the public sector, where she held various positions in the marketing & public relations departments at the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. In her last position Carmen held at PRTC was Public Relations Director.  In 2008, Carmen founded Synapse, the first social media agency in Puerto Rico tailored to the hospitality space, with projects and clients such as:  Wyndham Hotels (Puerto Rico & Grand Cayman); ESPN; Caribbean Tourism Organization; PGA Tour; FIBA Americas; Puerto Rico Tourism Company; Empresas Santana; Rincón Beach Resort and the Municipality of Caguas. Miss Portela and her team are considered pioneers in the field of social media communications throughout the Caribbean.

Through Carmen’s work with tourism stakeholders and her deep passion for traveling (with a purpose), she identified the demand for more immersive and community driven experiences in the Caribbean. On August 2017, a month before Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico, Portela launched Local Guest, a platform serving as the link for  travelers who want to make a difference by supporting the local economy through regenerative experiences that impact community through sustainability. In the aftermath of Hurricane María, she established the Love in Motion Foundation, now a 501c3. Through this non-profit Carmen organized and led scores of volunteers to carry out humanitarian relief efforts in the wake of the passing of Hurricane María impacting communities in over 20 municipalities.  Love In Motion now has an agreement with US Forest Service El Yunque National Rainforest for the development of three community-based projects: trailing, volunteering and wellness. During the pandemic Local Guest temporarily ceased operations and the team pivoted into a new endeavour -sustainable living. Bana is a B2B online membership, including an educational and marketing network of sustainable living products, experiences and services.  Local Guest is now a division of Bana,  offering wellbeing and nature experiences that range from forest therapy to mindful hikes, together with community-based projects.

Carmen is considered a thoughtful leader in the areas of community-based tourism development and sustainable tourism. She held a seat at the Board of the Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association and was the Allied Committee Chairperson for four consecutive years. She now holds a seat at Discover Puerto Rico Local Advisory Board. She holds professional certifications on Sustainable Tourism Destination Management from the George Washington University, Organizing Communities for Change from the Harvard’s Institute of the HealthCare and on Improvement & Consulting for the Creation and Implementation of Tourism endeavours & startups from the University of Salamanca.

Connect with me on Linked In!