TPG announces members of its first-ever advisory panel

As most of the TPG staff was grounded due to the pandemic, it gave us the chance to look inward at our coverage. We have a great team, but we can't cover everything we feel our readers need to know about. And if 2020 taught us one thing, the future of travel is all about inclusivity, especially since there are still plenty of spaces where representation is lacking.

To that end, in January, we unveiled plans to create an advisory panel and asked readers and travel influencers to apply. The paid TPG All-Inclusive Advisory Panel comprises a group of external experts with a demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion. This new panel -- who will work with us for a year -- will meet monthly to help the TPG team expand its editorial coverage, refine products, including the upcoming TPG app and advise on initiatives such as the TPG Awards.

So allow us to introduce you to our 10-member panel:

• Priscilla Blossom, an award-winning freelance journalist, essayist, and content writer specializing in the intersections of arts and culture, health and wellness, parenting, travel and queer and Latinx identity. (Instagram: @prisblossom)
• Marinel M. de Jesus, founder of an adventure travel social enterprise, Peak Explorations, which markets treks globally.
• Monet Hambrick, founder, The Traveling Child blog and TPG contributor. (Instagram: @thetravelingchild)
• Jeff Jenkins, founder of ChubbyDiaries.com, which covers plus-size travel. (Instagram: @chubbydiaries_)
• Cory Lee Woodard, founder of the blog Curb Free with Cory Lee, where he shares his perspective as a traveler with a wheelchair. (Instagram: @curbfreecorylee)
• Travis Levius, a freelance travel writer, speaker and travel writing coach/instructor. Instagram: @misterlevius)
• Mika Pyyhkala, director of digital accessibility for Wichita, Kan.-based Workforce Innovation Center. (Instagram: @pyyhkala)
• Jen Ruiz, a self-employed blogger and author at Jen on a Jet Plane. (Instagram: @jenonajetplane)
• Kevin Song, manager of cybersecurity at Hyatt Hotels and a past TPG intern and contributor. (Instagram: @kev.song)
• Ruth C. White, director of diversity, equity and inclusion for Carbon Five, a digital product development consultancy. (Instagram: @ruthcwhiteslife)

This new advisory panel aims to ensure our brand is ever-evolving and that our content is as comprehensive as possible. We'll also look to our panelists to hold us accountable when our stories miss the mark.

The plan is to work with panelists regularly on group initiatives and individual projects, meeting monthly as a group for feedback on larger projects, and work individually with panelists on content, social takeovers, videos, speaking engagements and more. Panelists are asked to make a one-year commitment to this project.

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Bottom line

TPG staff will never accurately represent every person — or every current and potential TPG reader — in-house. So, we are working on expanding our network so that our brand and content are as inclusive as possible.

At both TPG and Red Ventures, our parent company, our goal is to listen, engage, and activate voices to ensure that all identity groups and perspectives are represented in our work. The future of travel is inclusivity, so we are happy to move forward with our new panel.