LAURA HANLON

Travel Designer

LOCATION

Chicago, IL

EXPERIENCE

3 Years

Laura was born and raised in a small town in central Illinois. After graduating with a health sciences degree from Purdue University, she completed two years in Teach For America, earning a Master’s degree in Education. After TFA, she decided to get back on the healthcare track, completing a Master’s degree in Nursing from Rush University. She started working in the neonatal intensive care unit at Lurie Children’s Hospital and has been there part time for 8 years now.

She resides in Chicago, Illinois with her husband, son Theo, and beloved golden retriever Sherman. When she’s not chasing a toddler around, she loves exploring Chicago and can often be spotted frolicking around the riverfront or trying a new restaurant in the West Loop.

Throughout both careers, Laura’s hobbies always involved traveling. From spending the day at Potato Head Beach Club in Bali or skydiving from a helicopter in Switzerland to hiking Machu Picchu or participating in the adult playground known as Oktoberfest, Laura fiercely believes in the concept “work hard, play hard”. She utilizes her time off exploring new places with her little fam and recognizes that traveling with a baby or toddler can be intimidating. Laura wants to offer tips and convenience for families that want to see the world together. She believes finding places that are “kid friendly” doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice good food, great wine, and luxury accommodations. She is very detail-oriented and will put herself in your shoes for every step of the trip to ensure it is seamless.

WHAT’S YOUR STRATEGY FOR OVERCOMING JETLAG?

Bring a travel size hydrating face mist (at your friendly Walgreens!) in your carry on. A few spritz of that bad boy throughout the flight and some moisturizing face lotion after a long haul gives you life again! They even make rose water sprays if you’re feeling fancy.  

WHAT DESTINATIONS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO AND WHY?

I cannot wait to go to Africa and explore all it has to offer. It’s been on my bucket list forever and everyone that visits seems to rave about it. In a perfect world, I would love to do a family safari, some wine tours with my husband, and then tack on some type of medical mission work as well – a little leisure and a little sense of giving back too.