Photo: Cheryl Klauss
In the Beginning
In 2017, my bestie Lori and I looked at each other and said “Girl, we’ve still got it!” Our kids were about to leave home and we were feeling frisky. We wanted to find other women our age who were as curious and adventurous as we were (and still are).
We started an online magazine, then added a shared passion—travel. Almost every woman on our first NextTribe trip rebooked it for the following year, and we knew we had captured lightning in a bottle. They asked for more destinations and more experiences, too. So here we are.
Aging is a fact of life. Aging boldly is a state of mind. Traveling boldly is a shared dream.
These days Lori is pursuing her love of interior decorating and still traveling with us when she can. I design all the itineraries myself or work with another woman our age who knows the area better than I do. No matter what, I make sure we have time for meaningful connections with local women in our age group.
People say I have a knack for making small-group travel feel like a best girlfriends getaway, and here’s the secret: Our travelers read our magazine and embrace the Age Boldly ethos. That makes for a highly compatible group right from the start. Many have formed enduring friendships with women they’ve met on our trips.
This tribe is one of courage, contemplation, inspiration, wit, action, and—most of all—FUN!
–Jeannie Ralston
Co-Founder and CEO
“We wanted a safe spot to share with like-minded women who were also intent on squeezing all the juice out of the fat mango of life.”
Please join us on our walkabout.
-Jeannie & Lori
Our Team
Photo: Susie Lang Photo
Jeannie Ralston
I’ve been a writer all of my adult life. My travel stories have appeared in Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, Budget Travel, and the New York Times.
While married to a National Geographic photographer, we traveled high and low—consulting a blind guru in the highest reaches of the Himalayas and swimming in a piranha-filled lagoon in the Amazon rainforest, mingling with a king at a Balinese feast and Castro’s advisors in a Cuban resort.
When our sons began school, we moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. During middle school, we homeschooled and traveled the globe–with extended journeys through South America, Africa, China, and the Ancient World (including Egypt during the Arab Spring!!) I would always come up with the itinerary for each trip and with a limited budget, I learned how to find the most exciting activities at any destination without breaking the bank. We did this for 3 wonderful years.
We had a pandemic divorce (sigh), and now I’m based in Asheville, NC and happily partnered with a wonderful new man who is content to keep the home fires burning while I’m out gallivanting with my gals. Heaven.
Jeannie Edmunds
Chief Operating Officer
Jeannie has been advising and building startup companies since 2011. A former CNN reporter and CBS News producer, Jeannie has lived and worked in Europe, Asia and Latin America. After her first experience as a solo traveler at age 6 (her parents put her on a plane to visit her grandparents) she has always felt most comfortable on an airplane with her passport in hand. She's the author of "Start Me Up: Tips, Tales and Truths about Starting Up and Starting Over." Her bucket list trip: to see the northern lights in Norway or Finland.
Ursula Petula Barzey
Marketing Director
Having lived in three different countries, Ursula knows firsthand that travel and cultural exchange is a powerful force for good in the world. That's why she's passionate about helping tourism businesses succeed. For the last decade, she's been working almost exclusively with tourism brands to grow their businesses online, using the power of digital marketing to help them reach their full potential.
Her bucket list: Antarctica and West Africa.
Ellesor Gray Holder
Manager, Trip Leaders
Ellesor is an avid hiker, outdoor adventurer, and fitness enthusiast. Some of her highlights include biking the island of Bali, working in Australia, parachuting for her 60th birthday and completing the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (with NextTribe.) Her love of exploration and adventure includes her home state of South Carolina and its coast. Ellesor’s more personal adventures include her husband and daughter with ski trips out west and tropical get-aways to the Florida Keys. Bucket list: Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
Marcy Mitchell
Travel Manager
Marcy is a nomad at heart, currently living a peaceful, quiet life in Wyoming. She loves walking, paddle boarding, nordic skiing and spending as much time outdoors as possible. She cherishes the freedom and time to create beautiful things and enjoy life's simple pleasures. Life is an adventure, she says, and she's here to embrace it one step at a time! Her bucket list trip right now is Slovenia and Romania.
Janet Siroto
Executive Editor
Janet is a native New Yorker who developed her wanderlust listening to her parents' stories about Paris, the fjords, and other destinations when she was a kid. An editor, writer, and content director, she's been on staff and/or contributed to Vogue, The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Real Simple, Travelzoo, Good Housekeeping, and Match.com. Her bucket list trip: Kyoto.
Jennifer Miller
Manager, Online Community
Jennifer brings more than 25 years experience on the business side of all aspects of media: from publishing, luxury magazines, technology, media buying, and broadcast. She specializes in consultative sales, business development, and creating campaigns that bring results. Her travel bucket list has one item: more trips to Rancho La Puerta, a NextTribe partner! Contact her here.
Marcellina Kampa
Manager, Local Communities
Marcellina, (we call her “Mars”) has worked with NextTribe founder Jeannie Ralston since 2018, and is the Community Manager for NextTribe in Austin. The Austin group has grown to over 200 members. She has 30 years of experience as a project and resource manager in advertising and graphic design. On her travel bucket list: Cappadocia in Turkey. And the Andalusian region of Spain.
NextTribe Trip Leaders
Jeannie Edmunds
Jeannie has been advising and building startup companies since 2011. A former CNN reporter and CBS News producer, Jeannie has lived and worked in Europe, Asia and Latin America. After her first experience as a solo traveler at age 6 (her parents put her on a plane to visit her grandparents) she has always felt most comfortable on an airplane with her passport in hand. She's the author of "Start Me Up: Tips, Tales and Truths about Starting Up and Starting Over." Her bucket list trip: to see the northern lights in Norway or Finland.
Ellen Williams
After a long career in publishing, she describes her professional status as “post-ambitious.” Her favorite work now is sharing her love of Paris with fellow NextTribe travelers. "I believe thoughtful, mature women want more than to be trotted around to lots monuments; they want to see how real Parisians live, stroll their breathtaking streets, sample their remarkable cuisine, buy their fabulous scarves."
"I’ve explored this glorious city for more than four decades, and nothing gives me more pleasure than sharing that experience."
On her bucket list: more Paris, please.
Jeannie Ralston
I’ve been a writer all of my adult life. My travel stories have appeared in Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, Budget Travel, and the New York Times.
While married to a National Geographic photographer, we traveled high and low—consulting a blind guru in the highest reaches of the Himalayas and swimming in a piranha-filled lagoon in the Amazon rainforest, mingling with a king at a Balinese feast and Castro’s advisors in a Cuban resort.
When our sons began school, we moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. During middle school, we homeschooled and traveled the globe–with extended journeys through South America, Africa, China, and the Ancient World (including Egypt during the Arab Spring!!) I would always come up with the itinerary for each trip and with a limited budget, I learned how to find the most exciting activities at any destination without breaking the bank. We did this for 3 wonderful years.
We had a pandemic divorce (sigh), and now I’m based in Asheville, NC and happily partnered with a wonderful new man who is content to keep the home fires burning while I’m out gallivanting with my gals. Heaven.
Ann Hillers
Ann has been a globetrotter for 35 years, leading groups to more than 70 countries. Comfortable on barstools and at food stalls around the world, she is happiest staying in a different hotel room every night (provided the thread count on the sheets is high).
Mollie Mitchell
Mollie is the appointed, unpaid trip planner for all of her groups of girlfriends. She has been to five continents and over two dozen countries including South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland, Bali, Peru, and most of Europe. She has been to 48 states and is slowly making her way to all the national parks, where she hikes but refuses to camp. Although she loves a big adventure to a foreign land, her favorite place on earth is hiking a beautiful trail in the Santa Fe National Forest with her golden retrievers.
Ellesor Gray Holder
Ellesor is an avid hiker, outdoor adventurer, and fitness enthusiast. Some of her highlights include biking the island of Bali, working in Australia, parachuting for her 60th birthday and completing the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (with NextTribe.) Her love of exploration and adventure includes her home state of South Carolina and its coast. Ellesor’s more personal adventures include her husband and daughter with ski trips out west and tropical get-aways to the Florida Keys. Bucket list: Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro