Meet the Executive Leadership Team Behind Academy Travel
Dedicated Professionals. Full-Time Support. Nearly 30 Years of Experience Behind You.
Behind every Academy Travel advisor is a team of dedicated, full-time Academy Travel employees working to help our advisors and our agency succeed.
We believe independent travel advisors should have the freedom to build businesses of their own without being expected to figure everything out alone. That is why Academy Travel has built a professional team with dedicated responsibilities across advisor training and development, onboarding, supplier relations, reservations, commissions and accounting, marketing, technology, operations, business development and advisor support.
Our team members are not independent travel advisors trying to run their own travel businesses while also managing the agency. Supporting Academy Travel and our advisors is their job.
That distinction matters.
When you have an accounting or commission question, there are professionals dedicated to helping with accounting and commissions. When you need assistance with a supplier or reservation, there are team members focused on supplier relationships and booking support. When you are learning the business, developing your marketing or expanding into a new destination, there are people whose professional responsibilities include helping you do exactly that.
A Large Agency Should Give You More Support, Not Less
Academy Travel has grown into a nationwide organization supporting thousands of independent travel advisors, but growth has never changed our belief in personal relationships.
Our size allows us to build a specialized full-time team, rather than expecting one or two people to handle every aspect of the business. It also allows us to create smaller advisor communities, destination specialties and focused areas of support while giving advisors access to the resources and relationships of a much larger organization.
The strength of a large agency. The personal support of a smaller one.
Your Business. Our Team Behind It.
Our advisors are independent business owners. The Academy Travel team provides the professional infrastructure behind them.
From the day an advisor joins Academy Travel through every stage of their growth, our team is here to educate, guide, troubleshoot, support and help create opportunities.
Because independent business ownership should give you independence.
It should never mean being on your own.
Meet the People Who Help Make Academy Travel Work
Below, meet the full-time professionals responsible for the many different areas of Academy Travel and the support of our advisor community.
14 Full-Time Employees • Specialized Departments • Dedicated Advisor Support • Nearly 30 Years of Experience
Lisa Federico
Founder, President and Owner of Academy Travel Inc.
Anthony Sickinger
Executive Director of Universal Sales and Support
Briana Givas
Executive Director of Sales + Marketing and Agency Public Relations, Specializing in Disney’s Fairytale Weddings and Honeymoons
Leah Tutela
Winn Tanner
Director of Sales, Rest of the World Division
Chris Federico
Executive Director, Rest of the World Program Support
Zachary Tanner
Director of Rest of the World Agent Support and Supplier Enrollment
Kara Kreft
Kara is a Disney College Program Alumni, having worked in entertainment at Animal Kingdom, Epcot & Hollywood Studios.