meet plan go 2010

We had a wonderful time!

The Meet, Plan, Go! Austin event on September 14 was a success. We had 70 attendees to the event to hear from our expert panelists what to expect and how to plan your career break. Six Lounge-Tap Room was a great location for the event, and Rios Brazilian supplied some really yummy munchies! Another big thanks to the volunteers that helped us pull off this event – you know who you are! We gave away a total of 16 door prizes to some lucky attendees in Austin, and generally had a great time. It's so great to see all the career breakers out there! Here are some photos from the event, and below that is the list of panelists, in case you want to contact them after hearing them speak. Thanks Austin for making this a great event!

Here are a few pictures from the evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Panel:

• Emcee and Host – Jeff Jung, Founder Career Break Secrets. Twitter handle: @CareerBrkSecret Jeff had previously been a management consultant and Marketing Director for a medical device company.  He took his career break in 2007-2008 around South America, Europe and North Africa. He learned to speak Spanish fluently, how to ski in Patagonia and saw the sun rise and set in places like Easter Island, the Galapagos, on the Nile and Cappadocia.
• Olga Garcia, Social Media & Marketing Programs Manager, OlgaLG.com Twitter handle: @olgaLG Olga started her career in marketing at a Fortune 500 company after college. Having lived abroad in high school, she decided to work for a year and save her money to have an early career break. From 2006-2007, she traveled to 3 different continents, 20 countries, explored the chocolate decadence in Perugia, was part of a yacht crew in Australia, and experienced the peaceful nights in the mountains of New Zealand.
• Gary Hoover, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin,HooversWorld Twitter handle: @garyhoov Gary is an Austin-based serial entrepreneur who has founded four companies. When he sold his first one, he went around the world, spending a week each in a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and an Islamic nation. Since then he has ventured into the travel industry and visited 41 countries. He now teaches entrepreneurship and one of the key ways he encourages people to learn is by travel and observation.
• Erica Kuschel, Travel blogger for OverYonderLust.  Twitter handle: @OverYonderlust Erica was working as a customer service representative for a major video game company. One day she decided she was not where she was supposed to be and quit her job to pursue her dream as a freelance photographer and traveler. Erica and her husband Shaun will be leaving to explore Central and South America at the end of 2010 for 6-12 months.
• Jen Spencer, CEO Jen Spencer Coaches. Twitter handle: @jenspencercoach A Wing Woman, defender of laughter and potential, inspiring insights and possibilities through executive + business coaching and consulting, Jen works with entrepreneurs, creative executives and teams to get them closer to what they want. When Jen isn’t coaching, she stays involved with her Austin community. Her latest endeavor is producing and co-hosting the first TEDxAustin. Currently, she’s working with the team to curate the 2011 event. After spending 10 years living in 7 cities and traveling often for work in her 20′s, Jen has always had a passion for traveling and seeing just how other people live and experience life. From New Zealand to Boston to Abiquiu, New Mexico, Jen has experienced remote to fantastical to urban environments. Any time Jen travels for work, she stays a few extra days, visits friends, people watches and and pretends to play native.
• Bryan Tighe, Founder Budget Your Trip. Twitter handles: @BudgetYourTrip @bryantighe After working as a software engineer, Bryan, with his wife Laurie, left his job to explore the world. During 2009, they spent eleven months traveling through Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and south Asia. He trekked through the Himalayas, got lost in the souqs of Syria, hiked through the villages of Dogon Country in Mali, and celebrated with the Hamer people of Ethiopia at a Bull Jumping ceremony.
• Katie Warner, journalist for The Examiner and The Austin Times. Twitter handle: @KatalinaTX Katie Warner started her career as an antitrust and international competition law attorney. Having studied abroad several times in college and law school she yearned to travel long-term again. Katie moved to Europe in 2006-2007, and did a second career break in 2009 where she traveled to Brasil. Katie is currently states-side and working on a third career break that she plans to take 2011-2012.
• Jay Whitchurch, CEO, campus2careers. Twitter handle: @campus2careers Jay’s work background includes being a corporate strategy consultant, a CIO, and CEO but he has enjoyed nothing more than the trips he has taken during and in between. During any career change or break, Jay always makes it a point to plan a big trip. He’s been to 38 countries on 5 continents, played golf at the base of the Great Pyramids in Cairo and at St. Andrews Old Course in Scotland, seen the Pope perform Palm Sunday service at St. Peter’s Basilica, swum above the lost city of Atlantis, crawled through the war tunnels in Vietnam, climbed the China Wall in 108 degree weather, and sat at the “Edge of the World” in Saudi Arabia.

In addition, each attendee to the 13 Meet Plan Go events received a discount code for Season One of the Video Travel Guides. A three minute teaser video of Season One´s Video Travel Guides is available at CareerBreakSecrets.com.