Our staff of expert travel planners is exceptionally well-traveled and extremely knowledgeable about our destinations. We couple an unrivaled depth of experience with an unmitigated enthusiasm for foreign culture, history, language and geography.
This wealth of experience, knowledge and information that benefits our clients immeasurably.
President and co-founder of MIR, Douglas was inspired to grow the company after traveling to the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s on a goodwill exchange between members of the Soviet Olympic volleyball team and players of the sport from 11 U.S. states. He has made over 100 trips to our destinations and is a member of the Explorers Club. Whether exploring archaeological sites in Central Asia and the Caucasus or leading “Inside the Russian Space Program” tours to the Baikonur space launch site, Douglas’ trips have spanned MIR’s destinations since our inception in 1986. He shares his favorite memories from MIR's 30 years of travel in our MIR in a Nutshell series.
Recent travels include Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.
Annie Lucas, Vice President, has been with the company since the very early years. Her background in Russian & Eastern European studies serves her in her role overseeing company-wide operations, systems and product development. With a passion for out-of-the-way places (favorites include Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan), Annie personally scouts emerging destinations and has an extensive travel history. She represents the company at industry trade events in the U.S. and around the globe.
Recent travels include Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Iran.
Dmitry Rudich, Director of Custom Group Tours, grew up in Ukraine and traveled in his home country, in Russia, the South Caucasus and Turkey before coming to the U.S. for an international business degree. Since then, he has been from Minsk to Moscow to Vladivostok, across the snow-capped mountains of Tajikistan, and throughout Eastern China. Most recently, he traversed Central Asia with a contingent of Land Rovers and crossed Turkey from Lake Van to Istanbul by train.
Anne Thorsteinson, Tour Specialist, earned her bachelor's in Russian language and history at the University of Washington, followed by a master's in international relations.
She has studied Russian in St. Petersburg and Vladivostok, lived in Budapest, and traveled throughout Central Europe, Central Asia, the Baltics, Balkans, and Russia. Most recently, Anne spent time in Uzbekistan and Ukraine.
Alex Whan, Tour Specialist, is a native Seattleite. He earned a B.A. in International Studies and an M.A. in Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington. Studying Serbian and Georgian languages in Belgrade and Tbilisi respectively, he has traveled extensively throughout much of Eastern Europe, including the Balkans, Turkey, and the Caucasus, and has lived in Lithuania, Serbia, and Georgia.
Nathan Cox, Tour Specialist, was born and raised in Utah, but has spent much of his adult life living in Russia and Ukraine. As an undergraduate, he double-majored in English and Russian literature and language and received his master’s degree in literature. Nathan worked for nearly nine years in St. Petersburg, Russia, as the director of study abroad programs. Beyond his extensive travels in western Russia, Nathan has been to China, Central Asia, the Baltics and Europe.
Andrew Barron, Director of Service & Support, studied Chinese and Russian in college and spent a year living and working outside of Beijing.
His travels have taken him across China from Xi'an to Lhasa, on an extended overland expedition from Shanghai to Urumqi, through Chinese Turkestan, and from Western Russia to Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan at the heart of Central Asia.
Jake Smith, Director of Operations, earned a degree in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Washington. While working on his degree, Jake's participation in two study abroad programs in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan reinforced his passion for Central Asia. Jake went on to spend six years supporting educational and cultural exchange programs in Central Asia with an international nonprofit, four years of which were based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. His most recent travels include Iran, China, the South Caucasus, and Kamchatka.
Jonathan Gann, Tour Specialist, has lived in various countries throughout his life, and traveled to over 100. Having earned advanced degrees in linguistics, he speaks Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian. He has held a variety of positions all over the globe, working as a guide in Latin America and Eastern Europe, and in the international education field for over 20 years. Proud of his U.S. and Brazilian roots, Jonathan loves the opportunity to travel and meet people from around the world, and has a special affinity for Brazilian bossa nova music, soccer, volleyball, and tennis.
Willis Hughes, Tour Specialist, hails from Zephyr Cove, Nevada, and received his master’s degree in Eurasian, Russian, and Eastern European studies in 2016, studying tourism and development in Georgia. He is well versed on the political and social developments of the former Soviet region, speaks Russian and Georgian, and has traveled extensively in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
Originally from California’s Redwood Coast, Matt Robertston, Tour Specialist, received his M.A. in Russian History in 2013 after studying in Moscow, Germany, Spain, and Siberia. Previously the director of the Tahoe-Baikal Institute, the head concierge at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe, and a tour guide in Russia and the U.S., Matt has traveled in Mongolia, Siberia, Central and Western Europe, and Western Russia.
Marisa Dodd, Assistant Tour Specialist, is a native Virginian with a deep-rooted knowledge of and passion for Russian culture. While earning her degrees in Russian language and literature and international affairs at George Washington University, Marisa spent a summer teaching English in Ryazan, a small town in Western Russia on the Oka River, and also participated in a study abroad program for a full year in St. Petersburg. She recently returned to the States after completing a semester-long internship in Moscow.
Joanna Millick, Director of Sales, was born in Warsaw and speaks a host of Slavic languages. Her experience in Poland as a tour manager complements her master's degree in international studies. She has led groups through the Balkans, to Iran, and along the Trans-Siberian Railway. Joanna is our resident expert on Jewish Heritage tours in East and Central Europe, and recently led a group to Holocaust sites in Poland, Austria, and Czech Republic.
Amy Stidger, Sales Manager, hails from Texas where she earned a B.A. in History and an M.A. in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. She has studied Russian in Moscow and Voronezh, Eastern Armenian in Yerevan, and has traveled around Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. Her recent travels include Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Kevin Testa, Travel Sales/Client Services Specialist, is a graduate of Portland State University, where he earned degrees in both international business and Russian language. He spent several months at Corvinus University in Budapest. Kevin’s travels have taken him to Poland, the Balkans, Romania, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Most recently, he toured Dagestan in the North Caucasus.
Lisa Peterson, Private Journeys Specialist, earned her degree in international studies from the University of Washington and taught English and history in Romania and Russia. She has also studied in Dubrovnik, Sarajevo, and Zagreb, and returns almost every year. Lisa has recently explored Uzbekistan, Macedonia, Iran, the Russian Far East, Latvia, and Lithuania, and has spent time wine tasting and truffle hunting in Croatia..
Liz Tollefson, Marketing Director, grew up in Delaware, where she earned a degree in mass media communication. Her love of adventure, the arts, and the internet brought her west to Seattle where she has found a way to combine all of them at MIR. Liz has explored Western Russia, Bulgaria and Romania as well as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Jessica Clark, Marketing Manager, grew up in West Virginia and has traveled to every continent except Antarctica. She earned a bachelor's in mass communications and a master's in international business, and has studied and interned in Dubai, India and New Zealand, as well as worked in tourism in South Africa. Her most recent travels include Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran.
Helen Holter, Content Manager, is a media strategist specializing in TV/digital storytelling and cross-cultural communication in Seattle and internationally.
An Emmy-winning journalist, Helen was a senior correspondent reporting in Russian for Soviet TV. She especially loves Siberia and the Trans-Siberian Railway, and has lived in Turkey, the Balkans, Central Asia, and Russia.
Mariana Noble, Senior Copywriter, earned her Russian Studies degree in Seattle and studied Russian language in St. Petersburg. She’s traveled in Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, the Republic of Georgia, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, but her favorite vacation spot is Siberia. Most recently, she was thrilled to visit Iran.
Emily Kelso, Marketing Associate/Copywriter, is a travel enthusiast with a strong interest in off-the-beaten-path locales and languages. A University of Colorado grad with degrees in English and fine arts, her love of Asian art and culture propelled her to explore Japan, China and other far-flung places across the globe. She makes it back to her quirky hometown of Boulder, Colorado whenever she can.
Jered Gorman, Director of Air Travel/Logistics, was born in Seoul and lived in the Netherlands and Germany as a child before settling in the Pacific Northwest. Jered studied in Guilin toward a degree in Chinese Studies, and he has traveled throughout China, Mongolia, Southeast and Central Asia, Europe, Turkey, and Georgia.
Megan Gilboy, Director of Finance, received her accounting degree from Western Washington University, in her hometown of Bellingham. She has been passionate about the dance and music of Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East since she was 17. She dances and creates costumes with Anar Dana, a dance troupe in Seattle. Her most recent travels include Turkey and Uzbekistan.
Rebecca Morris, Accounting Assistant, was born and raised on a small farm in Washington State with 10 horses of her own. She recently returned to the Seattle area after spending five years in Anchorage, Alaska, working with a center that specializes in treating patients with PTSD. Rebecca has traveled extensively around the globe, including several MIR destinations — the Balkans, Romania, Hungary, and Czech Republic.
Tia Low, Administrative Assistant/Travel Support Specialist, received her International Business degree from Washington State University, on the opposite side of the state as her hometown of Sammamish. While she has lived in Australia, South America, and South Korea, it’s her endless curiosity about the people and cultures of the rest of the world that feeds her interest in MIR’s destinations.