TIA First Vice Chair - Dawn Drew

Vice President, Publisher
National Geographic Traveler

Dawn Drew joined the National Geographic Society as advertising director of National Geographic Traveler magazine in December 1994. During her nine years with the Society she has been promoted twice, first to Publisher of Traveler in 1998 and two years later to Vice President.

During her tenure at the Society, Dawn has led the magazine to four consecutive years of record page and revenue growth. She has also overseen the development of a national sales staff, and the successful transition from Traveler's bi-monthly status to an 8X frequency with several brand extensions. Examples of some of the magazine's achievements include:

• Publication of its largest issues in both ad pages and revenue
• Publication of its first newsstand edition "Discover Europe"
• Selected as one of AdWeek's "Hot List" publications two years in a row
• Publication of National Geographic Traveler On Campus – an annual edition sent to nearly 1 million college students interested or involved in study abroad programs and educational travel.
• Publication of National Geographic Traveler Special Supplements – In-book editorial supplements that focus on a single destination from a cultural perspective.
• Creation of National Geographic Traveler Consumer Events – Local market events that allow consumers and readers of Traveler magazine to experience a destination via seminal experiences like food and wine tastings, photo gallery exhibitions, and live photography presentations with photojournalists specializing in the featured destinations.

In addition to her publishing responsibilities for the magazine, Dawn has remained active in the travel industry. Since 1996 she has served as a member of the TIA Board of Directors, has been chair of the research committee for three consecutive years, is presently chair of the marketing committee, has held officers' positions for five years and is currently the Second Vice Chair of the organization. During her tenure as chair of the research committee, National Geographic Traveler successfully collaborated with the TIA research division to produce a landmark study on "Geo-Tourism" the first major piece of research to examine the awareness and travel habits of Americans with regard to sustainable tourism.

Also an active member of the Pacific Asia Tourism Association (PATA), Dawn is one of the Board of Directors, chair of the Sustainable Tourism Committee and recently elected to serve on the Industry Council with 50 members of government in the PATA region.

Dawn has also recently been appointed to be a member of the board of advisors for the Prince of Wales' International Business Leaders Forum based in London. Through this association, she will work with a number of travel companies such as Marriott, British Airways and Mandarin Oriental to form the International Travel Partnership in sustainable tourism initiatives.

Dawn began her career in publishing as an editorial intern at Newsweek magazine, working for the back-of-the-book departments such as "cinema" and "book reviews". Followed by a move to a PR firm "Circulation Experti" where she used her writing skills and learned the business of public relations, allowing her to break into the promotion and marketing side of the publishing business.

The proving ground for Dawn was "W" magazine where she was first promotion manager and then director of marketing for 4 years. She then moved on to a similar position at the Atlantic Monthly, and subsequently into ad sales at another title.

Dawn spent 8 formative career years at the New York Times Magazine Group where she worked her way up from a sales position at Golf Digest to sales management positions at Tennis and McCalls magazines.

Much of the success and growth at Traveler stem from the leadership role the magazine has assumed within its core industry, along with its solid positioning as the only consumer magazine published that addresses the practical needs of the frequent traveler by covering "all travel, all the time" – not just the lifestyle of the traveler. The activities, commitment and interest in travel have generated an audience of 6.8 million readers, millions of dollars in revenue for the magazine, increased its stature in the field and provided access to very active, experiential consumers.

In her off-hours Dawn enjoys photography, and hopes she will one day be discovered by the National Geographic Society. She enjoys gourmet cooking and is an avid magazine reader.

A graduate of Tufts University where she majored in Political Science and International Law, Dawn has maintained a keen interest in the world and is proficient in French and Spanish. An avid traveler, she has been to many parts of Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, the South Pacific and North America – both for pleasure and as part of her job responsibilities at Traveler.

Dawn resides in Westchester County, New York with her son Dylan (Dawn's primary travel companion), and their dog Jack.

07/05