by Elia Nichols
Arrive with a passport, leave with a culture and purpose.
Sasa Southard is a new WIN member with a fascinating story. She grew up in an Italian-French family in Brooklyn, New York. She traveled all over Europe for a year after high school, and then returned to the U.S., hitch-hiked from New York to San Francisco, and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area ever since. She lives with her hubby Will and their furry-four-legged “son” Claude.
After a twenty-year career in marketing and public relations, in which Sasa served as president of the local Chamber of Commerce and hosted a business cable-television show called Make It Your Business, she returned to travel, became a Certified Tour Director, and led 6-8-day student tours on both coasts of the USA.
She also became an Au Pair Counselor, and, after 10 years, she is still a “big sister” to au pairs who come to the US as part of a cultural exchange program. This work fuels her purpose: to turn young travelers into cultural explorers.
Sasa’s maternal grandfather was from Napoli, and she received her Italian passport last year!
For many years, Sasa has been fortunate to travel to France and Italy, though it has been over a decade since she has visited Florence, and she is ready to return. Her motto is “Arrive with a passport, leave with a culture and purpose.”
We look forward to meeting you, Sasa, in person, when you are finally able to return to our beloved Florence!!