Shelby Byrnes is a Service Manager on the Customer Support Team at Lola.com. Though she had a degree in Geography as well as experience working in special education, she didn’t have any idea of what she wanted long-term in her career. She ended up taking advice from a co-worker who advised her to do what she loves most – travel. We’re so glad she’s able to channel her passion at Lola! Shelby describes herself as a glass-full type of person who is always trying to put people around her in a good mood. Her ability to bring light to any situation is what made her a perfect fit for Lola’s “Wicked Loving” culture. To hear about Shelby’s journey to Lola and experiences in her current role, listen to her conversation with Lola.com’s CMO, Jeanne Hopkins, on the newest episode of Table Fries!
From Pittsburgh to San Francisco to Boston over the past few years, Sonia is no stranger to different parts of the US. Listen to her conversation with Lola.com’s CMO, Jeanne Hopkins, on the newest episode of Table Fries for a deep dive into Sonia’s thoughts on her experience becoming a software engineer, love for problem-solving, and much more.
About Jeanne's Guest, Sonia Chevli:
Sonia Chevli is a new frontend software engineer at Lola.com. She works on the booking team where she is constantly working to add new features that optimize the flight and hotel booking process. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh ’17 with a degree in Biology and then shortly after discovered her passion for solving problems and being creative through writing code. She then went on to an intensive 9-month school in San Francisco where she learned all the necessary skills that it takes to start as a software engineer. Shortly after finishing school there she got hired as a front-end developer at lola.com
When she’s not working as Lola’s Senior Financial Analyst, you can find Chelsey taste testing all of the pizza joints around Boston, bopping around to local breweries, or sparring in an Everybody Fights boxing class. Listen to her conversation with Lola.com’s CMO, Jeanne Hopkins, on the newest episode of Table Fries for a deep dive into Chelsey’s thoughts on why Lola’s ‘Wicked Loving’ culture and passion is what is important to her.
About Jeanne's guest:
Chelsey Fazio is the Senior Financial Analyst here at Lola.com where she does a combination of Finance, Operations, and Accounting. Chelsey is from Syracuse, NY and moved to Boston after finishing her MBA in 2014. She received her CPA and worked in Assurance at PwC for 4 years before joining Lola’s team as their Senior Accountant and transitioning into her current role as Senior Financial Analyst.
It’s never a dull moment with Liz Mongrello. Whether you find her singing around the office or onboarding a crew of new Lola team members, she’s always bringing a cheerful attitude to her work. Listen to her conversation with Lola.com’s CMO, Jeanne Hopkins, on the newest episode of Table Fries for a deep dive into Liz’s thoughts on her experience in the past roles, love for a cappella, and much more.
About Jeanne's guest:
Liz Mongrello is the Office Manager at Lola.com, where she works to create and maintain a space for Lolas awesome team to do their best work and have fun doing it. Before settling into her role caring for the Lola crew, she supported our customers as part of the service and product teams. Prior to coming to Lola, Liz spent five years at the Apple Store on Boylston Street working in business sales and operations as well as team onboarding, training, and development. In her spare time, you’ll find Liz putting her music degree to work with Boston-based a cappella group, Fermata Town.
Krista Pappas is a tried and true road warrior. Between her 20+ years in the travel industry and flying non-stop back and forth between Tampa and New Jersey to meet with Lola’s partners, she knows what it’s like to be on the move. Listen to her conversation with Lola.com’s CMO, Jeanne Hopkins, on the newest episode of Table Fries for a deep dive into Krista’s thoughts on her experience in the travel industry, why she feels like she’s on a rocket ship, and more.
About our guest:
Krista Pappas is the VP of Business Development here at Lola.com, where she works directly with our partners to provide Lola with the best travel inventory in the industry. Krista has spent her career in tech, travel, digital media, and eCommerce. Over her career, Krista has held a variety of roles including executive positions at media, travel and tech companies such as Microsoft, The New York Times and Smartertravel.com as well board positions at various private companies in the digital space.
Rachel Neasham has never been one to turn down a challenge. And when things become challenging or she needs a source of fuel, here solution is always to “do more push-ups”. Listen to her conversation with Lola.com’s CMO, Jeanne Hopkins, on the newest episode of Table Fries for a deep dive into Rachel’s thoughts on her experience in the military, obsession with Wombats, and why she loves doing push-ups.
About our guest:
Rachel Neasham is the Director of Product here at Lola.com, where she works directly with the product and engineering team to build a consumer-grade travel product that our customers will love. Rachel graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point back in 2009 and went on to serve over 5 years in the US Military. Prior to coming to Lola Rachel served as an Engineer Officer then went on to serve as the COO of Rumi Spice before entering the travel industry at Lola.com.
Krissy Robertson was one of the first sales reps here at Lola.com. But when she’s not crushing her sales goals you can find her exploring a new food spot in Boston or pouring through a new book. Listen to her conversation with Lola.com’s CMO, Jeanne Hopkins, on the newest episode of Table Fries for a deep dive into Krissy's thoughts on her past experience, best travel destination, favorite book and more.
About Jeanne's guest:
Krissy Robertson is a Corporate Travel Executive at Lola.com, where she works directly with the rest of the sales team to help bring seamless corporate travel software to businesses everywhere. Krissy graduated from Babson College back in 2016. Prior to coming to Lola Krissy served as an inside sales specialist at athenahealth before entering the travel industry at Lola.com.
Beth Cohen is an expert when it comes to the legal world – but even more impressive is how she has used her past experience to land her dream job. From her experience as a contract attorney to a legal recruiter, Beth has learned that taking opportunities when they are presented to you is a key to success. Listen to her conversation with Lola.com’s CMO, Jeanne Hopkins, on the newest episode of Table Fries for a deep dive into her thoughts on Beth's past experience, using her network, favorite book and more.
About our guest:
As Lola's Corporate Counsel, Beth Cohen is responsible for all things legal at the company. Before joining Lola, Beth practiced litigation and employment & labor law at Cohen & Wolf, P.C. in Connecticut. She received her B.A. from Wesleyan University and her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
Building a career is never easy, but it gets more complicated when you have to move to a new country and create a new life for yourself. That’s exactly what Marina Novikova had to overcome when she moved to the US from her home in Ukraine. But through that journey, Marina learned a lot about advancing her career, finding community, and building a family. In the most recent of Table Fries, Marina joins host Jeanne Hopkins to discuss creating vs. managing, what she learned from sailing, and why she chases “good fatigue.”
Ashley Welch is very familiar with confronting her fears. From her experience as a social worker and a fearless traveler, Ashley has learned that facing your fears instead of running from them is a key to success. Listen to her conversation with Lola.com’s CMO, Jeanne Hopkins, on the newest episode of Table Fries for a deep dive into her thoughts on a customer-first mindset, her worst job, favorite book and more.
About Jeanne's guest:
Ashley Welch is the Director of Service at Lola.com, where she leads the company’s team of travel support specialists to ensure that Lola’s customers get all the help they need, whether they’re on the road or at the home office. Prior to Lola, Ashley graduated from Roger Williams University with a degree in Communications. She began her career working for the Commonwealth as a social worker before entering the travel industry at Vacation Guru.
