Table Fries.

Alex Hyman's path to lola.com was a very intentional recruit. Through Krista Pappas, she was brought on the team once Krista came to lola travel. To understand her book recommendations, you'll need a grasp of the term "woo-woo". She has a good list. You'll also learn about the water taxi and what a good day looks like. How would you answer that question?  About Jeanne's guest: From tackling new challenges at work to chatting with the waiter at a restaurant, Alex is always asking questions. She prides herself on her curiosity and ability to get to know anyone who crosses her path. Alex is a passionate chef, a devoted dog mom, and an avid traveler. Her never-ending energy and willingness to try new things makes Alex a key driver of Lola’s partnerships. She values people who are able to be authentically themselves, which is why her dream dinner guest is Anthony Bourdain. Learn more about Alex’s path to Lola, travel adventures, and a positive attitude in this episode of Table Fries. ___________________________________________ Connect with Alex on LinkedIn

Sara DeVinney was looking for a role where she could have a big impact on the company when she found Lola. Starting on the customer service team over 3 years ago, she had managed Lola’s strategic partnership with Amex GBT. Sara’s can-do attitude allows her to coach and train remote sales reps and she loves to tell people to “just go for it, you can do it.”  In this episode of Table Fries, learn how Sara stays balanced through frequent business travel, teaching 6 am yoga classes, and caring for her Scottish Fold, Maya. ___________________________________________ Connect with Sara DeVinney on LinkedIn.

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 Jeanne Hopkins, on this episode of Table Fries for a deep dive into Krista’s thoughts on her experience with the Peloton Cycle, why she feels like she’s on a rocket ship, running away at 16, and more. About our guest: 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. ___________________________________________ Connect with Krista Pappas on LinkedIn.

Jeanne's guest is author, speaker, Jackie Glenn tells her story in her new book, "Lift as I Climb." Jackie Glenn is a highly accomplished Human Resources Executive practicing across the HR spectrum including HR Strategic plans, Talent Development, and Diversity and Inclusion. She is currently Vice President/Global Chief Diversity Officer for EMC Corporation. In this position, she leads EMC's worldwide diversity and inclusion strategy, continuously reinforcing global diversity and inclusion as a business imperative. Through collaboration with senior leadership on assessment, action planning, and cultural change, she designs and delivers creative initiatives tied to the development of an innovative and inclusive workforce, as well as related components of talent management, employee relations, change management and compliance. Jackie joined EMC in 2000, as the Director of HR Operations for the Sales Division. In that capacity, she provided strategic and tactical Human Resources support to EMC sales groups, comprising more than 2,000 employees at both domestic and international sites.  Jackie puts her time in with various organizations to continue this effort, Children's Services of Roxbury, Girls Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, the African American Museum-Boston, and the Greater Boston Sickle Cell Anemia boards all benefit from her insights and experience. Overall, in her 20 plus year career across the Human Resource spectrum, Jackie has managed and implemented programs in Employee Relations, Training, and Development, Recruiting, Organizational Development, and Consulting and Coaching. Her leadership as the VP, Global Chief Diversity Officer at EMC has introduced best-in-class practices, which includes the development of several groundbreaking efforts, including the design and implementation of an innovative and mandatory D&l curriculum, institutionalization of the company's Transgender Reassignment Program, the launch of its High Potential Women's Programs and expansion of employee resource groups. ___________________________________________ Connect with Jackie on LinkedIn.

In this special episode of Table Fries, Jeanne's guest is author, Jackie Glenn. Right out of the gate Jeanne asked her for the one word that describes her. Authentic. You'll have no doubt after this episode that authentic is the perfect word for her. She admits that sometimes she may not be nice, depending on when you catch her in the day, but she'll always be an authentic truth-teller. Jeanne and Jackie talked about the inspiration for her book, Lift as I Climb (available on Amazon here). In this episode, you'll hear the wise advice she'd give her 18-year-old self, what a good day looks like. The answer - "When I've impacted the next generation." You'll also hear about the pivot that led her to where she is today as a highly respected Diversity, Inclusion & Corporate Culture Strategist. Tune in. About Jeanne's guest, Jackie Glenn: As Founder and Principal of Glenn Diversity Inclusion & HR Solutions, she provides corporations and individuals thought leadership in the development and execution of strategies, programs, and best practices needed to create inclusive and effective corporate cultures by attracting and retaining diverse workforces. She is also a speaker and host of national and international conferences and panels.This comes after a 19-year career at EMC, where she began in human resources and advanced to the C-Suite, eventually becoming Vice President & Global Chief Diversity Officer at Dell EMC. As stated in her recent book, Lift As I Climb: An Immigrant Girl’s Journey Through Corporate America, “There is a special place carved out that only you can fill.” Her adaptation to American culture as an immigrant from Jamaica cultivated skills and insights that uniquely qualify her to help her company create a diverse workforce that would retain top talent from the United States – a nation of immigrants – and around the globe. Connect with Jackie Glenn on LinkedIn.

Being able to change locations and views gives Kelsey Duryea a breath of fresh air to engage and enjoy her sales calls. When Kelsey thinks about her best days they are actually the autopilot days where instincts run until the end of the day. Her biggest piece of advice is to embrace failure, otherwise, you stay stuck in known and past successes rather than challenging yourself to risk new successes by diving into the unknown. Tune in to see what lobsters, lettuce and lola.com have in common. A couple of fun facts about Kelsey. She celebrated her third year of sales and almost one year mark at Lola. She played college lacrosse at Duke University in North Carolina and grew up on the North Shore in Beverly.  Connect with Kelsey Duryea on LinkedIn.

From a stay-at-home-Mom to taking care of business travelers, Susan’s tenacious work and attitude play a big role in the Lola.com office. As one of the first ‘wombats’ on the customer service team, Susan describes herself as a ‘hyperfocused’ person who believes people should do what they love in life. Staying true to her word, she decided to join Lola and has enjoyed the ‘wicked-loving’ office culture every day since. To hear more about her background and work experiences these past 3.5 years, listen to the newest episode of Table Fries, hosted by Jeanne Hopkins. ___________________________________________ Connect with Susan Trudeau on LinkedIn.

Megan Herr and Zoe Weiss were members of the first-ever intern class at Lola.com. Before heading back to school, they made sure to have a discussion with Jeanne about their internship experience and each of their biggest takeaways. Megan is a rising sophomore at the University of Virginia spending her days working with data and ‘behind the scenes marketing.’ Zoe is a rising junior at Brown University working with the engineering team on adding features and solving problems through code. To learn more about their backgrounds, favorite trips, how they found Lola and more, listen to the newest episode of Table Fries, hosted by Jeanne Hopkins. ___________________________________________ Connect with Megan Herr and Zoe Weiss on LinkedIn.

Emily Parker is Jeanne's guest today. She and Jeanne talk about the Annual Lola Quest and how this one will be better than any previous ones, Honey Dew Donuts and McDonald's, and how determination isn't always about completing things in your comfort zone - sometimes it's about being determined to overcome fears and using that as an asset in your professional growth. Prior to Lola she worked at Gemvara, a Boston-based online jewelry company. In her spare time Emily enjoys singing a cappella with her group Sound Off, and spending time with her husband and two cats. ___________________________________________ Connect with Emily Parker Woodland on LinkedIn.

Alyssa Garty has come a long way since her first job scooping bird feed in her New Hampshire hometown. She was part of the original Lola pack and started as a Wombat over three years ago. Alyssa worked in Product as a Technical Project Manager, but she still held their Customer Core value close to her heart. She’s a travel management and customer service junkie, a passionate rule follower, and relentlessly gets stuff done. Over the years, Alyssa has learned the importance of speaking up about what you believe in. To hear about Alyssa’s work in brick and mortar travel management and her systems-focused mindset, listen to her conversation with Jeanne Hopkins, on this episode of Table Fries.  Connect with Alyssa Garty on LinkedIn.

Shelby Byrnes was the 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.  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 Jeanne Hopkins, on this episode of Table Fries! Connect with Shelby Byrnes on LinkedIn.

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 Jeanne Hopkins, on this 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 was a frontend software engineer at Lola.com. She worked 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 Connect with Sonia Chevli on LinkedIn.