I didn't set out to become a travel advisor. I set out to make sure no family felt like an afterthought.


THE PERSON BEHIND PARADISE & PALM

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A woman with short curly blonde hair, wearing large black glasses, a denim jacket, and jewelry, smiling and sitting at a table with a colorful polka dot laptop in front of her.
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Meet Brenda

Travel has never been just about getting from one place to another for me. It's about the version of your family that shows up when the daily routine falls away, the stories you end up telling for years, the trip that becomes a marker in your life. Helping people get there, without the stress swallowing the experience, isn't just my job. It's the thing I actually love doing.

A career built around helping others: Before Paradise & Palm existed, I spent years working in public education, supporting students and families through the ordinary days and the harder ones. That work taught me patience, and it taught me that every family carries something into a room that you can't see on paper. I never stopped believing that. I just started applying it to vacations instead of classrooms.

The journey that shaped this: The real shift came from being a mom. My son is 22 now, and he's on the autism spectrum. Being his mother has taught me things no course ever could — how much preparation actually matters, why flexibility isn't optional, and how the smallest detail can be the difference between a trip that overwhelms your family and one you actually remember fondly.

That's what led me to become a Certified Autism Travel Professional. But those lessons didn't stay contained to autism travel. They shaped how I plan for every client I work with, because everyone deserves to feel understood before they even have to ask for it.

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Over 20 years in the travel industry.

I've planned all-inclusive vacations, honeymoons, destination weddings, family getaways, and group trips. My focus today is Mexico, the Caribbean, and the kind of vacations people actually come home talking about — not because I sell one type of trip, but because I've learned what "right" looks like for a lot of different travelers.

That's really the whole approach. It's never about booking the most expensive resort. It's about finding the right one for you.

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If you've read this far, there's a good chance you're the kind of traveler I built this for. I'd love to hear what you're planning.

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