Meet Kaleigh
Founder and owner of the Shameless Tourist, Kaleigh Kirkpatrick, CTA.
Founder of luxury travel agency The Shameless Tourist and Texas A&M University alum, Kaleigh Kirkpatrick has transformed her passion for travel and business acumen into a leading all-female agency with seven travel advisors; each with several areas of expertise including Disney, family travel, multi-gen groups, couples, and more. She was recognized as a top producer in 2022 for Avenue Two Travel, a prestigious Virtuoso agency, and named Woman of the Month by Fort Worth Woman.
Kaleigh’s love of travel began when she took her first solo International flight at age twelve but it wasn’t until after she took her three-year-old daughter on their first mother-daughter trip that it became a lifelong passion and career. Kaleigh was always the planner of all events, leaving nothing up to chance, and their travel was no exception. When she is not planning travel, being a mom and wife, or traveling herself, she enjoys long-distance running, skiing, surfing, trying new foods, live music, and playing with her dog Elton.
Kaleigh loves helping individuals, couples, and families plan their travel. Her clients seek her out for her meticulous attention to detail, travel tips, and reviews of destinations around the world. Her insights on travel trends and expert tips have been featured in online and print publications such as Travel & Leisure, Food & Wine, CNBC, and in broadcast channels such as CBS News Radio, and NBC-5 Dallas-Fort Worth, among others. She’s spoken about small business topics at the Texas Governor’s Commission for Women and available for speaking engagements.
Follow her travels @ShamelessTourist and reach out here if you are a journalist in need of a source or travel expert for a story as well as public speaking requests.
Meet Stephanie
Senior Luxury Travel Advisor, Stephanie Wilson
Hey Y’all! I’m Stephanie (my friends call me Steph!) I was born and raised in a small town in Texas, I made the big move to the city when I was 21. I’m based in Fort Worth, TX , where I live with my husband. I started traveling in my mid twenties and haven’t stopped since. I have a love for travel and exploring this big world. When I’m not planning trips or traveling, I enjoy running, anything outdoors, great food and hosting our family and friends at our home.
There is nothing better than packing your bags and flying somewhere new, to start making memories. I love that I get the opportunity to help plan trips for Shameless Tourist as a Luxury Travel Advisor. A vacation day is a treasure and I want to help someone find the perfect place to capture the best memories.
“Life is about the adventures you take and the memories you make. So travel often and live life with open eyes and an open heart.”
— Katie Grissom
Meet Tara
Senior Luxury Travel Advisor, Tara Cress
Tara started traveling with her parents at a very young age. These early trips sparked a life-long passion for exploring and traveling, so much so that she turned it into her career. She is a detail-oriented person who loves to help others make their dreams come true and make priceless memories. As the saying goes, if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life!
She jumps at every chance she gets to take a trip and experience something new, or revisit old favorites and fall in love with them all over again. When she’s not coordinating travel or traveling herself, Tara enjoys spending time with family and friends, good food and drinks, reading, and hiking. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two cats.
Meet Hilary
Account Manager, Hilary Hamilton
Hilary began traveling with her family at a young age, with annual trips to the mountain or beach every year. For her high school graduation, she took a family trip to Europe with the opportunity to experience parts of France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey and vowed to make it a point in her life to travel someplace new every year. She loves to embrace the culture, whatever destination that may be.
Hilary is a creative spirit but prides herself in being organized and a hard worker. There is nothing she loves more than helping others make their dreams come true, creating priceless memories along the way.
When she’s not coordinating travel or traveling herself, Hilary loves spending time with family and friends, considers herself a red wine aficionado, cat mama to Ajah, loves to cook, be outdoors, and go to museums.
Meet Yvonne
Senior Luxury Travel Advisor, Yvonne Heerema
From an early age, Yvonne knew she wanted to see the world. After she graduated from college, she took off for a backpacking adventure across Europe, and this solidified her passion for travel. Fast forward 5 years later, and Yvonne took her first month-long solo trip around Italy and Switzerland that was an experience she will never forget. She hasn’t stopped traveling since or planning her next vacation. Her experiences helped her take this passion and turn it into a new career.
When she’s not planning the perfect trip or traveling herself, Yvonne enjoys spending time with family and friends, the great outdoors, watching baseball, food & wine, skiing, and her peloton. She lives in Austin, TX with her husband, daughter and incredibly cute Goldendoodle!
Yvonne believes when we travel, the whole world opens up and we see the world with new eyes. Yvonne loves that she is able to help others see the world by planning the perfect trip!
Meet Caitlin
Luxury Disney Travel Specialist, Caitlin Mendoza
At 6 years old, Caitlin took her first trip to Walt Disney World and decided to become a princess. Since then, she has traveled almost yearly spending the Christmas holidays at the most magical place on earth with her mom.
Setting goals such as “staying at every resort” and “dining at every restaurant,” Caitlin began to visit Disney more often. While attending Texas Christian University, Caitlin worked as an intern at Magic Kingdom with the Disney College Program learning key details about Disney. She is now an expert on all things Disney trips from special events such as the Epcot festivals, planning large family celebrations (including her own Disney Fairytale Wedding), and even Disneyland and Cruises.
Caitlin has been working with the Shameless Tourist since 2017 specializing in writing the perfect itinerary for families to make special memories, and she can’t wait to make magic for your family too!
Meet Melissa
Luxury Travel Advisor, Melissa Morales
Melissa’s love for travel began on a two-week European vacation she took with her mother shortly after graduating college. She remembers being awestruck by the immense beauty of Cinque Terra, Italy, and the stunning elegance of Paris, France. Since then, her love for travel has only continued to grow.
Melissa believes, “to travel is to live” and helping someone see the world, while being part of that process, has made her fall in love with travel in a whole new way. As a Shameless Tourist Travel Advisor, Melissa is eager to help you plan the experience of a lifetime, without the worry and stress that can be paired with travel preparation. Having visited Europe numerous times, she can plan the perfect trip you desire.
When Melissa isn’t planning trips or traveling herself, she enjoys, Pilates, spin cycling, snowboarding, great food & wine, cooking and hosting friends and family in her home. She lives in Laguna Niguel, CA with her husband and their Hungarian, Vizsla.