Annette is passionate about travel, particularly to places she loves. She has undergraduate degrees in Hotel/Restaurant/Tourism Management and French, and an MBA in Hospitality. Annette graduated from ITMI in 2000, right after graduating from college. She has now been in the industry for over 20 years, starting off as a tour director in Italy and France for Collette, and then moving on to work for them as a Product Manager where she planned, contracted, and created itineraries as well as oversaw all operations for the countries she was in charge of. The skills gained as a Product Manager have been the backbone to everything else she has been able to achieve in her tourism career. Her strong connections to Italy, led her to move there from the US, where she spent 11 years exploring every corner, experiencing the culture and history, and sampling all of the delicious foods and wines the country is known for. Annette then became Director of Operations for Cuba Travel Services, where she assisted many US Tour Operators in developing their people-to-people programs to Cuba and managed the operations of all travel-related programs for the company. Annette keeps busy these days overseeing two companies from her home-base in Miami yet still manages to sneak in local guiding and overseas tour directing whenever she can. Annette is the managing partner of the North America division of Whisper System, a company that provides radio guide systems for guided group tours, and managing partner of Daiquiri Tours, where she organizes travel programs to Cuba, Italy, Portugal, Spain, France and other parts of Europe and the world. She also recently spearheaded the founding of her local Chamber of Commerce in the City of Miami Springs, where she is acting President. One of her greatest accomplishments is being an instructor at ITMI, where she can share her passion for her industry with new students, fellow instructors and fellow alumni.