As the Director of Major Gifts at an all-women's liberal arts college in New England, I traveled quite a lot and all over the country to meet with alumnae. What I know (and you know) is that there are thousands of us academic travelers and other peripatetic non-profiteers representing our institutions to outside constituencies. And, we spend real money (millions in the aggregate).

Knowledge of this market has until now escaped the travel industry–that's why we have not been eligible for deep discounts.

Calling from my office with its small (but dedicated) group of traveling staff, I could not lever our travel into discounts beyond the off-the-shelf corporate rate or AAA; we just did not have the numbers that a large company can guarantee. The creation of Academic Ambassadors was borne of that frustration.

I hope this service works for you. I am enjoying making contacts in the non-profit world to learn of your interests as I represent us to hotels around the country. For this program to succeed, I need word-of-mouth to spread news of this concept. Then, I will have even greater leverage to request even deeper discounts.

Also, I want this website to be a sort of common for far-flung non-profit travelers. Use the discussion area to ask your colleagues around the country for travel tips (“Where should I take a big donor to dinner in Baltimore?”), to learn of job openings, vent about salaries or confer about strategies. And, of course, contact me with any requests, complaints or recommendations. I look forward to working with you.

Yours truly,

Adam M. Siegel
academicambassadors@yahoo.com