USATourist.com Team

MICHELLE LECO is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Theater Arts and Business. She taught herself HTML coding, web site development and Internet marketing. She enjoys hiking, backpacking and adventuring in the wilder parts of the USA. Michelle writes the HTML code, creates most of the layout and graphics and takes care of the many administrative functions.

MIKE LECO is a successful entrepreneur who founded a business-consulting firm in 1982. Since then, M. Leco & Associates Inc. has employed over 100 associates and has provided revenue enhancement services to hundreds of hospitals across the USA. He is a long-time web surfer, a computer fanatic and an amateur photographer.

Long ago, Mike spent several years in Europe and married a young lady from Luxembourg. He has served as a volunteer host for Microsoft Network's Friends of Europe Forum and for Expedia's Travel Forums. He traveled extensively throughout the USA. He now lives near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife, Anny.

CATHY MAXWELL is responsible for marketing and advertising sales. A graduate of Carlow College with a B.A. in Business Communication, she has over twenty years experience in marketing, advertising and sales promotion. An avid reader, she volunteered for over ten years with Radio Information Services, a reading information provider to the visually impaired. One of her programs was the weekly "Travelogue." She and her husband, Mark, live in the South Hills of Pittsburgh with their two teen-age daughters and their border collie, Titus.

RONNIE ALLEN was a student-athlete at Texas A&M University, where he studied sports psychology and played baseball. After a six-year career as a minor league baseball player, he returned to Seattle during the middle of the Internet boom and became hooked on the power of the web and the technology behind it. When he's not sitting behind the keyboard, Ronnie enjoys road trips to near and far away places, backpacking to parts unknown, photography of all kinds and coaching high school baseball. As a member of the USATourist.com team, he assists Michelle with web development.

ANABEL L. ELLIOTT My name is Anabel Elliott and I am excited to be part of the USATourist Team and provide Spanish translations for the site. I was born in Argentina and lived most of my life in the city of Salta, having beautiful views of the Andes Mountains from every room in my house! I came to the States for the first time in 1991 as a foreign exchange student. I started working as a Spanish- English interpreter and translator after my return to Argentina.

I have a bachelor's degree in Humanities and have studied Foreign Affairs at the University of El Salvador in Buenos Aires. I have learned to read and communicate in several languages, including Latin, Greek, Portuguese, English and Spanish. During one of my interpreting assignments, I met Bryan, my wonderful husband, and after 3 years of letters and phone calls, we got married. We now live in Kent, WA and have two little girls. Our families are spread all over the country and the globe, so we travel often to visit our loved ones.

CAROLE CESARI-DUCHESNE Bonjour, my name is Carole Cesari-DuChesne. I was born and grew up on the French Riviera until I decided to come and study in the US. I had fallen in love with America way back in my youth and had intended to come for longer than just a vacation. I passed my TOEFL test before my DEUG in LEA from the Faculty of Nice and decided to attend a two year program in International Business/ Retail Marketing in Seattle. After living in the Pacific Northwest for a while I fell in love with it. I met my wonderful husband while studying. I extended my stay in the US for another year by getting an internship program with Nintendo of America after which I went back home and got married.

When we returned to the US 6 months later, I became an assistant coordinator for a French cosmetic company in the North Puget Sound area. After my daughter was born, I decided to get back into translation work. I received my certification and taught French in a middle school which I deeply enjoyed. I have been involved with my husband's business and am now the mother of a little boy. My family and I frequently go back home to Southern France as well as visiting Paris and the Atlantic coast where some of my relatives and childhood friends reside.

IRMGARD CASTLEBERRY was born and educated in Germany. Irmgard worked in England for several years where she studied the language. During many years as an office worker in Germany and the US she was able to use her dual language skills. She came to the US in the early 1960's onboard the ocean liner "United States" to work here for just one year and see the USA. Irmgard met her future husband in New York City and decided to stay. Their first travel adventure together was a 9,000 mile road trip through the US and Mexico.

In 1981 she pioneered the European concept of Bed and Breakfast in the Northwest by starting a B&B Reservation Service. The agency was sold in 1996. Today Irmgard is still in the hospitality business as a hostess for tourists from many countries. Her hobbies include travel, creative writing and e-commerce on Ebay. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband Ben.

YOKO SUGIYAMA My name is Yoko Sugiyama. I was born and grew up in Japan. I went to Australia for the first time as a Working Holiday for one year, and then went back to Japan. A few years later, I went back to Australia for the second time to study Business Management. I started working as an Administrative/Marketing specialist at an International company in Sydney, Australia. I met my wonderful husband while studying and working there, and after three and half years in Australia, we moved to the U.S. We both love traveling. We have traveled all over Australia as well as parts of the U.S., Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand and Europe. We now live in Seattle and frequently go back home to Japan. I am excited to be part of the USATourist Team as a Japanese translator and introduce the wonderful U.S. travel information.

ELIZABETH L. BLAIR writes the monthly USATourist News Magazine. She previously worked in the airline industry, including five years as a Southwest Airlines flight attendant. Elizabeth now works from home as a freelance writer specializing in travel. She lives in Tucson, Arizona with her husband and two children.