Heather Cassell Email & Phone Number

California, United States

San Francisco, California, Us

I founded Girls That Roam in 2010 to bring a diverse array of women who love travel together in one place.• Feature destinations that entertain and drive bookings• Promote women-owned hospitality and tourism businesses through creative content• Profile women leaders in the hospitality and travel industry• Provide travelers with honest reviews of hotels, restaurants, and tours giving them the information they need before they bookLGBTQ and women’s travel expert speaking and sitting on panels at travel conferences, such as the Women’s Travel Fest, Travel and Adventure Show, and Community Marketing Insights Travel Summit.

San Francisco, Ca, Us

I am an accomplished freelance reporter covering the San Francisco Bay Area’s LGBTQ community for the Bay Area Reporter, America’s longest running and highest circulated LGBTQ newspaper serving the greater Bay Area since 1971.I love my community and bringing its stories to life.I have a keen news sense and I keep my finger on the pulse of trends and opportunities to bring my readers the highest quality, informative, relevant, and entertaining stories weekly.For nearly 15 years my articles have inspired, entertained, and created impact.IMPACTIn 2007, then-Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley temporarily shut down the Chicago Hellfire Club for discrimination until the club’s policy was relaxed to allow transgender individuals attend club events due to a hard-hitting news story I wrote.Nearly a decade later, I revisited the story when the club struck down its transphobic policy that barred gender nonconforming members from joining the country’s top leather club in 2016.HIGHLIGHTSI have traveled the world covering LGBTQ international news and travel. Collaborating with destinations following key legal wins, such as same-sex marriage, and capitalize on marketing campaigns to optimize developing international and travel news stories.I interview people of interest, such as Rachel Maddow, financial expert Suze Orman, Vice President Kamala Harris when she was San Francisco’s district attorney, the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Victor Madrigal-Borloz, and many others.

San Francisco, Ca, Us

Cover international news

San Francisco, Ca, Us

Write monthly feature travel stories. In 2022, I was selected to publish quarterly travel stories for the newly formed National Queer Media Collaborative.Work with destinations and travel partners

San Francisco, Ca, Us

Cover the South Bay/Silicon Valley

San Francisco, Ca, Us

San Francisco, Ca, Us

San Francisco, Ca, Us

Cover LGBTQI news happening in San Francisco's Peninsula.

Write Travel, International News and other news stories of interest to New York's LGBTQI community.

Write travel features

Cover New York City's real estate and rental markets and housing development in its five boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island).

San Francisco, California, Us

Write travel features.

Boston, Us

Contributing travel writer pitching and working on assignment.I wrote for Edge Media Network in 2013 - 2016.

Dallas, Texas, Us

Madrid, Madrid, Es

Create content about San Francisco's gastronomic landscape from the City by the Bay's best restaurants to its culinary creators.

I have covered a wide range of topics focused on women’s and LGBTQI issues for three decades.The 1990sI wrote about women and HIV/AIDS, the first breast cancer drugs, women on the stock exchange and more for Third Wave feminist publications: HUES, BITCH, and BUST. I was a youth columnist for Dyke Speak newspaper and wrote book reviews and articles for a variety of community newspapers.I was publishing assistant at Down There Press’s, Good Vibrations' publishing arm, and chaired the editorial board.I participated in “Free Your Mind: The Book for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youth--and Their Allies” co-authored by Ellen Bass and Kate Kaufman. The 2000s to the PresentI am a regular contributor to the Bay Area Reporter and published articles for Edge Media, The Seattle Lesbian, Gaycations, Go! Magazine, Lesbian.com, Lesbian News, OutAloha, OutCities Northwest, Passport Magazine, Oakland Magazine, and other publications.I am the B.A.R.’s international LGBTQ reporter and a member of the travel section’s team which catapulted me into becoming a travel writer spending three to four months of the year on the road.I am the founder of Girls That Roam, a women’s travel blog, launched in 2010.I was the managing editor of the Western Edition, San Francisco’s District 5’s newspaper.I contributed to the "The Women's Movement Today" encyclopedia and conducted research for the author of "The F-Word: Feminism In Jeopardy - Women, Politics and the Future." I was the publishing consultant for, “Writing to Make a Difference,” assisting the author take the book through the publishing process and for LGBTQ financial Queer Cents' founder guided her through the drafting of her book proposal.My career started as a student staff reporter at The Cougar at San Lorenzo Valley High School and contributor to The Valley Press (now The Press Banner), a community newspaper, in the late 1980s.

Bingham Farms, Michigan, Us

Represent Nespresso.

San Francisco, Ca, Us

Write stories about the Jewish experience.

Chicago, Illinois, Us

Travel contributor

Bingham Farms, Michigan, Us

Productions Plus provides excellence in Brand Representation.I am a top Brand Ambassador placed in brand partners’ #1 stores in the country representing well-known brands, such as, Coravin, Nespresso, KitchneAid, GreenPan, and SodaStream among others.I am your Market Specialist and demo girl. I drive sales through:• Customer and brand partner relationships• Presentations at events and in-store demonstrations• Customer service, and• Provide product education to make customers' lives easier and happier and help brand ambassadors, managers, and sales associates improve their selling experience to meet sales goals

San Jose, Ca, Us

I was a Travel Sales Specialist at Classic Vacations, the #1 rated luxury vacation wholesaler for Travel Advisors.An expert in the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Hawaii, and Mexico, I helped travel agents plan travelers' vacations to luxury resorts.

I was an independent travel advisor at Travel Advisors of Los Gatos, a full-service and vacation package travel agency.• I specialized in women’s and LGBTQ travel helping travelers plan and book their dream vacations, customized and packaged.• I informed and advised travelers selecting the best travel destination, process visas, interpret and select travel insurance policies, be aware of local laws and customs regulations, political situations, safety, and more.• I provided support and trouble shot issues when they arose.

I was the Volunteer Marketing and Sponsorship Director for the San Francisco Bay Area’s hottest LGBTQ event company, EDEN Pride Events.• I strategized, developed, and managed marketing and advertising and sponsorship campaigns with Clear Channel to the Bay Area Reporter.• I led the public relations campaigns managing media interviews with celebrities and entertainers, including Grammy Award-Winning musical artist Eve, celebrity Chef K, and the CEO to maintaining press lists and writing press releases.• I spearhead EDEN Magazine editing and writing articles for the magazine.• I identified new business and event opportunities, EDEN Pacific Northwest and EDEN Hawaii, conducting advance research and connecting destination and business partners producing the events.

San Francisco, Ca, Us

I was the Assistant Editor covering the San Francisco Bay Area’s LGBTQ community for the Bay Area Reporter, America’s longest running and highest circulated LGBTQ newspaper serving the greater Bay Area since 1971.I love my community and bringing their stories to life, particularly for queer women and LGBTQ people of color.I have a keen news sense, keep my finger on the pulse of trends and opportunities, and work with diverse communities to bring my readers the highest quality, informative, relevant, and entertaining stories weekly.As a staff reporter covering the community I heard first-hand how my articles inspired, entertained, and had impact.GETTING THE STORYI am a news junkie monitoring multiple media outlets daily. I maintain relationships with key community stakeholders, including but not limited to elected officials, business and community leaders, experts, and community members. I am a meticulous researcher, fact-checker, proofreader, writer, and editor.I breakdown and weave together complex information and ideas to write lighter entertaining subjects creating high-quality stories readers enjoy and find informative.IMPACTIn 2007, then-Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley temporarily shut down the Chicago Hellfire Club for discrimination until the club’s policy was relaxed to allow transgender individuals attend club events due to a hard-hitting news story I wrote.

I was the Administrative Assistant at the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, the San Francisco Bay Area’s philanthropic catalyst for Jews of all ages, backgrounds, and perspectives to improve the world.I enjoyed working with and learning about the Jewish community assisting three busy executives managing a variety of community projects, committees, and events, and grantmaking.• I proudly took ownership leading the development and assisting with the launch of the Helen Diller Foundation’s Diller Teen Fellows Alumni program prior to the first project director’s hiring.• I coordinated and managed all donor meetings, donor events, and worked with a team of other assistants producing up to four major fundraising events a year.• I drafted donor reports, award and denial letters, meeting agendas and minutes, and other documents.• I managed and assisted with award recipients’ grants, grant reports, preparing grant proposals for donor meetings information, and handled donor and grantee questions and requests for information.• I managed grant award accounts in Gifts and Raisers’ Edge.

Provided administrative support for the senior executive of the Northern California office; drafted agenda and minutes as well as other documents; assisted with scheduling and preparing for meetings; submitted expense reports to accounting; made travel arrangements; managed contacts; among other administrative duties.

Managed busy 20-line reception while greeting applicants and clients; scheduled appointments for 8 busy recruiters; assisted applicants with applications and administered test; drafted business proposals, sales letters, resumes, and proofed contracts; supervised assistant receptionist; data entered applications and managed applicant files; responded to employment verification requests; managed vendor accounts, shipping and receiving and ordered office supplies among other administrative duties.

San Francisco, Ca, Us

Provided administrative support for the executive director; drafted and produce new board binder documents including board member biographies, update organizational bylaws, etc., drafted agenda and minutes as well as other documents; assisted with scheduling and preparing for meetings; submitted expense reports to accounting; made travel arrangements; managed contacts in Outlook and Raisers’ Edge; maintained files and board meeting packets; among other administrative duties.

San Francisco, Ca, Us

Managed all aspects of the GLBT Studies Department from assisting the chair of the department to six adjunct instructors on satellite campuses with curriculum development to selecting courses each semester. I assisted students with their educational needs by guiding them to the right resources and listening to them and advocating for them when homophobic issues arose on campus. I planned events bringing key LGBT and feminist leaders to speak at the campus and built a resource library.Under my guidance in a short period of time the GLBT Studies department went from not meeting its minimum enrollment to maxing out its enrollment in 98 percent of its courses as well as enjoyed a higher profile in the community and in California at the end of my tenure.I'm very glad to see that Ardel Thomas, the new chair of the GLBT Studies Department, is continuing where Jack Collins, the founding chair of the GLBT Studies department, and I left off with our work.

Chair of the Publishing Team: helped guide manuscript selection and marketing of sexual health books. Assisted in all aspects of the publishing process.

Us

Data entered puts and calls trades from market makers and brokers on the options floor into the exchanges computer system in the Microsoft, Sun Micro Systems, and Cisco pits.

B.A., Creative Writing And English Literature

A.A., Liberal Arts